The laws and customs of the early nineteenth-century United States established a hierarchy among races and genders. Whites had more rights than blacks, and men had more rights than women. In this society, a black woman had almost no rights.

Alice Walker's 1982 novel "The Color Purple" follows the life of Celie - a poor black woman growing up in rural Georgia during this time.

After his incestuous molestations of Celie produced two children, Celie's father Alphonso gave away the illegitimate offspring. Alphonso warned Celie to keep silent about his rape. "You better tell nobody but God," he tells her, so she begins writing letters to God about her life. Alphonso then forces his daughter to marry an older widower who is seeking a mother for his undisciplined children. After Celie's departure, the father turned his lustful eye toward her younger sister, Nettie.

The Sixteenth Amendment outlawed slavery decades earlier, but Celie remained a slave to her husband because she was born a woman. Like Alphonso, Albert abused and degraded her physically and verbally. "Who you think you is? You can't curse nobody. Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, he say, you nothing at all," he tells her. But Celie lacked self confidence and submitted to the abuses of Mister for years. Celie felt so disconnected from her husband that she referred to him only as "Mister _____" and learned his first name (Albert) years after their wedding. When Nettie came to live with them to escape her father, Mister threw her out for refusing his sexual advances. Nettie promised to write to her sister and became a missionary in Africa, but Albert intercepted and hid all the letters.

Celie's life changed when strong women entered her life and began to inspire her.: Sofie, the wife of her husband's son, and Shug Avery, her husband's former mistress.

Walker presents the story as an epistolary novel, entirely told in letters. Initially, those letters are from Celie to God. The tone and language of the book change significantly about halfway through when Celie finds Nettie's letters, and the two begin to correspond. Nettie is much more educated than Celie, so her writing is more polished, and her diction is far better.

This book sparked controversy from the moment of its publication. It has been banned repeatedly for its graphic depiction of sex, rape, and homosexuality. But it also won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Walker's book presents many examples of injustice. Sofie faces twelve years in prison for hitting the Mayor, even though he struck her first. Celie suffers abuse from every man with whom she lives. The subjugation of women is not limited to the United States—the traditions of her African tribe force facial scarring and genital mutilation upon the women of that tribe.

"The Color Purple" is a story of institutional racism and sexism. It is about racial injustice, but it is much more about gender injustice. However, the book also portrays victims overcoming the world's inequities and achieving self-actualization. It is a story of resilience - of strong women overcoming oppression by standing up for themselves and supporting one another. When Celie finally gains the courage to face Albert, she announces: "I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here."

Ultimately, "The Color Purple" is an uplifting tale of survival.