Color Purple Context

Question 1

Context: Missionaries

Answer 1

Nettie, Samuel and Corrine’s role in Africa was Missionaries, they did not receive a warm welcome from the
Olinkan viliage. This was because
missionaries were sent to Africa to change The Olinkan’s view and project their religion which was typically an unwanted change.

Question 2

Context: Colonisation

Answer 2

The novel was written post- colonial, the Olinkan village like many others of this time was destroyed due to colonisation and English rubber planters.

Question 3

Context: AAVE

Answer 3

AVE came from one or more creole languages used by African captives of the Alatiantic slave trade due to
captives speaking multiple different native languages, therefor, needing a new way to communicate
among them.
Celie uses AAVE throughout where as Nettie uses this less as she had an education because exposed more to English speaking people.

Question 4

Context: Education

Answer 4

Celie/the girls being denied an education could mirror the treatment of slaves. Slaves were denied an education by their owners through fear of them gaining too much power.
Likewise we see the ownership men have over women of this time.

Question 5

Context: Womanism

Answer 5

Alice Walker coined the phrase womanism as she did not feel the term feminism was inclusive or strong enough. Where women having more superiority of black women rather than the equal status they wanted. Walker used the phrase “Feminism is to womanism as lavender is to purple”