The Color Purple: A Vital Novel by Siobhan

The Color Purple: A Vital Novel by Siobhan - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Because I was homeschooled in high school, I was fortunate enough to be able to choose my own curriculum, to some extent. My most self-directed course was always literature, as that was the area in which my greatest interest lay. I was always reading; if I didn't have a book in my hand, I was asleep. So I took great pride in making my own meandering way through the course of English literature.

I had a list of recommended reading for high school students, of course, but for the most part I found the books on it unpalatable. They were either overly wordy or about subjects that had nothing to do with me. I felt no emotional connection to The Great Gatsby; Hemingway was as distant from my experience as the moon.

It was around tenth grade that I came across The Color Purple, almost by accident. It was not on my list, but I read it through in one sitting anyway, gripped by Celie and Nettie's intertwined stories of growing up and growing old across the ocean from one another. I believe that this book had the greatest effect on me of any book I have read before or since, and as such I would recommend it to any high school student because of its relatability, its depth of emotion, its historical importance, and its themes of self-actualization.

One of the most appealing things about The Color Purple to me was its accessibility. It is not written in lofty purple prose; in fact, it is almost completely written in Celie's Georgian dialect, which is not only readable but relatable as well. It feels as though you are reading a real young woman's diary, her letters to God, and that style draws you unfailingly into the narrative.

Another aspect of the novel's relatability is that it contains both something for everyone and something new for everyone. What I mean by this is that this novel is about different levels of marginalization and violence. People will identify with it on different levels, but the fact is that marginalization and violence are a part of everyone's lives, whether they view them from the outside or the inside - whether they themselves have been marginalized or have only seen it secondhand.

The Color Purple contains a raw, vivid retelling of violence and trauma that will capture everyone's emotions. The way in which the story is told is meant to be both as straightforward and as emotionally evocative as possible. Celie speaks in her own voice to a God she has increasingly little faith in, and through her letters we hear her desperation and her humanity. The Color Purple teaches compassion for those in dark times, and indeed for all people, no matter their circumstances.

This novel also possesses extreme historical importance. It is an in-depth character study of young black women's lives in the turn-of-the-century South. It is also a look at the intersection of sexism, racism, and classism and how they have evolved over the years, as well as a dissection of the effects of sexual violence, not only on an individual but on a community and a society. There is no way to overstate how important this book was in informing the beginning of my identity as an activist and advocate, or how important it could be to future leaders who are looking for inspiration in literature.

Finally, The Color Purple is a dramatic literary example of self-actualization of womanhood. Celie's journey through survivorship, from childhood to adulthood to old age, teaches us that trauma is not a permanent state, that surrounded by the strength of a community a woman can learn to possess and love not only her body but her soul. I believe that The Color Purple is a vital instrument for teaching young women and men not only about the serious nature of trauma, racism, and sexism, but of the vitality of womanhood in the face of the wounds the world can deal us.