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The Color Purple
A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience. The Color Purple broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, narrating the lives of women through their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, Alice Walker's epic carries readers on a spirit-affirming journey towards redemption and love.
These book club questions are from the Cheltenham Festivals.
Book club questions for The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
What were your preconceptions when coming to the book? Had you seen the movie? Have meant to read it and never got round it? How did the reading of it differ from your preconception?
The Color Purple is an epistolary novel. (I.e. Alice Walker uses the device of letter writing to tell her story.) How does this format contribute to the plot? Do you enjoy this format or not?
How did Nettie find her voice, then her strength? How did she learn how to thrive? What moments struck you as the most significant in Nettie’s story?
In what ways are Nettie and Celie different? In what ways are they similar? Does Shug replace Nettie in Celie's life?
What is the significance of how names are used in this book? How do they represent the behaviours and expectation of men and women? (eg. ‘Squeak’, ‘Mr. _’)
What do you think of how Nettie and Mr._’s relationship settles at the end of the book? Does Mr._ deserve forgiveness?
Are there any parts of the book which moved you or haunted you in particular? What were they and why?
Sofia is unjustly imprisoned. How is this related to the major theme of injustice, which affects all of the main characters in the novel?
Do you think the stories and circumstances of the characters in The Color Purple are still relevant to us today? If so, how? If not, why not?
What is the significance of the title and the colour, purple?
The Color Purple Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the The Color Purple discussion questions