The Color Purple Introduction

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is about two African American sisters, Celie and Nettie. The main voice of the story is Celie, who writes letters to God about what is going on in her life. Celie was raped and impregnated by her father, giving birth to two children who are taken away from her almost immediately. Then to give her sister a chance to escape this life, Celie, instead of Nettie is married to a man that she hates. She refuses to name in her letters and refers to him as Mr. _____. Nettie tries to communicate with her sister, but the letters she sends to Celie never reach her. They live in ignorance of each other's situations because they are separated for thirty years feeling as if the other no longer loves them.

Based on the first couple of letters, I feel that this book is something like I have never read before. After being married off to Mr. ____, Celie's life seems like it couldn't get any worse, and she does absolutely nothing to fix it. I predict that Celie will become more outspoken and actually try to stick up for herself instead of letting her husband and father beat her and order her around. Although we haven't heard from Nettie since she ran away, but I predict that since she is so intelligent, Nettie will be able to rise above and make a name for herself. Given the time period, though, I don't think Nettie will be able to attend college, but I believe she will be self sufficient and won't have to depend on a husband like Mr. ____.

Reading Schedule:
1. Pg. 1-73 (3/4)
2. Pg. 74-145 (3/11)
3. 146-221 (3/18)
4. 222-288 (3/25)