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The Colour Purple In The Color Purple

Decent Essays

Purple is more than just a colour in Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”. The colour can be seen to be representative of a number of ideas: it is, “a colour suitable for queens” like Celie says; this means it is happiness; it is illuminating; it is freedom; it is pain and beauty. Because of its symbolism, the colour purple can be seen to have a significant influence on the characters’ growth throughout the novel and, therefore, is an appropriate title for the novel.
The colour purple in the novel can be seen to represent pain and strength. This can be seen when Celie sees Sofia in prison. At first glance Sofia is “just about the colour of an eggplant”- an eggplant is purple. Sofia’s body is purple from being beaten up. The colour purple in this …show more content…

She has her own house and she now has the freedom to have as many ‘happy looking’ things in her own house; she does not have to buy any brown, maroon or navy blue things just because those colours are not too ‘happy looking’ for Mr____. The purple things in her room are reminders of the hardships she had been through; from being raped by her father to being raped by her husband. Yet, the colour purple also represents all the beauty in her life like her sister’s life, her relationship with Shug Avery and her pants business.
When Celie paints her room purple, this also shows a sense of ownership and agency; she takes charge of her life and happiness. Her room is her paradise; her royal palace. Moreover, the colour purple represents her independence and forgiveness: the little purple frog perch Mr_____ carved for her is a sign of her forgiving Mr____.
I believe that “The Color Purple” is a fitting title for the novel due to the numerous representations of the colour purple reflected above, and the way it reflects key themes and moments of growth in the protagonist’s life. Purple is not just a colour in the novel, it has multiple representations that help the characters grow in various ways. The representations help the characters find happiness. Find the beauty in their lives and break away from

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