Women and Literacy in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple by E. Yvette Walters

            In “Women and Literacy in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple” Yvette Walters discussed the five categories “….from which women view reality and themselves and draw conclusions about truth, knowledge, and authority” (138). In this essay, Walters performed a critical analysis of the character Celie from The Color Purple.

            The author begins by giving a brief synopsis of The Color Purple. Then, she goes on to explain how Celie falls into each one of the five categories that she has previously described. Throughout the essay, the reader is able to see the transformation of Celie’s character from a timid, quiet young lady to one who develops a good sense of self. In Celie’s silent stage, Walters emphasized how she acquired her literacy from “…more in-depth ways of knowing that extend beyond basic reading and writing skills” (139). 

            I found this statement very interesting, because it never occurred to me that literacy could be viewed beyond the traditional definition of the word. This statement also made me wonder if the situations that we go through in life are considered as different forms of literacy. I also found it interesting in the essay the strategy that the author used to point out the different ways that women view themselves and the world around them, and what situations in life shape these views. The way the author connected the development of Celie in The Color Purple to the different ways that women view the world and themselves really allowed to me understand what she was trying to explain.

            After reading this essay I had two important questions. The first question is, what category would I fall under? The second question is, what events in my life have shaped my view of myself and the world, in order for me to fall into that category.