Read the instructions carefully before beginning your post.

INSTRUCTIONS: Before adding your post, please be sure that you have watched Virtual Classroom Video #4 and read the assigned section of the text. Then, write several sentences in response to ALL of the below questions. Try to reference a relevant page number or include a quotation to support each answer.

1) Why is Celie writing letters to God?

2) What do we learn about Celie from how she writes and from the language she uses?

3) Why does Celie call her husband Mr. ____________? What is his real name?

4) What other characters do we meet in this section of the novel? How do some of these characters compare to, and have an influence upon, Celie?

5) As this book illustrates, gender roles were rigid and restrictive for both women and men during this time period in US history. What does it mean to live up to the male gender role or to “act like a man” during this time period? How do Mr. _______ and Harpo try to live up to the expectations of the male gender role?

OPTIONAL: 6) What questions do YOU have? Were there parts of the book that you found difficult to understand?