You are the master of your own destiny. “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” A true friend will help you develop. The color purple then is symbolic of pain, torture and injustice. Why us suffer. I start to wonder why us need love. Violence and suffering The damage caused by oppression. The Color Purple 10 Inspiring Quotes from Alice Walker “Any God I ever found in church, I brought in myself.” – The Color Purple. by Patricia Harris Abrams, English Department, Flint Southwestern Community High School, Flint, MI . By Alice Walker. Insightful Quotes From 'The Color Purple' There is a musical based on the story of 'The Color Purple' by Marsha Norman. They also feed the road-builders tons of food. The best quotes from The Color Purple by Alice Walker - organized by theme, including book location and character - with an explanation to help you understand! When I asked a mother why she thought this, she said: A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something. Example: Mary Agnes was ashamed after being raped: ''You a lowdown dog is what's wrong, I say. Beside the hierarchy of male dominance, many other similarities between the sexism of Nettie’s African surroundings and the sexism of Celie’s American society exist. Detailed Summary & Analysis Letter 1 Letter 2 Letter 3 Letter 4 Letter 5 Letter 6 Letter 7 Letter 8 Letter 9 Letter 10 Letter 11 Letter 12 Letter 13 … Enjoy these 'The Color Purple quotes' below, and you can also read Alice Walker quotes and Toni Morrison quotes. Alice Walker's stunning 1982 novel The Color Purple(New York: Washington Square Press, 1982) won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 making the Georgia-born author and poet the first black woman ever to receive the award for fiction. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. She quotes an entire letter from Nettie describing her arrival in the Olinka village in West Africa, where the family is to carry out its missionary work. Why us black. Plot Summary. Not only do they control what goes on around the house, but they also control what the women of there household do. After the Olinka have this “pathetic exchange” with a white man from the English rubber company, the Olinka conclude that it is a waste of breath to argue with men who cannot or will not listen. Last Updated on May 6, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Symbolism- The color purple signifies beauty, when Shug is shown the remodeled home. " “And I don’t believe you dead. Why us men and women." Color Purple . The cultural barrier between the Olinka and the English is so vast that both parties readily give up, believing no communication is possible. These are important because they create the person Celie becomes before Shug helps her to evolve. - Alice Walker, Color Purple Quotes “The Olinka girls do not believe girls should be educated. Maybe, like God, you changed into something different that I’ll have to speak to differently, but you not dead to me Nettie. Nettie writes that a road is being built through the Olinka village. Race and Racism Theme in The Color Purple | LitCharts. While The Color Purple does have some verisimilitude, ... of the Olinka as a holistic representation of Africa; yet for those who have historically internalized beliefs related to these stereotypes, fact and fiction overlap. But I am not the mother of anybody’s children, I said, and I am something.” - Alice … One example of this, is in the beginning when Celie is given away in marriage without her consent. This discovery not only signals the introduction of a new narrator to this epistolary novel but also begins the transformation of Celie from writer to reader. A detailed description and in-depth analysis of Nettie. The Color Purple Letter Sixty-Four. My favorite quotes from the movie taught me valuable lessons about Black womanhood, faith, and self love. In a film where women are treated like inferiors, Sofia breaks the mold by refusing to be her husband's punching bag. A few years ago I was a History major with an African History focus, so when reading The Color Purple I was interested in Walker’s portrayal of indigenous African cultures. Letter 1 Quotes Dear God, I am fourteen … The life Nettie, Samuel, Olivia, and Adam (and Corinne for a while as well) live during their time in Africa and with the Olinka touches upon the effects of imperialism … Alice Walker Quotes. Similarities reign with this book and slavery in two instances: one, Celie and some of the other women’s slave … Nettie and the other missionaries travel to Monrovia, Liberia--a country on the West coast of Africa. This custom was prevalent throughout the world at the time of The Color Purple’s setting (circa 1930). How can you be dead if I still feel you? The Olinka in Alice Walker's book The Color Purple are a ficticious people. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need.'' Don Quixote Great Expectations King Lear The Odyssey The Picture of … Alice Walker in her novel The Color Purple illustrates a parallel between the gender roles of women in the early 20th century and Black slavery through the life of Celie and her interactions with Albert, as well as with Nettie’s experiences in Africa with the Olinka tribe. The Color Purple Quotes Total quotes: 42 Show Metadata Hide Metadata. 367 quotes from The Color Purple: ‘I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.’ I asked.Why, she said, the mother of his children. Likewise, in Africa, tensions arise from very similar … Repetition- "You ast yourself one question, it lead to fifteen. It's time to leave you and enter into the Creation. And these 10 are the ones I’ll never forget. The Olinka men are “children” because they are spoiled by their wives. 289 This curiosity is left from the suffering Celie has received from Alphonso and … And the Lord he done whip me little The novel also explores the damaging effects of: Male domination; Sexism within the black community In both cultures, women were the primary caretakers of their children and their homes. 57. Celie’s letter quotes Sofia’s stand on domestic abuse. The males have most of the power. Whether the problem of sex roles focuses on Harpo and Sofia, or on Albert and Celie, or on Grady and Shug, there is always a clear-cut sexual division of labor, and tensions usually arise when one half of the couple doesn't like his or her "role," or duties. She has no say in what … Samuel is … “We are a people. The Color Purple (1985) - Yarn is the best way to find video clips by quote. After Celie admits to telling Harpo to beat Sofia, the two women talk honestly. “Girl, you oughta bash Mister’s head open and think about heaven later.” Archive Photos Getty Images. When I asked a mother why she thought this, she said: A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband can she become something.What can she become? There are many themes emphasised throughout ‘The Color Purple’. A letter from Nettie. The color purple can also be a biblical reference as when Christ was crucified and the blood of the innocent was spilt. Important quotes by Sofia in The Color Purple. Watch The Color Purple Online … pg. A major theme in The Color Purple is domestic violence and the suffering it causes, traced through the lives of African-American women from the mid-1900s to the early 1940s in the rural South of the United States. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of The Color Purple and what it means. Find the exact moment in a TV show, movie, or music video you want to share. Word Count: 1014. Get everything you need to know about Race and Racism in The Color Purple. the Olinka in The Color Purple As I made my way through this novel, I encountered numerous moments worthy of attention, but the stories Nettie writes of her life in Africa particularly resonate throughout the work for me. I am not sure what Walker’s intentions were in … And never will you be.” ― Alice Walker, The Color Purple. One of the themes running throughout The Color Purple concerns sex roles. Letter Sixty-Four. In the book The Color Purple the gender roles are very obviously stated and accepted at the beginning. The man or husband … Quotes about Women and Femininity from The Color Purple - learn where to find the quote in the book and how the quotes relate to Women and Femininity! They act irrationally, are overly sensitive, and do not understand the consequences of their actions. Your faith can move mountains. Yet Nettie and Samuel are too honest and sensitive not to see the real needs and feelings of the Olinka people. Race and Domesticity in The Color Purple A n important juncture in Alice Walker's The Color Purple is reached when Celie first recovers the missing letters from her long-lost sister Nettie. The Color Purple Introduction + Context . “The Olinka girls do not believe girls should be educated. The most powerful faith lies within. 58. The Color Purple won the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in … The Color Purple literature essays are academic essays for citation. The color purple here is no more just a color but shows Celie’s dignity and her transformation as a person and also the change in the thoughts of people of the society. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). It is set in the early twentieth century, around the 1930’s, in a time when racism, oppression and sexism was at a peak. - Celie Shame: ''I'm so shame of myself, I say. The children and villagers gather around to watch the progress of the road. It takes Cellie’s journey further. A summary of Part X (Section6) in Alice Walker's The Color Purple. The Color Purple An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. The The Color Purple quotes below all refer to the symbol of God. Nettie’s letter describes how the family arrived in the Olinka village after travelling. A brief check on African history proved my suspicions that the Olinka people that Nettie spends extended time with are a fictional culture. We find out that Nettie has been in the Olinka village for five years now. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson, things go from . Celie is raped by her stepfather and beaten for many years by her husband, only to have Shug Avery intervene on her behalf. Easily move forward or backward to get to the perfect spot. Sofia is nearly beaten to death by white police officers after pushing a white family; she … These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Violence and suffering in The Color Purple are typically depicted as part of a greater cycle of tragedy taking place both on the family level and on a broader social scale. Previous Next . Analysis, related quotes, theme tracking. Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Pocket Books edition of The Color Purple published in 1985. Indeed, the passage in which Celie … Suggestions. Racism was disregarded throughout the country and the laws in the South implemented … Everything in my room purple and red cept the floor."