essay questions for the color purple

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The Color Purple

53 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Pages 57-112

Pages 113-161

Pages 162-206

Pages 207-286

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discuss the title of the novel. How does this title evoke important themes in the novel? Be sure to trace out as well how Walker uses the literal color purple to reinforce these themes.

Walker coined the term womanism to describe Black female identity that centers Black women’s experiences. What makes The Color Purple a womanist novel?

Discuss the significance of letter writing and writing in the novel. What impact does the epistolary form have on how you experience the plot and character development? What role do letters and writing play in the lives of the characters?

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The Color Purple

By alice walker.

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• The Color Purple /
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Sample of Discussion & Essay Questions

• Celie finds several people to love in The Color Purple . Who do you think she cares for the most? Why do you think this?

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Best the color purple discussion questions

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Released in 1982, “The Color Purple” is a powerful novel written by Alice Walker that explores the lives of African-American women in the early 20th century and tackles themes of racism, sexism, and personal empowerment. This critically acclaimed book has sparked numerous discussions and debates, making it an excellent choice for book clubs, classrooms, or personal reflection. To enhance your reading experience and delve deeper into the story, we have compiled a comprehensive list of discussion questions that will help you analyze the characters, themes, and messages in “The Color Purple”.

Whether you are leading a book club discussion or simply looking for thought-provoking questions to ponder, these discussion prompts will guide you through the complex layers of this novel. From exploring the significance of the color purple to examining the importance of sisterhood, these questions will encourage deep thinking and meaningful conversations.

So, grab a copy of “The Color Purple” and gather your friends or classmates to embark on a journey of self-discovery, empathy, and resilience. These discussion questions will serve as a compass, navigating you through the emotional landscape of this remarkable novel.

See these The Color Purple Discussion Questions

• What is the significance of the color purple in the novel?
• How does Celie’s relationship with God evolve throughout the story?
• Discuss the role of sisterhood in the novel.
• What impact does Shug Avery have on Celie’s life?
• Examine the theme of racism in “The Color Purple”.
• What is the importance of storytelling in the novel?
• How does Celie’s relationship with Nettie influence her growth?
• Discuss the theme of sexual identity and fluidity in the story.
• Explore the concept of self-discovery in “The Color Purple”.
• What does the character of Sofia represent in the novel?
• Discuss the significance of the Olinka tribe in the story.
• What role does music play in the lives of the characters?
• Examine the theme of forgiveness in “The Color Purple”.
• How does the novel challenge traditional gender roles?
• Discuss the symbolism of the quilt in the story.
• What does the relationship between Celie and Mr. symbolize?
• Examine the theme of female empowerment in the novel.
• How does the setting of the story contribute to its overall atmosphere?
• Discuss the concept of redemption in “The Color Purple”.
• What role does spirituality play in the lives of the characters?
• Examine the theme of resilience in the face of adversity.
• How does the novel portray the effects of abuse?
• Discuss the theme of liberation in “The Color Purple”.
• What does the character of Harpo represent in the story?
• Examine the theme of self-acceptance in the novel.
• How does Celie’s relationship with her children evolve?
• Discuss the significance of the letters in the story.
• What does the character of Mary Agnes (Squeak) symbolize?
• Examine the theme of love and its various forms in the novel.
• How does the novel challenge societal norms and expectations?
• Discuss the importance of education in the lives of the characters.
• What does the character of Albert (Mr.) teach us about redemption?
• Examine the theme of identity and self-expression in “The Color Purple”.
• How does the novel explore the concept of beauty?
• Discuss the significance of the pants in the story.
• What does the character of Nettie represent in the novel?
• Examine the theme of resilience in the face of generational trauma.
• How does the novel portray the power dynamics within relationships?
• Discuss the role of female friendship in “The Color Purple”.
• What does the character of Grady represent in the story?
• Examine the theme of self-worth and self-esteem in the novel.
• How does Celie’s relationship with Shug challenge societal norms?
• Discuss the significance of the juke joint in the story.
• What role does the character of Samuel play in the lives of the women?

