Celie narrates The Color Purple through a series of letters, most of which are addressed to God. She initially imagines God as an old white man, something like Dumbledore or Gandalf. But as a black woman who's been abused by men all her life, Celie eventually begins to rebel against this image of God. She begins to see God as genderless and raceless, a more universal being who wants humans to enjoy all aspects of life—from nature to sex to the color purple. Sure, this may be a different expression of spirituality than we're used to seeing, but we find it pretty darn inspiring. What would your God look like?
Questions About Religion
- Are the characters in The Color Purple religious? Why or why not?
- Does religion help any of the characters work through their problems or bear their suffering?
- Are religion and faith the same thing to these characters?
- How do Celie's, Nettie's, and Samuel’s ideas about God and religion change over the course of the novel?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Though both Nettie and Celie make peace with God and their faith, they ultimately have no use for organized religion.