Why was the color purple banned answered by a verified expert we use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. October 2, 2012 katie words for worms banned books, classics, historical fiction, womens studies 20 howdy, worms. What unfolds is a heartwrenching story of neglect and abuse. As a woman and more profoundly as a black woman, this musical gave me nothing but. Texas prisons ban the color purple and book about jackie robinson but not mein kampf.
Reading the color purple by jacqueline bobo the color purple, the novel and the film, have both been the subject of intense opposition since the arrival of alice walkers book in 1982 and the release of steven spielbergs film in december 1985. No, it was a very good book that is very good for students in school to read. She turned 76 earlier this month, and she is nowhere close to. Having first seen the film on a flight to vancouver, i knew this would be a good story but i was unnerved by the epistolary approach, the dialect and the first person pov. The color purple hit me, a native georgian like walker, but on the other side of the proverbial fence as someone who grew up indoctrinated in the ideology of whiteness, with a palpable fear that the book inspires in my kind. The nameless narrator lives in a strange well lit nowhere and is, in fact, invisible. The book the color purple has been banned for many different reasons. Controversial and banned books why they were banned. To add to pohnpei397s answer, the link i provided is a list of classic books that were bannedchallenged. This is our 9th grade english project on the banned book titled the color purple, written by alice walker. Texas prisons ban the color purple and monty python but. The pulitzer prize winning 1983 novel is told in the form of diary entries and correspondence letters over a 30year period, following celie johnson as she struggles through life. Books including the color purple, freakonomics and monty pythons big red book are banned in texas state prisons but adolf hitlers mein kampf and. The color purple has remained a cultural touchstone for.
In celebration of banned books week, politics and prose bookstore tips its cap to. It has been banned or challenged for many different reasons. Six lessons the color purple will teach you a tribute to this beautiful musical. The color purple by alice walker has been banned in schools all over the country since 1984, due to its graphic sexual content and situations of violence and abuse. The color purple is the story of how one of those american heroes came to recognize herself recovering her identity and rescuing her life in spite of the disfiguring effects of a particularly dreadful and personal sort of oppression. The color purple is challenged for sexual and social explicitness, along with.
By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them. The book the color purple has been banned at northwest high school in high point, n. The color purple has been read and reread by millions. The color purple, by alice walker, is one of the books that most often faces banning, or attempts at banning. The report says there are six criteria for determining whether a book. Written in 1982 by alice walker, the color purple tells the story of black life during the 1930s in the southern united states from a females perspective.
I read it as a teen and have no problem with my children reading it when they are. The color purple banned books week pictures cbs news. The book has also been banned in many different places. As for the language i admit it wasnt the easiest to read. The list of american high schools that banned this book is impressive. The american library associations annual banned books week sept. Satans sorcery volume i and 100 great poems of love and lust are allowed, as is james battersbys the holy book of adolf hitler, which is. While the color purple contains a lot of controversial content, its necessary to the story and is what makes the book so real and unique. On the surface, the dissension has centered on the image of black people in media. This novel consists of a series of letters, none of which are dated, and in order to have a time frame for the novel, we will have to read through it carefully, watching for clues.
Alice walker became the first woman of color to win a pulitzer prize with the color purple in 1983. The color purple is truly an amazing book and one i wish i could give double the 5 stars to. They are the themes she explored in the color purple, the 1983 novel that. The color purple is not an easy book to read because it is not written in the style of most novels. In the end, we are left with the wisdom that we are in world to love each other, and i absolutely loved this. The color purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by american author alice walker which won the 1983 pulitzer prize for fiction and the national book award for fiction. The book has been banned from school libraries in the united states between 1984 to 20. The color purple, by alice walker, received the pulitzer prize and the national book award, but the book has been frequently challenged and banned for what has been termed sexual and social explicitness. One example of this was when it was challenged at ap english classes at northwest high school in high point, n. Orinoco womble tidy bag and all if you read the book, its a reference to something shug says to celie. General fiction alice walkers masterpiece, a powerful novel of courage in the face of oppression celie has grown up in.
The color purple is a wonderful book, on of my favorites, that deals with some tough issues. In 1984, the book was challenged in a high school honors class in oakland. One of the great things in the united states of america is that no. Todays selection to celebrate banned books week is the color purple by alice walker. Despite being a popular and highly appreciated novel, the color purple has been challenged multiple times in schools and public libraries. Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to mister, a brutal man who terrorizes her. Religious leaders want to ban lgbt books, but have no problem with fifty shades of grey. The color purple has been banned for a variety of reasons. Texas prisons ban the color purple and monty python but mein. That war has been lost with the recent decision by the school board to retain the book in 11th and 12th grade advanced placement courses. Banned and challenged books banned books week library.