These discussion questions are just the beginning of the exploration you can undertake while reading “The Color Purple”. As you dive deeper into the story, you will discover new insights and perspectives that will enrich your understanding of the characters and their journeys. So, prepare to be captivated by the profound messages and emotional depth of “The Color Purple” as you engage in thought-provoking discussions with others.

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Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”: The Analysis Essay

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Introduction

Summary of the book, main characters, main themes, reference list.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is an epistolary novel about African-American women in the southern United States in the 1930s. It addresses some crucial issues, such as segregation and sexism. This work was adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg in 1985 (Bay et al. , 2015, p.169). More than that, The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983.

The novel is written as a series of letters, that are not dated, and has a fascinating and thought-provoking plot. Its name comes from a character’s words, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it” (Walker, 1982, p. 196). Walker writes in an uneducated language and southern style to create the atmosphere of an impoverished area and develop complex relationships between the main characters and the themes mentioned above.

The protagonist of the novel is Celie, a fourteen-year-old abused black girl who lives in Georgia and addresses her letters to God. Her father, Alfonso, repeatedly rapes his daughter and forbids her to tell anybody about what happened, except for God. Then, Alfonso marries Celie off to Mister Albert after her mother’s death. However, married life is also complicated and painful for the girl, as she has to bring up Albert’s children, do all of the housework, and suffer misery and hardship from him.

After Celie’s marriage, her younger sister, Nettie, gets the opportunity to leave her father’s household and move to Mr. Albert’s house. However, Celie’s husband kicks Nettie out after a while as she refuses to satisfy his sexual demands. Nettie promises to write to her older sister, but after she leaves, Celie does not receive any letters from her. The protagonist’s life changes only when Albert’s deathly ill mistress Shug appears in his home so that Celie will take care of her. Soon after Shug’s arrival, they fall in love with each other. For the first time, Celie can enjoy emotions, sex, and friendship.

Celie and Shug manage to find out why there was no news from Nettie for several decades. Mr. Albert appears to hide all of Nettie’s letters in the locked trunk. When the main character reads her sister’s letters, she opens up a new world and realizes all the abuses that she has suffered from her husband. That is why she decides to leave him and start a new life with Shug in Memphis. Furthermore, Celie learns that Alfonso is not her biological father and that her younger sister lives with the Reverend Samuel and his family in Africa. The girl also finds out that now she owns a house where Alfonso lived till his death.

In the end, Celie reunites with her sister, who returns from Africa with her husband Samuel and Celie’s children and maintains a close relationship with Shug. Besides, she keeps in touch with Mr. Albert as he changed a lot. Now Nettie and Celie are inseparable and happy so much that Celie writes that she has never felt so young before, though she is an old woman.

Celie is the protagonist of the book, who the author portrays as a victim through most of the novel. Her father and her husband rape her, she is deprived of any freedom and human rights, and she cannot take care of her children. The only person Celie loves – her younger sister Nettie – is also taken away from her. When she meets her husband’s mistress Shug Avery, a tipping point is reached. Shug encourages Celie to rebel against Mr. Albert and leave him. Celie becomes more self-confident and realizes all the extent of hardships she has suffered. More than that, thanks to Shug, she learns to love, feel emotions, and enjoy her life.

Nettie is Celie’s younger sister, who Mr. Albert is firstly interested in, but then, he agrees to marry Celie. Nettie is an educated and intelligent girl who loves her older sister very much. Nettie escapes from her father’s household to live with Celie. However, later, she has to leave because Mister tries to assault her. Nettie goes to Africa with the Reverend Samuel and his family as a maid. Throughout her travels, she writes regularly to Celie, but her older sister does not receive these letters because of her husband. Nettie returns to America with Samuel and two Celie’s children thirty years later.

