Navarrete 1

Miguel Navarrete
Herrera
AP English 3
Dec. 10, 2015
Against The Color Purple
If you dont stand out you will never be noticed. This is the logic behind the popularity of
the book The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The book would have never been as popular as it
is today by its own merit. It is only such a popular book because it is surrounded by controversy.
This controversy stems from the themes the book touches upon, in a crude way. Even though the
book contains positive messages, it is not a must read for high school students; themes, such as
rape, racism and sexism, appear in The Color Purple, are presented in such a way that the
book loses meaning. These subjects can be presented in a less vulgar and more insightful way
that would be more helpful for the student more.
For example, the book The Store, by T.S. Stribling, is a book that deals with racism in
around the same time period as The Color Purple, but it deals with it in a very different
manner. The book doesnt need any unnecessary vulgarity to get the message across. Racism in
the past and present day world is a subject that the youth of today should be aware of, but a book
with the word nigger is not going to help them understand this concept. This subject is still
relevant in todays society and its a great part of this countrys past. While this book does
contain a positive message, it is very hard for the teenagers of today to understand them under
the tons of crude and vulgar mannerisms.

Navarrete 2
Another theme that is important for todays youth, that The Color Purple does not
touch upon well, is female oppression. There are much better books out there that talk about the
struggles of women, such as, White Oleander by Janet Fitch. While the book does contain a
positive message about overcoming oppression based on sex, it doesnt come across as well as it
does in other books. Nowadays oppression towards is a great problem, and being informed about
it is essential. But The Color Purple, losing any potential with all the unnecessary and
tasteless language and imagery.
Even though Alice Walker has a positive message behind it, it feels like Walker was
trying to create controversy. Many of the things in this book are unessential and are just there to
cause people to talk. While the book may have had a good message, to a normal highschooler it
is hard to get to.