Beyond Standard Grammar: The Impact of Pronoun Usage on Characterization in 'The Color Purple'

Abstract

This paper analyzes the nonstandard usage of pronouns in Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple and argues that these deviations from standard grammar effectively characterize the novel's protagonists. The Color Purple is written primarily through letters between the protagonist Celie and other characters. Through these letters, Walker employs numerous examples of pronoun deviation including inconsistent subject-verb agreement, pronouns referring to ambiguous antecedents, and pronouns replacing nouns. The paper identifies over 50 examples of such deviations from standard grammar taken directly from the novel's text. It argues that these deviations are intentional stylistic choices by Walker that serve to characterize Celie and other characters as uneducated, rural African American women in the early 20th century American South. Through pronoun usage, Walker portrays the characters' limited access to education and immerses the reader in their nonstandard dialect. The analysis demonstrates how pronoun deviation shapes readers' understandings of the characters beyond what could be conveyed through standard grammar alone. It concludes that Walker's grammatical experiments were groundbreaking for the period and effectively employed to develop rich characterization central to the universal themes of empowerment in The Color Purple.