The Color Banned

Hello and welcome to my final Action Project for the class Forbidden Books. In this class, we discussed book bannings. People have banned books throughout history because some books perpetuate ideas that make them uncomfortable. The book I chose to fight for was The Color Purple by Alice Walker a book that has been banned many times in its time. Please Enjoy.

TN

Forbidden Books

Sharon Holmes

March 22, 2019

The Color Banned

     “Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

 nobody knows my sorrow,

glory, hallelujah,

 Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody

                                                             knows but Jesus” (Louis Armstrong)

This excerpt from the spiritual “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” perfectly describes the life of Celie who was raped by her father at the age of 13, then later on in life, verbally and physically abused by her husband. Celie begins writing letters to God to deal with the trauma in her life, a literary device that is used throughout the entire book. After living with her husband and his children, a woman called Shug Avery moves in with them. Celie discloses in her letters that she is falling in love with Shug. The Color Purple starts out controversial. On the first page, Celie explicitly describes how her father raped her. Throughout the book, Celie talks about how she never saw men in a romantic way, only women, which was somewhat controversial when this book was published in 1982. The book is a staple in black culture and should be read by every young woman growing up black. Though the book is explicit at times, it is not without reason. If the book danced around the “bad parts” it would not be the iconic treasure that it is today. Even with all of The Color Purple’s controversies, it should not nor have ever been banned

The Color Purple is controversial. It was so controversial, in fact, that it was banned by schools all over the country. One school district in North Carolina (Burke County) tries systematically to ban the book in its schools. The book is controversial for schools because of its explicit depictions of sex, rape, and other violence. In 2008, Burke County schools wanted the book banned because of homosexuality, rape, and incest. In the book, Celie discloses her feelings for women (The Banned Library.)“First time I got first the full sight of Shug Avery long black body with it black plum nipples, look like her mouth, I thought I had turned into a man” (Walker 49). This quote was a problem because it describes a woman’s body and Celie’s sexual thoughts about it. There was also a relatively explicit sex scene that may have turned religious groups off to the book. On the political side of things, a school in Oregon banned the book because of its “negative depiction of black men” (Doyle). 

When talking about banning The Color Purple, the quote that brings the most controversy is on the first page. “First he put his thing against my hip and sort of wriggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he put his thing inside my p---y”(Walker 1). This quote depicts the rape that Celie went through. It is jarring to read that on the first page. People who want this book banned bring up both the incest and the violence in this quote. They feel that this is inappropriate to be read by high school aged students. The next is “You’re a trifling n----r, she say” (Walker 21). This quote is brought up because of its use of a slur. Although the word isn’t used throughout the book, white teachers and some students feel uncomfortable reading it aloud. These reasons are all due to political and religious reasons.

The Color Purple should not be banned and here’s why. One, it’s a novel that acts as a teacher of the facts of life for teens who read the book. The Color Purple is a book that doesn’t dance around issues and plainly lays the problems out. It also doesn’t give a sense of false hope by having a canned happy ending. Everyone should be able to read this book, regardless of race because of how it tells the story of a woman navigating both sides of prejudice, being a woman and being black. While it makes sense that schools weren’t comfortable with the sexual and violent themes in the book. However, some districts have only banned the book because of homosexuality. This is prejudice and offensive because there is nothing wrong with homosexuality. To be equal they would also have to ban books like Twilight, The Fault In Our Stars, and many others. Also, the Oregon banning doesn’t have any basis. The book never says that all black men are abusive, and the book was written by a black woman. When asked about how she felt about her book being banned Alice Walker said this, “I think it is anyone’s right to do what they feel they have to do. They have a job. I have a job. I will write what I think is right for me to write. They will oppose it. In a way that makes us equal” (Labrise).

In the end, The Color Purple is a very important book that attacks problems head on instead of avoiding them. People have been banning books that make them uncomfortable for a very long time. They are unsettled by new and world-changing ideas that do not match their own this is what The Color Purple does. While people have tried to ban and censor the important topics in this book, the problems aren’t going away. The Color Purple is revolutionary because it talks about sexual abuse and homosexuality in a way that was radical at the time. 

Works Cited                                            

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014 Labrise, Megan.  “Alice Walker: Writing What’s Right”. Guernica, 5 Oct 12.   The Banned Library. Banned. 10 Jul 16. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Boston; Mariner Books, 1985