The Color Purple Theme Analysis

The Color Purple could really have 10 different themes but the one that made most sense was the power of love and Alice Walker really nailed it. The book is centered around Celie, the main character whom at the beginning of the story is 14 years old. At the beginning love isn't a thing for her especially with her father Alphonso who rapes her and disregards her. As the story comes along Celie begins to build a relationship with Shug Avery and her sister Nettie which leads her to learn the true meaning of love. “She learned love is about self-sacrifice, respect, and unconditional care” , shmoop.com. The theme of the book is that love is about self-sacrifice, respect, and unconditional care, and it was shown through the character’s thoughts, actions, and relationships. …show more content…
When she found out that Albert had been hiding letters in his trunk she found the key to the trunk and took it, risking getting caught and getting consequences. She did it for Celie because she knew how much it would mean to her and that it would answer all her questions. “Now that I know Albert hiding Nettie’s letters… Everything that mean something to Albert go in his trunk. He keep it locked up tight, but Shug can git the key.” (Walker 182) . This shows the self-sacrifice aspect of love in this story. Love is about respect and is shown through Celie and Shug Avery. Celie respects and cares about what Shug Avery does and says and so does Shug Avery. “Yeah. And another thing, I uses to put on Albert’s pants when we was courting. And he one time put on my dress. No he didn’t. Yes he did. He used to be a lot of fun… Ugh I say. I could just picture it, and I didn't like it one bit” (Walker 210). You can just tell they really care about what each other say and how engaged they are and it was a common occurrence in the story. This shows the respect aspect of love in the