Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
or displace concerns about race and class? Read bell hooks and Trudier Harris
for ideas about how to develop this topic.- The Color Purple was published in the early 1980s, during the Reagan admin-
istration, a period in which many believed there was considerable abatement
of the gains made by the Civil Rights Movement, such as cutting funding
to federal programs supporting minorities (Aid to Families with Dependent
Children and affirmative action), and gutting the Civil Rights Division of
the Department of Justice. Students might consider researching how this
context might have mediated public reception of the novel, and how that
reception produced specific readings of it. Jaqueline Bobo discusses aspects
of this topic and offers thought-provoking commentary. - Students interested in film studies might wish to view the film adaptation
of Walker’s novel and compare/contrast how both texts work to construct
specific narratives. What are the differences between the two works? What
are the differences in the way a film and a novel is experienced? What are
the ways in which the public has responded to both? Students might also
examine the stage adaptation of this work. How does the transfer of The
Color Purple to this medium (musical) change, alter, reshape the politics of
the text? Lauren Berlant’s essay is a place to start considering this topic. - Students might find it interesting to contrast Celie’s experiences in the rural
South with those of her sister Nettie in Africa. What restrictions and (even-
tual) freedoms does each woman find in her respective environment? Students
could read other of Walker’s works, such as the short story “Everyday Use” or
the novel Possessing the Secret of Joy to compare depictions of Africa and its pos-
sibilities for African Americans. Such an analysis might also research Walker’s
own experiences with the black nationalist movement and her feelings about
it. Linda Selzer’s essay might stimulate ideas regarding this topic.
RESOURCES
Biography
Evelyn C. White, Alice Walker: A Life (New York: Norton, 2004).
First full-length biography of the author’s life and works.
Criticism
Lauren Berlant, “Race, Gender, and Nation in The Color Purple,” Critical Inquiry,
14 (Summer 1988): 831–859.
Examines the politics of history and national identity in the novel.
Jacqueline Bobo, “Sifting through the Controversy: Reading The Color Purple,”
Callaloo, 12 (Spring 1989): 332–342.
An overview of the discourse shaped by the debates over the film and the novel.
Barbara Christian, “The Contrary Women of Alice Walker,” in Black Feminist
Criticism (Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon, 1985).
Examines a shift in black writing through a review of Walker’s female
protagonists.