The Color Purple by Alice Walker

It is Celie’s perseverance and unwavering hope in the goodness of the strong women around her that allows her to survive even the most devastating personal failures by those she loves. Eventually, Celie finds happiness, talent, and her own inner strength. The novel gives a powerful voice to African American women, and explores themes such as identity, overcoming adversity, true loyalty, defining happiness, and connecting with the spirit.

Plot Diagram

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Characters

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Literary Conflict

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Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

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OSCAR Analysis

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Vocabulary

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Essential Questions for The Color Purple

1. What does it mean to be happy?
2. What are the ways in which a woman must become resilient?
3. What are some of the key differences between religion and spirituality?
4. How do people go about finding their own identities?
5. Why do people need to love, and be loved in return?
6. How can writing be a way to explore one’s own inner self, and to heal emotionally?
7. How do people overcome adversities in life?
8. Can people maintain true loyalty to one another, even after many years?

What is Sickle-Cell Anemia?

The blood disease referenced often in the novel is actually sickle-cell anemia, called so because of the crescent-shaped appearance that carriers with both copies of the hbb gene have in their blood cells. Sickle-cell anemia actually creates a protection against malaria, but if a child has two parents with the hbb gene, he or she may suffer with many complications. According to the Mayo Clinic, complications of sickle cell anemia include:

• Joint and bone pain
• Swelling of the limbs
• Infections and spleen damage
• Stunting of growth
• Damage to the retina

While there are many medications used to treat the symptoms of sickle-cell anemia, the only real cure is through a bone marrow transplant.

Have students read more on this disease, and its connection to yam farming and malaria here:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sickle-cell-anemia/diagnosis-treatment/treatment/txc-20303509
• https://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/chromosomes/features/
• https://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/gene-web/sickle_cell_project/SocialAspects.html
• https://www.helppeoplenow.com/sickle-cell-anemia.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/biology/sickle_cell.html

A Note about Monrovia, Liberia

Monrovia is the capital of Liberia. Liberia was originally settled by former slaves through the American Colonization Society, which was established to help free African Americans resettle in Africa. Liberia means “Land of the Free” in Latin. From 1820-1838, about 20,000 people resettled in or near Monrovia. In 1847, Liberia declared its independence, although it was not recognized by the United States until 1862. Even then, its existence was ignored and denied throughout the years of the Civil War. Liberia soon became a major player in world affairs, including as one of the founding members of the United Nations. For many African Americans who visited Monrovia, Liberia, as Nettie does in her travels to work with the Olinka, it is a bittersweet moment: it is a land where blacks are leaders, but it is also a reminder of the Blacks who sold their fellow brothers and sisters into slavery. Have students learn more about Monrovia, Liberia’s rich history at the following sites:

• https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/liberia
• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/history/
• https://www.blackpast.org/gah/monrovia-liberia-1821

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