Mr. Albert, Celie’s husband, is a character, who also experiences changes in his personality aside from Celie. In the beginning, he considers his young wife only a servant and “exercises socially superior power and gets benefit from the unpaid labor provided by Celie” (Abbasi and Hayat, 2017, p.184).Mr. Albert loves Shug, but he cannot marry her because of the public’s opinion. Besides, Mr. Albert hides Nettie’s letters from Celie and prevents their communication. In the end, he reconsiders his life and views and tries to forge relationships with Celie and other people.

Shug Avery is a famous blues singer and strong woman, who becomes a friend and, eventually, a lover to Celie. She teaches Celie to struggle and be independent and confident. Shug’s biggest problem is that she cannot stay with one person and does not have stable romantic relationships. Though sometimes Shug is also mean and selfish, she inspires people around her, brings entertainment, and becomes the protagonist’s loved one.

Violence, racism, sexism, and femininity are among the central themes of the novel (Lewis, 2017). In The Color Purple, readers can see how differently Afro-American female characters react to hardships and maltreatment. Celie is submissive; she suffers violence from her father and husband repeatedly and shuts down emotionally, while other female characters try to protest against abuse. Alice Walker also emphasizes the role of female relationships and their opportunities to fight for rights and challenge male oppression and dominance.

The novel The Color Purple raises crucial and global issues, such as women’s role and their discrimination by men in the twentieth century. Alice Walker illustrates the harassment a black woman has to go through, but she also demonstrates how a woman can struggle for self-confidence and respectful treatment. The Color Purple is a story about female strength, resistance, and fight, all fueled by love.

The Color Purple is an impressive piece of American feminist literature. Walker tells the readers about the lives of impoverished and humiliated women and considers complex social relationships. She uses different means to depict the atmosphere and the environment of the 1930s, such as the black folk language, and the first-person narrative. Despite being widely criticized for the use of language, The Color Purple has its actual historical background and continues to occupy readers’ minds nowadays.

Abbasi, M. and Hayat, M. (2017) ‘Marxist feminist critique: the socioeconomic position of Afro-American women in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple ’, Journal of Social Sciences , 8(2), pp. 180-200.

Bay, M. et al. (2015) Toward an intellectual history of black women. North Carolina: UNC Press Books.

Lewis, J. (2017) ‘Gender, race, and violence: a critical examination of trauma in The Color Purple ’, Sacred Heart University Scholar, 1(1), pp. 24-38.

Walker, A. (1982) The color purple . San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

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Bibliography

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The Color Purple

By alice walker, the color purple themes, celie's narrative.

This book is Celie 's narrative. The first line of the novel is the only line of direct speech and the only line which falls outside the framework of the letters written by Celie and Nettie . The presentation of everything is under Celie's control, although she permits Nettie's letters to present Nettie's perspective. It is never made clear whether or not the first line, spoken by Alfonso, has also been written down by Celie before she starts her letter to God or whether it represents another writer’s hand. If it is Celie's doing, she strangely never repeats this way of recording dialogue. It is also strange that the line is in italics, which is a formal, even academic way of drawing attention to a spoken line. Much more likely, someone else has written the line. Perhaps this is the author, Alice Walker herself, signaling that she is present in the novel.

Interestingly, another line appears after Celie’s last letter: "I thank everybody in this book for coming. A.W., author and medium." This last line is an admission by the author that she has indeed been present throughout--and so has the audience, the book's readers. The narrative, though, is Celie's; the author has merely been the medium, the means by which Celie's story is told, in one sense as the author and in another sense as the novel itself. Indeed, the novel is made up most of all by Celie's own writings, which she began out of the necessity of telling her story after being commanded to otherwise be silent. The author also appears to be thanking each character for contributing to the story. The two framing lines highlight Walker's narrative structure, yet what they frame is the world as perceived by Celie.

