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Context, Form, Structure and Language

The document discusses the form and context of Alice Walker's epistolary novel The Color Purple. [1] It was published in 1982 and set in rural Georgia in the early 20th century. [2] The epistolary format through letters allows for an intimate first person perspective showing the development of the main character over decades amid the backdrop of segregation and the subjugation of black Americans at the time. [3] The dialectal language and disjointed syntax reflect the high levels of illiteracy while chronologically documenting the character's emotional and spiritual growth.

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Carly De Luca
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479 views

Context, Form, Structure and Language

The document discusses the form and context of Alice Walker's epistolary novel The Color Purple. [1] It was published in 1982 and set in rural Georgia in the early 20th century. [2] The epistolary format through letters allows for an intimate first person perspective showing the development of the main character over decades amid the backdrop of segregation and the subjugation of black Americans at the time. [3] The dialectal language and disjointed syntax reflect the high levels of illiteracy while chronologically documenting the character's emotional and spiritual growth.

Uploaded by

Carly De Luca
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FORM



CONTEXT

 

m Rules also apply to English Literature

m Form determines writers· choice of


language & structure- the foundations
which shape meaning
m ëst Published ² ë 
m et ë ë  ² ë ë in Georgia
(deep south of U
m lice Walker- Womanist
m lavery abolished- ë
 (U
m ë  ² ë ë Laws passed to segregate
races
m Golden ge of Jazz & Blues Music
m et ë ë  in m Dialect of Georgia
Georgia (deep south - double negatives, confused
pronouns, conjugation of ¶be· and
of U ¶have·

m Contrast with E form


of Nettie·s letters
m egregation &
subjugation of black
mericans
High levels of illiteracy-
disjointed syntax-
phonetic spellings
m ]epistolatory m Organised into
letters rather than
Novel chapters
m Bildungsroman m Chronological
m Elliptical
m Documents the
development of a
main character-
over several
decades
m Epistolatory m Dramatic opening
Novel
m Middle- full of
m Bildungsroman conflict

m End- happy; family is


reunited
m ]Epistolatory Novel m  First Person
Narrators
m tream of
consciousness ²
m omission of verb to
] what are the advantages of be - immediacy ²
this form of narrative? thoughts being
m ] what are the limitations?
recorded as they
occur.
m Chronological m Gradual, linear
structure development of
independence
m Emotional development
m Epistolatory form represented by increase in
literacy & figurative
language
m Complexity of lang matches
complexity of emotional &
spiritual maturity
m Essential that an understanding of the
inextricable link between form, structure
& language is demonstrated.

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