Diction

· “Last spring, after little Lucious come I heard… She say It too soon, Fonso, I ain’t well… A week go by, he pulling on her arm again” (1).
· “…but she say I ain’t dumb” (9).
· “Dear God” (1).
· “Dear Nettie” (192).
· “Trifling, forgetful and lowdown” (35).
· “You not that good a cook either” (205).

Within this novel, informal diction is used to portray the different aspects of this progressing story. The first page begins with informal dialect, letting the reader know that Celie is uneducated. This corresponds to most of the African Americans living in the same town because blacks are underprivileged and do not receive a proper education. This novel is told through the main characters— Celie and Nettie— letters. This portrays Celie’s faith even through the horrific experiences she has gone through. Throughout the book there is a volta where Celie no longer writes her letters to God, but writes them to her sister, Nettie. This demonstrates her loss of faith throughout reoccurring events that she has suffered. The quote on page 35 is a statement of terse words used to demonstrate Celie’s feelings toward men, and the generalization that she has towards them. Even African American men at this time were uneducated—as shown in the quote on page 205— where Mr. ____ is talking to Celie. He often talks like this to Celie to put her down, and make her feel she has no worth without him. Diction is played as a big role in this novel in making her sentences have more value and representing her voice in a bolder way.