As the narrative perspective shifts and develops, so too does Celie's view of God. When Celie writes her first letter to God, we have a very limited idea of what she means by God. At first, God is an abstract, authoritative, and dependable figure to whom Celie can share herself. White white skin and a white beard, he will be there for Celie as long as she believes in him. When Celie tells Shug that she will stop writing to God because he does not listen, Shug teaches her something highly significant. Shug does not tell her to imagine a black God instead, nor does Shug simply tell Celie to keep believing anyway because God will return in the way she remembers him. Rather, Shug tells Celie to feel loved by God by being herself. Shug explains that one does not find God in a church but through oneself. This perspective challenges the general view of God in their society, as though God is someone who can be visited or expected to come when called--or as though God is some white old man with a white-grey beard. Shug shows her own love for God by loving the things she has been given. She appreciates the world, from her own sexual ecstasies to the color purple she finds in nature.

For Celie, God moves from being a person to being something (not someone) inside Celie, a goodness that inspires. Celie learns that she writes from her own view of the world and that every view must be challenged and not taken for granted. Whatever people may think about God, whether the Bible says it or not, Celie learns to find her own meaning in God. Throughout her written letters, we see her writing, perhaps rewriting, her world and the divinity it expresses. Still, it is not until the end of the novel that she most fully sees what she has been doing all along: creating her own story. One has a certain power and responsibility in creating a world or judging a world that has been created by oneself or someone else.

Creative expression

When Africans were taken from their homelands to America, they usually were denied education by their slave owners and were not allowed to speak their own languages, instead being forced to speak English. This meant that the slaves had to create their own forms of communication and expression. This is where the African-American oral tradition began, with style and content often rooted in the stories and tales they had grown up with in Africa. They communicated through dance, song, and gesture, passing on their stories of woe and of freedom from one generation to another. In a similar way, although Celie is forced into silence by Alfonso, by writing her letters she engages in creative expression and communication so that her story is received by all her readers. Her example of persistence in writing to God is her way of persistence in being heard, in writing instead of orally. Although she does not realize it at the time, every word she writes is an assertion that she deserves to be heard. Likewise, sister Nettie, who never knows if her letters will reach Celie, writes religiously to her, and their communication is eventually granted to them. This success is an example of the hope in human struggle, providing courage and strength for readers who do not yet feel able to communicate fully with others.

During the novel several characters find their voices and their own expression: Shug recovers from her illness and continues singing, Mary Agnes starts singing and writing songs, Celie and Sofia start off by making quilts, and Celie eventually runs her own business making pants. Starting small, each enterprise is an example of courage and hard work that pays off in the end.

Hope for the next generation

The novel anticipates a brighter day for the black community and for black women in particular. Of all the black families, Samuel and Corrine ’s is the most secure and loving. Celie’s children find their way into the bosom of that family and are protected by it. Their education, with help from Aunt Nettie, allows them to choose at an early age the sort of life they would like to live. Knowing that she does not want to be a subservient wife, Olivia (like Nettie before her) works hard to ensure that she can be independent without a man controlling her life. Within Celie’s family, we can already see change in her children, which opens up endless possibilities for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The white missionary Doris Baines also instills us with hope. Educating her so-called wives in England ensures that another family will be looked after and educated, equipped with the powers to challenge male dominance and racial prejudice. There is also change within the white communities at home. Eleanor Jane loves Sofia as she would a mother, despite her race and because of her care. When she has her son, Sofia comments that when he gets older he will be a problem for her, but we are not inclined to believe her. Sofia may think that this innocent, white, male baby will turn out like all the other white men she has dealt with, but Eleanor Jane demonstrates her hope--with her new perspective and with fresh, forward-oriented thinking--that her son and the next generation will advance in many ways after the struggles of earlier generations.

