Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister," a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister's letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self.
This is probably the first book that I read after I watched the movie. The reason read this book is that in my class we have to do a banned book essay which I will post below. The Color Purple starts out with the birth of Celie's first child, there is no warning and I was not expecting such graphic details. Alice Walker makes you want to cry in pity for this girl who is so horribly abused by the people in her life. The foreword part of the book does not even warn you about the first page. I am not sure how I feel about this book. I am disgusted and pained when I look at it but I also like the formatting. It is written in letters sent to God and later Nettie. The format can be a little hard to follow and the characters can be confusing.
I do not recommend this book to almost everyone. If you are a man I don't recommend reading this unless you never want children. I don't recommend this book to most women because it will once again turn you off of childbirth and make you look at men differently. If you are a really brave son of a bitch and want to try, go for it, but remember that I warned you.
banned_book_essay.docx |