I don't know if I have the courage to read it, but I understand the need for it to be written. As for the question of whether it should be read in schools, the vast majority of adolescents in history have had to grow up much faster than modern Western teens. My great grandmother was hired out as a domestic servant by age twelve. Twelve or thirteen was the age working class children entered servitude or were indentured as apprentices, which meant living away from home and working all day for six and a half days a week. They saw plenty of the grit of life. My great grandmother's friend and later sister-in-law, also a teen in domestic service, became pregnant out of wedlock, twice - we do not know who the fathers were but we do know her mother defended her when her father shunned her. The post-war Western cultural development of a leisurely and sheltered adolescence is a temporary and isolated socio-economic phenomena in the long history of the world.
"Banned" books are not actually banned, just for the record. Any book anyone chooses to read can be easily and cheaply found in public libraries, bookstores, Amazon, etc. I mention this only because it was brought up as part of the review and the discussion of the book.
When people argue that a book should be made available to children in school they aren't arguing that the book should be available to THEIR children (because they can easily acquire the book for their own child to read), they are arguing that the book should be made available to MY child and YOUR child.
I agree that these decisions should be made at the local level because they know and are answerable to the local population and parents.
“That’s what thinking is for.” Perhaps so, but only for the rare classroom teacher with the rare right combination of students. Generally, The Color Purple doesn’t belong in a high school curriculum. 14-16 yr olds are not prepared emotionally to grapple with the story. And, while a student two desks over may have experienced the trauma herself, we don’t put glasses on every student because one needs a prescription. Part of the infantilism, delayed adolescence we see in young adults is that we have robbed them -as a generation- of their innocence too soon. Subconsciously they refuse to give up the adolescence they should have had. The Color Purple might be fruitfully taught at the college level. This doesn’t make it a banned book- it’s available at bookstores and libraries.
Thank you for this balanced review. I remember the movie vividly. Like Blood Meridian, I am unlikely to read it because of the harshness I know exists, but i am reluctant to put in my mind. Color Purple deserves a place in our canon - the good, the bad, the ugly - lest we forget there is hope in the darkness of nights.
Best review of The Color Purple by a white man I’ve ever read. (also the only one 😉) I’ve read the book 3x (and listened to Walker read it). I also love books about books so I’ve read The Search for Color Purple and Walker’s book, The Same River Twice (soooo good) that gives her reflections on the movie and all the people banning the book. 💜
This book is on my list of all time favorites. I think every person should read it at sometime in their life. I do not believe in banning books and restricting who should read them. I disagree with people who would keep it out of schools. There is more violence on TV and in movies and in the real world.
I don't know if I have the courage to read it, but I understand the need for it to be written. As for the question of whether it should be read in schools, the vast majority of adolescents in history have had to grow up much faster than modern Western teens. My great grandmother was hired out as a domestic servant by age twelve. Twelve or thirteen was the age working class children entered servitude or were indentured as apprentices, which meant living away from home and working all day for six and a half days a week. They saw plenty of the grit of life. My great grandmother's friend and later sister-in-law, also a teen in domestic service, became pregnant out of wedlock, twice - we do not know who the fathers were but we do know her mother defended her when her father shunned her. The post-war Western cultural development of a leisurely and sheltered adolescence is a temporary and isolated socio-economic phenomena in the long history of the world.
"Banned" books are not actually banned, just for the record. Any book anyone chooses to read can be easily and cheaply found in public libraries, bookstores, Amazon, etc. I mention this only because it was brought up as part of the review and the discussion of the book.
When people argue that a book should be made available to children in school they aren't arguing that the book should be available to THEIR children (because they can easily acquire the book for their own child to read), they are arguing that the book should be made available to MY child and YOUR child.
I agree that these decisions should be made at the local level because they know and are answerable to the local population and parents.
“That’s what thinking is for.” Perhaps so, but only for the rare classroom teacher with the rare right combination of students. Generally, The Color Purple doesn’t belong in a high school curriculum. 14-16 yr olds are not prepared emotionally to grapple with the story. And, while a student two desks over may have experienced the trauma herself, we don’t put glasses on every student because one needs a prescription. Part of the infantilism, delayed adolescence we see in young adults is that we have robbed them -as a generation- of their innocence too soon. Subconsciously they refuse to give up the adolescence they should have had. The Color Purple might be fruitfully taught at the college level. This doesn’t make it a banned book- it’s available at bookstores and libraries.
Wow, Joel! What a good review. I am going to quote you. “That’s what thinking is for!”
Thank you for this balanced review. I remember the movie vividly. Like Blood Meridian, I am unlikely to read it because of the harshness I know exists, but i am reluctant to put in my mind. Color Purple deserves a place in our canon - the good, the bad, the ugly - lest we forget there is hope in the darkness of nights.
Best review of The Color Purple by a white man I’ve ever read. (also the only one 😉) I’ve read the book 3x (and listened to Walker read it). I also love books about books so I’ve read The Search for Color Purple and Walker’s book, The Same River Twice (soooo good) that gives her reflections on the movie and all the people banning the book. 💜
Great 👌 read!
Even greater movie 🎥!
It's my number one in both categories.
The Color Purple is one of the most finely craft books of its age.
This book is on my list of all time favorites. I think every person should read it at sometime in their life. I do not believe in banning books and restricting who should read them. I disagree with people who would keep it out of schools. There is more violence on TV and in movies and in the real world.