The Color Purple Contents
- The Color Purple: Social and political context
- The Color Purple: Religious and philosophical context
- The Color Purple: Literary context
- Textual help
- Letter 1
- Letter 2
- Letter 3
- Letter 4
- Letter 5
- Letter 6
- Letter 7
- Letter 8
- Letter 9
- Letter 10
- Letter 11
- Letter 12
- Letter 13
- Letter 14
- Letter 15
- Letter 16
- Letter 17
- Letter 18
- Letter 19
- Letter 20
- Letter 21
- Letter 22
- Letter 23
- Letter 24
- Letter 25
- Letter 26
- Letter 27
- Letter 28
- Letter 29
- Letter 30
- Letter 31
- Letter 32
- Letter 33
- Letter 34
- Letter 35
- Letter 36
- Letter 37
- Letter 38
- Letter 39
- Letter 40
- Letter 41
- Letter 42
- Letter 43
- Letter 44
- Letter 45
- Letter 46
- Letter 47
- Letter 48
- Letter 49
- Letter 50
- Letter 51
- Letter 52
- Letter 53
- Letter 54
- Letter 55
- Letter 56
- Letter 57
- Letter 58
- Letter 59
- Letter 60
- Letter 61
- Letter 62
- Letter 63
- Letter 64
- Letter 65
- Letter 66
- Letter 67
- Letter 68
- Letter 69
- Letter 70
- Letter 71
- Letter 72
- Letter 73
- Letter 74
- Letter 75
- Letter 76
- Letter 77
- Letter 78
- Letter 79
- Letter 80
- Letter 81
- Letter 82
- Letter 83
- Letter 84
- Letter 85
- Letter 86
- Letter 87
- Letter 88
- Letter 89
- Letter 90
Letter 54
Synopsis of Letter 54
Nettie is distressed that she has not heard from Celie since she left. Realising that Albert is concealing her letters, she asks Samuel to visit Celie and Albert but Samuel does not feel it is right to interfere. Nettie’s sense of isolation is clearly expressed – she cannot find work and Corrine and Samuel are preparing to leave America to carry out missionary work in Africa.
Commentary on Letter 54
This is the first specific mention of Corrine and Samuel’s missionary work and we discover that they have been involved in ministry to Native Americans and the poor of the town in preparation for undertaking missionary work in Africa.
It may seem surprising that a preacher is reluctant to help a vulnerable woman, but he believes that marriage is a sacred contract – even evidence of abuse is not sufficient cause for Samuel to get involved in the affairs of a married couple he does not know personally.
Investigating Letter 54
- Begin two new character sheets, one for Corrine and the other for Samuel
- Do some research on the sanctified church movement in America
- Why does Samuel think it is wrong to interfere in Albert and Celie’s marriage?
- How does this differ to modern western attitudes towards abuse within marriage?
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