"The More I Wonder, the More I Love"

The Color Purple is a book that explores the full spectrum of human emotion and experiences - from despair to joy and everything in between with incredible skill. The novel not only impacted me emotionally with its story of courage and suffering but also mentally - its outlook on life can change the way you see yourself and the world.

The main character of the novel is Celie, a young black woman living in the South in the first half of the twentieth century. She is poor, under-educated and has been taught her entire life to hold a very low opinion of herself. She is sexually abused by her Pa, and then practically sold into marriage to another abusive man known only as Mr.____. Her husband has a girlfriend named Shug Avery, a confident and fun-loving blues singer. Shug and Celie quickly become friends and later, lovers. Shug teaches Celie many things about life. Celie realizes that love is possible and that life is a gift from God, not simply something to suffer through. Celie also learns not to be a constant victim of men and how to assert her independence. There is also another plot line going on. Celie's sister, Nettie, is living in Africa as a missionary and writes her letters detailing her experiences. Both sisters encounter conflicts because of race and gender and both eventually triumph.

The plot in this book definitely takes a back seat to the psychological development of the main characters. However, the plot is certainly not a weak point. The addition of Nettie's narrative to Celie's is an important feature. By adding the second story line, Walker adds depth to the novel without losing the reader's interest. The letters of Celie to God (and later to Nettie) alternate with those of Nettie to Celie. Although they are not written in response to each other, they successfully create the illusion that the two plot lines are connected, when, in fact, they do not join until the very end.

The characters in The Color Purple are very well-developed. Celie's writing and viewpoint are basically the ways in which the author reveals character. Her letters portray with great clarity and persuasion her transformation from a girl with no self-esteem at all to a woman who can stand up to any man. her letters also do a wonderful job depicting, through Celie's eyes, the loving and formidable Shug Avery and the despicable (but later pitiable) Mr. _____, a man who cannot love because he hates himself.

The theme of The Color Purple is that life is something to cherish. The title The Color Purple comes from the statement "I think it p_sses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." And I'm sure almost everyone is guilty of this, including myself. People with lives far happier than Celie's (and that's just about everybody!) waste years of their lives not seeing any of the opportunities for happiness around them. The Color Purple reminds me to occasionally look around me to see what I'm missing by focusing in on only the bad things. The book also comments on sexism and racism and all the things that divide people. In its grimmer moments, The Color Purple offers only the feeling of hopelessness of these conflicts being resolved. It does show some glimmer of hope at the end, that through effort and patience, there can be peace.

The style of The Color Purple is one of its most unique aspects. Celie's letters are written in broken English dialect, since she never finished school. It's not really too hard to read or understand. Honest! I got used to it quickly. Yes, it does slow down the pace of reading a little, but the unique style imparts so much personality and character that it is well worth it. I'm not sure why, but this simple style of writing really expresses Celie's emotions so well. Her sister Nettie, by contrast, writes in completely correct English. Her writing style lacks the emotional edge that Celie's has. She describes her feelings; they are not obvious from the way she writes, as Celie's are. Although different, both writing styles are very effective.

I should probably make the point that The Color Purple is a mature book not appropriate for preteen readers. In addition to the sex and rape, there is an overall tone of despair despite the cheery message. So if you're looking for a light-hearted fun book to read, you may want to look else where.