The Color Purple: Comprehensive Guide for A Level

Set text for:
  • AQA A A Level
  • Edexcel AS and A Level

The Color Purple is an engrossing, disarming text that addresses significant subject matter from sexuality to self-empowerment, offers literary depth, and can lead to crucial discussions about society, history and human experiences outside of the A Level specifications.

Consolidate and deepen learning!

Throughout:

  • discussion prompts
  • active learning tasks
  • extended essay questions
  • further reading suggestions
  • key literary and linguistic terms

The pack tackles the key stages of text analysis:

  1. Walk-through
    Thorough chapter-by-chapter commentary walks students through each section
  2. Drawing it all together
    In-depth discussion of whole text focuses on: characterisation, setting, context, genre, themes, attitudes and values, language, form, structure, literary approaches
  3. Indicative content
    Supports teaching by ensuring all key areas are covered

Plus! A Further Reading List and Glossary of Key Terms

What do teachers say about this resource? (12528)

The content of this resource was outstanding. There are many positive points that stood out to me... The section on why The Color Purple is an interesting text to teach presents a thorough examination of the merits of the novel. I liked the way it already navigates key literary elements such as narrative structure and symbolism. Moreover, it introduces the novel's exploration of societal issues – great for first time teachers. In addition, the background section gives a good overview of Alice Walker's life and achievements. As a teacher, I would be pleased with the range of information provided... The section about ways to read the novel delivers a thorough summary of the themes, storytelling techniques, and reception. It introduces the novel's treatment of complex issues like racism and sexism, paving the way for deeper exploration while also emphasizing its message of resilience – this is ideal as a baseline for most lessons... Alongside this, I appreciated the guidance on challenges that teachers might face with the novel and practical strategies to overcome them. Teachers will also definitely find the Critical Reception section helpful for explaining why the novel received both praise and criticism, and how this connects with the sensitive topics... I like the way thinking points, active learning tasks and further reading suggestions are interspersed. They would all encourage readers to engage in critical reflection and deeper analysis of the novel. I feel that the key terms boxes support the resource well too... The summary and analysis sections of this resource for each collection of letters AND the overall text analysis are outstanding as far as I am concerned – excellent handout options. Each one offers an exploration of each chapter that facilitates quick comprehension. The comprehensive coverage of literary analysis is particularly commendable, providing cohesive detail and allowing for easy reference back to contextual and background sections... Additionally, I was impressed by the incorporation of relevant points concerning assessment objectives. This would be highly beneficial for both teacher and students... I wanted to highlight the AO5 section. I felt that it did a fantastic job of exploring the various lenses the novel can be examined through. It provided a comprehensive reference point for understanding the novel's themes and narrative techniques from all the different perspectives... Finally, the response guides for the various activities included was a relief to see! If I had to teach a new text and I had a resource as thorough as this, I would be delighted.

E Evans, Teacher & Peer Reviewer