The books challenged marking unsuccessful attempts to ban. So how can a touching and heartfelt story, admired by millions, be at the mercy of. It is a shame that such a worldly, eyeopening book has been slandered to be nothing. The novel was considered very controversial, because of walkers graphic depictions of violence. She says that she thinks god gets angry when you walk past the colour purple in a field and dont notice it. The times from the back cover banner now a tony awardwinning broadway musical the color purple is the story of two sistersone a missionary to africa and the other. Alice walker brings warmth and wisdom to the writers.
Texas prisons ban the color purple and book about jackie. Parents need to know that the color purple is a moving, inspirational novel told in letters that includes an abundance of mature content explicit sex, rape, incest, sexism and violence toward women, and a lesbian relationship. I already am using that the book tells a story that is both historically accurate and rich in culture, therefor censoring it is allowing, nay encouraging ignorance. She says that she thinks god gets angry when you walk past the colour purplemore if you read the book, its a reference to something shug says to celie. Nowhere in the letter did the men object to the bdsmthemed erotic. Color purple the first few words that pop into my mind are. Slaughterhousefive, the color purple the list goes on.
Alice walkersthe color purple patricia harris abrams follow this and additional works at. Theres nothing bad about it, and the play is absolutly amazing. The color purple reminds black women that longing is a material that we only have to choose to sculpt. This book is filled with racism, inappropriate language, violence and physical abuse all causes for banning this book. Banned 1984 california challenged and retained in oakland high school honors class for sexual and social explicitness and its troubling ideas about race relations, mans relationship to god, african history, and human sexuality. Though our selections make great kindling, we assure you theyre much more enjoyable when read. Alice walkers pulitzer prizewinning novel, the color purple, has inspired controversy from day one. But it is not the first time it has been written about. Banned andor challenged books from the radcliffe top 100 novels of the 20th century color purple ala, 2010 east wake high school removes the bluest eye from curriculum. Alice walker once told an interviewer, the black woman is one of americas greatest heroes.
It imparts the hope that at whatever place we find ourselves in. The bulletin sticky is a beataroundthehead foster kid with nowhere to call. The color purple has complex characters and complex themes, but walker has dealt with them in a simple, honest manner. Throughout december, a parent in brunswick county, north carolina, waged a war against alice walkers pulitzer prize winning novel the color purple. The most common reasons for wanting to ban this book sexual content including the rape. Studying the storied history of banning popular literature. The color purple remains in north carolina classrooms.
Antigay preachers want lgbt books bannedfrom a display of. Alice walkers the color purple weaves an intricate mosaic of women joined by their love for each other, the men who abuse them, and the children they care for in the first few letters, celie tells god that she has been raped by her father and that she is pregnant for the second time with his child. Walker does not tell us everything about the characters and the setting and why the characters behave as they do. On her website, she writes impassioned blog posts about books she loves tanehisi. Where has the book the color purple been banned answers. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name taking place mostly in rural georgia, the story focuses on the life of africanamerican women in the southern united states in the 1930s, addressing numerous issues. Anybody whos familiar with alice walkers 1982 pulitzer prize winning novel the color purple will know what i am talking about. We talk about the origin of the librarys ebooks and an important book everyone should read. A memory book has the look and feel of a beautiful antique scrapbook, a keepsake for those who have experienced the musical and want to be able to experience its soaring emotions at any time, or who want to share celies journey with their loved ones. The color purple has a long history of being banned or challenged. This book is a favorite book to have censored because of the content of the book. Alice walkers iconic modern classic is now a penguin book. If it was banned even in one or two schools im sure therell be a news crew and whole nine yards.
Its clear that if you look back over the past year or so, weve had a surge of religious liberty bills, issues of where transgender people use a public restroom, or an attempt to, say, adopt. Diverse banned books banned books week libguides at. Alice walker, the color purple the banned books project. The color purple has been challenged and banned often for its violence. Annual rankings for banned books week are consistently dominated. Wouldbe censors say that the book contains too much graphic violence and sexuality. I need a few valid arguments that i can build off of as to why the color purple should not be banned. It has also been challenged in oakland, california. At the start of the novel, celie is a fourteenyearold, vulnerable, abused black girl who addresses her letters to dear god.