His character transformation is realistic as he undergoes moments upon moments of trauma and then introspection before his transformation as a character. For instance, the character Albert is a villain who rapes, beats, and emotionally abuses his wife but later transforms into a repentant man who tries to make amends for his wrongs. It is absolutely impossible not to feel something for the characters, the various characters evoke a spectrum of emotions from pity for Celie, love for Nettie, empathy for Sofia, admiration for Shug Avery, hatred for Alphonso, and a host of other emotions.Īnd the development of the characters is realistic in their consistency or their changes. This cruelty by the society left Celie’s family vulnerable to more cruelty from evil people like Alphonso.Īnother feature that makes The Color Purple a great read are the characters. Celie’s biological father was lynched by white competitors in his neighborhood who could not contain their outrage that a black man was prospering more than them in business, and the shock of the incident made Celie’s mother lose her mind. We see later in the novel that Alphonso is indeed not Celie’s father but her stepfather. While we process the cruelty of her abusive father, as the novel progresses, we see that it was the society that left Celie vulnerable to the cruelty of the predator who is meant to be her father. It begins with the story of a girl called Celie who is deprived of education, comfort, and the simple pleasures of childhood by a cruel and predatory father, Alphonso, who rapes her.

While the story will likely interest everyone who reads the book, it will especially appeal to black people and people of other races who sympathize with the racial struggles of black people. In my opinion, the best thing about The Color Purple is its story.

The Color Purple is Alice Walker’s most famous novel and is rightly so because of the powerful story of individual and societal struggles it tells through the experiences of great characters.

The color purple audio book