Is the central theme of religion convincing in The Color Purple by Alice Walker?
The search for religious truth is a large theme throughout ‘The Color Purple’. Alice Walker states in the preface of the book that it was her “theological work examining the journey from the religious back to the spiritual”. The main character, Celie, searches for God throughout the novel, eventually arriving at a conclusion to what and whom she believes God really is. There are also two other characters in the book that show signs of a ‘religious awakening’. These are Nettie, as she goes to work with the white missionaries, and Shug, as she tells Celie all about her pantheistic beliefs. When considering whether the religious theme is convincing, you must consider whether the theme is actually prominent enough in the book to be convincing. The religious theme becomes overshadowed throughout the book by other themes such as racism, personal development and female relationships. The monotheistic religion that Walker presents as the first religious belief of Celie is Christianity. Christi