Female solidarity

At the start of the novel, the young, black female is presented as about the most vulnerable person in society. Celie epitomizes this female: she is abused and denied a voice by her (supposed) father and then by her husband. Along with the racial prejudice young, black women endure, they also tend to struggle against their black, male counterparts. Sofia always fought her brothers, and we see how she has to fight Harpo to assert her equality. Likewise, the Olinka tribe do not believe in educating their women, and although there are no reports of abuse against women by men in Nettie’s letters, female subservience is unchallenged, and the debasing initiation ceremony continues without contest--except from Nettie and her family. Under such conditions, if they want to change the status quo, these women must stick together against male oppression. In fact, the one time that Celie is too disturbed to sleep is when she betrays Sofia by telling Harpo to beat her; the disloyalty to her fellow female is more than she can bear. Usually, however, there is a strong union of support between one woman and another, and this bonding comes from a need to unbalance the male view of themselves that they have total authority over women in their society.

The woman who manages to challenge this male dominance the most is Shug, who asserts her independence by living according to her own laws. It is unsurprising, given the circumstances, that Celie and Shug become involved romantically. Shug is a powerful goddess who refuses to be brought down by men, ever vigilant to maintain the upper hand. Celie is a victim of male abuse who has closed herself off from the possibility of trusting men. When she comforts Harpo, who is crying on the porch, she feels nothing more than she would for a dog. Together, these females free each other: Shug teaches Mary Agnes to sing, Albert’s sister takes Celie shopping when no one else does, Sofia’s sisters look after her children while she is in jail, Nettie writes to Celie and looks after her children for thirty years, Doris Baines sends her "wives" to England for their education, Eleanor Jane cooks nourishing food for Henrietta , and Celie nurses Shug back to health and inspires her songwriting. More than all this, Shug and Celie loves each other with a very strong love born from isolation, desire for something better, and acceptance of one another. By the end of the novel, these women are no longer powerless; they have joined forces and are forging their own lives.

Shug is often described in colorful terms: she is rouged in the photograph Celie first sees of her and twice wears seductive bright red dresses during the course of Celie’s records. She also gives Celie yellow fabric for her quilt. These bright, exuberant colors are full of energy. Contrastingly, the clothes Celie is able to choose from when she goes shopping with Kate are brown, maroon, or navy blue because Kate doesn’t think Mr. ______ will want to pay for her preferred red or purple because they look "too happy." When Mary Agnes first starts writing her own songs, they are songs about color: "they call me yellow/like yellow be my name." As she tries to find her identity apart from her skin color, Mary Agnes explores the shades of color that lie beneath her skin, in her personality--finding these colors within gives her the voice to sing.

When Shug and Celie discuss their idea of God, Shug explains that God is in everything and that God is the beauty in nature. Shug points specifically to "the color purple" (traditionally a color of royalty) and wonders how such a color could grow naturally. Purple seems rare in nature. It as though the color itself were a manifestation of God.

Transcendence and relationships

By the end of the novel Celie has experienced love, started her own business, and learned to accept herself. She is a very different woman from the fourteen-year-old at the beginning. She becomes closer to Mr. ______ through their shared love of Shug and then by their listening to and relating to one another. The lessons both Mr. ______ and Celie learn teach them about themselves, which in turn gives them the confidence to talk to one another without any preconceived ideas of the roles they each fit into. Friendship becomes a vehicle for people to change and grow out of their original selves.

Many of the relationships are disturbed over the course of the novel but are later restored: Sofia returns to her family and to Harpo, Shug returns from her travels with Germaine, and Nettie arrives home with Celie’s children. In these cases, people grow and change separately before coming back together. Although they each travel their own journey and learn their own lessons, when the relationships are restored they are bonded by family and friendships that transcend the pain of the past and the earlier roles that had caused tension.

The Color Purple Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Color Purple is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

How are Shug and Nettie role models for Celie?

In the letter, Celie notes that she sees Nettie as a moral and intellectual role model, whereas, Shug serves as a sexual and emotional mentor. Both characters act as role models, though they do so in completely different ways.

