Bestselling Author Alice Walker's Impact

A Literary Giant’s Influence on Education and Social Spectrums

May 10, 2009

Alice Walker gained acclaim after her book, The Color Purple, was published in 1982.

The book that became an international bestseller tells the story of Celie, a woman who was abused by her stepfather when she was a child. Celie is uneducated at the start of the story. She spends her youth and early adult years striving to protect her younger sister, Nettie, from the clutches of her stepfather, a hard, bitter man.

Abuse Suffered by Alice Walker’s Celie

After Celie is forced into marriage by her stepfather, she calls for Nettie. Their stepfather had begun making advances at Nettie, abuses Celie would not allow to continue. Nettie isn’t at Celie and her new husband’s house long when it becomes clear to Celie that she has placed her baby sister in harms way. Celie’s husband, another abusive man with a brood of misbehaving children, wants Nettie. Not even his mistress Shug seems to be enough.

Through unexpected events, Celie learns to read. She is committed to gaining an education at a time when many women and African Americans did not have a collegiate, much less, a high school degree. It is this change that reveals Celie’s deep seated belief in herself. This determination and other displays of resilience and tenacity that the character displays are one of The Color Purple’s most attractive ingredients.

The book takes place in Macon County, Georgia during the mid-1900s. Written in diary format as personal messages from Celie to God, the bestselling novel won the American Book Award and the renowned Pulitzer Prize. Alice Walker’s book was also nominated for the Book of the Year award.

Two years after The Color Purple was published, Stephen Spielberg took it on as a movie project. The 1985 movie version of the book went on to win several awards including the Blue Ribbon Award, the Classic Cinema Hall of Fame by Black Movie Awards, the Artios Award for Best Casting for a Feature Film by the Casting Society of America and an Image and Golden Globe .

Wider Acclaim for the Literary Giant

In addition, in 1985 the movie was nominated for 11 Oscar Awards. Stephen Spielberg won the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Motion Picture Director. In 1987 the movie was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film by the Japanese Academy.

A decade after the movie version of The Color Purple appeared on the silver screen, media mogul, Oprah Winfrey brought the story to the live stage. The play opened for the first time on Broadway on December 1, 2005. Two years later, the play began its first national tour. The play has won several Tony, Critics Circle, League and Theatre World awards.

Other Winning Books by Alice Walker

Bestselling author, Alice Walker’s, books have been used as points of discussion in high school, colleges and universities. Community organizations continue to refer to the book when dealing with complicated relationships between men and women and siblings.

Alice Walker’s novels and fiction writings deal with topics that billions of people around the would prefer to ignore. However, they are the same events that impacts billions of lives around the world which makes them impossible to over look. Walker’s smooth hand and deep talent allow entertainment to serve as an effective educational guide and instrument.

The copyright of the article Bestselling Author Alice Walker's Impact in African-American Fiction is owned by Rhonda Campbell. Permission to republish Bestselling Author Alice Walker's Impact in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.