For the First Time In My Life, I Feel Just Right

I first read Alice Walker's The Color Purple when I was a freshman in high school. I remember being utterly depressed by the story, and bewildered that it seemed that everything horrible that could possibly happen to a person happens to the character of Celie. However, I was pleased to see the hope and redemption that is present at the story's close. When I was younger, I didn't really appreciate novels that take the form of diary entries and letters, but thinking about it now, it really was the perfect way to write Celie's story. It's almost impossible to look at the events of her story as an outsider and understand the torment she experienced; it required a first person narrative. By writing to God, Celie felt as though she could voice her true inner thoughts instead of filtering them to please others. I loved the way her images of God transformed as a result of her writing. However, as was my problem with Wise Blood, I still didn't like reading Southern dialects. In this case though, considering that the Southern culture is so central to the story, it seemed to be more appropriate and less distracting. Not one of my favorite books, but definitely well done. I give it a B.

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"Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn't make us better, than what on earth is it for?" (Alice Walker)