How does Celie betray Sofia?

Celie betrays Sofia when she tells Harpo to beat her.

How does the author present female relationships?

At the start of the novel, the young, black female is presented as about the most vulnerable person in society. Celie epitomizes this female: she is abused and denied a voice by her (supposed) father and then by her husband. Along with the racial...

Study Guide for The Color Purple

The Color Purple is a book by Alice Walker. The Color Purple study guide contains a biography of Alice Walker, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Color Purple
• The Color Purple Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Color Purple

The Color Purple is an epistolary novel by Alice Walker. The Color Purple literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

• The Color Purple: Literary Techniques Employed by Alice Walker to Develop Celie's Character
• Female Marginalisation Embodied in The Color Purple and The Yellow Wallpaper
• Edith Wharton, Alice Walker, and Female Culture
• Internalization and Externalization of Color in The Bluest Eye and The Color Purple
• Reconciliation Between Public and Private Spheres: Mrs. Dalloway and The Color Purple

Lesson Plan for The Color Purple

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Color Purple
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Color Purple Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Color Purple

• Introduction

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — The Color Purple

Essays on The Color Purple

Prompt examples for "the color purple" essays, character analysis: celie.

Examine the character of Celie in "The Color Purple." How does she evolve throughout the novel? What factors influence her growth and transformation? Analyze her relationships, experiences, and personal development.

Sisterhood and Female Relationships

Discuss the theme of sisterhood and female relationships in the novel. Explore the connections between Celie, Nettie, Sofia, Shug Avery, and other female characters. How do these relationships empower or hinder the women in the story?

Race and Racism

Analyze the portrayal of race and racism in "The Color Purple." How do characters of different racial backgrounds experience discrimination and oppression? What role does racial identity play in shaping their lives?

Sexuality and Liberation

Examine the theme of sexuality and liberation in the novel, particularly through the character of Shug Avery. How does Celie's relationship with Shug impact her understanding of her own sexuality and self-worth?

Male Characters: Albert, Harpo, and Mister

Analyze the male characters in "The Color Purple," including Albert (Mister) and Harpo. How do their actions and attitudes toward women reflect the novel's themes of patriarchy, power, and transformation?

Religion and Spirituality

Discuss the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of the characters, particularly Celie's evolving spiritual beliefs. How do characters reconcile their faith with their personal experiences and struggles?

Symbolism: The Color Purple

Analyze the symbolism of the color purple in the novel. What does it represent, and how does it change in significance throughout the story? How does the color purple connect to themes of empowerment and healing?

Epistolary Form

Examine the use of the epistolary form (letters) in the novel. How does the narrative structure contribute to the reader's understanding of the characters and their emotions? Explore the significance of written communication in the story.

Social and Cultural Context

Explore the social and cultural context of the novel, considering the time period and location in which the story is set. How do historical and cultural factors impact the characters' lives and choices?

Feminism and Empowerment

Discuss the feminist themes of empowerment and self-discovery in "The Color Purple." How do the female characters reclaim their voices and agency in a patriarchal society? What messages about feminism does the novel convey?

Impact and Legacy

Consider the impact and literary legacy of "The Color Purple." How has the novel influenced discussions of race, gender, and identity? Discuss its adaptation into other forms of media and its relevance today.

The Theme of Slavery in Alice Walker's "The Color Purple"

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Symbolism in The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The theme of sexism and gender roles in the color purple, alice walker's use of color in the color purple, defining a woman in the color purple, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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The Fight for Female Independence as Portrayed in Alice Walker’s "The Color Purple"

Celie's transformation in alice walker's "the color purple", hope as the central theme in the color purple, sex versus spirituality in the color purple, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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Symbolism of Sewing in The Color Purple

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Alice Walker

Novel, Epistolary Novel, Domestic Fiction

Celie, Shug Avery, Nettie Harris, Miss Millie, Albert

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