The Color Purple Study Guide

1. When does Celie first hear about Shug?

• From Nettie, in one of her letters
• From her mother, who produces a portrait of her
• From Albert, who tells Celie about her
• From her stepmother, who produces a photograph of her

2. How many children do Albert and Shug have together?

• None
• Four
• Three
• One

3. When Nettie is forced to leave Albert's house, where does she go?

• Harlem
• To find the Reverend Mr. ______'s wife
• A ship to Africa
• Back home to Alfonso

4. Samuel and Corrine name a child Pauline but call her Olivia because she looks like an Olivia. Who actually names Olivia?

• Nettie
• Alfonso
• Samuel and Corrine
• Celie

5. Where does Celie first meet Corrine?

• When they are at a store in town
• When Corrine comes to visit her at Albert's
• When Corrine collects Adam and Olivia for adoption
• When she is in town with Nettie

6. Why is Adam angry with Tashi when he first sees her after his return from England?

• Because she tells him she loves him
• Because she has undergone the Olinka scarring and female initiation ceremony
• Because she hides from him
• Because she is angry that he left for England

7. Who is Celie's real father?

• Albert
• The warden at Sofia's jail
• Alfonso
• A prosperous black farmer

8. When does Squeak first insist that Harpo call her Mary Agnes?

• When she starts writing songs
• After Sofia knocks her teeth out
• When Sofia goes to jail
• When she returns from seeing the warden, having been raped by him

9. What is the name of the nineteen-year-old with whom Shug elopes with toward the end of the novel?

• Gady
• Grady
• Germaine
• Gerald

10. What is the first thing that Celie starts sewing?

• A quilt
• A handkerchief
• Albert's shirts
• Pants