Period 3 Discussion Questions for The Color Purple

1)    Analyze the impact of the following rhetorical choices:

a.     Epistolary

b.     Colloquialisms

c.     Unreliable narrators

d.     Multiple Audiences: God, Nettie, Celie, the readers

2)    What is the difference between religion and spirituality? How does religion shape our thoughts and actions? How does religion shape culture? What is god?

3)    How do the oppressed break free from their oppressors? How do those around us shape our independence and how do their actions (positive or negative) push us to grow?

4)    How does love work?

5)    Does your upbringing determine your future? How do trauma, family, and societal stereotypes shape the way we think about ourselves?

6)    What is the value of education?

7)    What is the generational impact of the oppression of black women? How should women be treated?

8)    What makes someone a good or bad person? Why are good people punished?

9)    What kinds of things do we hide from the people we love? Why?

10) What is the definition of a family? How are families made?