The Social and Historical Context of 'The Color Purple'

The Historical and Social Context of The Color Purple

 

1. Find out about Alice Walker:

-  When and where she was born

-  Her career- when did she write The Color Purple? 

-  Her beliefs

-  Events that shaped her life

 

 

2. Find out about slavery in America:

- How many African Americans lived in America due to slavery?

- Which countries were they imported from?

- Describe their treatment on the journey and in America itself.

- How did they communicate? What sort of English did they speak?

 

 

 

2. Find out about life as an African American in southern

    America (the novel was set between 1910-1940)

-         The treatment of African American citizens (their rights)

-         Family units (the role of men and women)

-         Dialect- how was it received?

-         Jim Crow Laws- what were they?

-         Case studies of African American people subjected to racism (look at 1900s-1960s- Emmet Till is a good one)