The Color Purple

The Color Purple

Alice Walker

Publisher

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Publication Year

1982

ISBN

9780156028356

Pages

245 pages

Genre

realism

Format

novel

Item Type

Fiction

Annotation

This feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular.

Grade Level

9-12

Lexile Measure

HL670L

Diversity Topics

Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Step parent; Family violence; Race discrimination; Gay/Lesbian; step father; spousal abuse; abusive step father; abusive husband; physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; racism; lesbian; lesbian adult

Main Character

adult females

Race/Ethnicities

Black

Family Formation

multiple

LGBTQ+

lesbian females

Awards

National Book Award for Fiction, 1983
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1983
Senior High Core Collection, Seventeenth Edition, 2007
Senior High School Library Catalog, Fifteenth Edition, 1997
Senior High School Library Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, 2002
Top 10 Challenged Books, 2007
Top 10 Challenged Books, 2009

Keywords

1930s; sisters; Southern states; child sexual abuse; incest; mistress; respect; God; religion; rape; letters

Diversity Impact

direct

The Color Purple

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