Color Purple

The Color Purple revolves around the life of Celie, a young black woman growing up in the poverty-ridden South. In order to find herself and gain independence, Celie must deal with all manner of abuse, including misogyny, racism and poverty. When she is a young girl of just 14, Celie is sexually assaulted by a man she believes is her father. She has two children by her rapist, both of who he takes to a Reverend. When her mother dies, this man known as “Pa” marries Celie to a man she will only refer to as “Mr. ___.”

Verbal and physical abuse is a constant in Celie’s life. The man she married makes her raise his two children from another marriage, despises her, and physically and verbally abuses her. Celie is continually told she is skinny, ugly, and got nothing. When Shug first meets Celie she says, “You sure is ugly” (Walker 48). Celie is miserable with Mr. ___, a man who wanted to marry her sister Nettie. Nettie comes to see her sister at Mr. ____’s house and tells her before departing, “Don’t let them run over you. You got to let them know who got the upper hand” (Walker 18).

Nettie and Celie both mature throughout the

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y breast, feel like one of my little lost babies mouth. Way after a while, I act like a little lost baby too” (Walker 118). We can see in this depiction that the women share a nurturing and caring bond, akin to motherhood more than lesbianism. They must act as their own loving parents since they have none. When Shug leaves Celie feels lost, alone and abandoned. She is not yet strong enough to be independent on her own so she becomes angry that Shug leaves her knowing how much she relied upon their love. Yet, by leaving Shug catalyzes the final stage of Celie’s development, one in which she becomes strong, able to take care of herself, and a loving human being who can love once more. As Celie says near the end of the novel: “I love folks” (Walker 228). Celie is no longer a scared child who needs to cling to someone like Nettie or Shug. She is now a strong and mature woman who faces her challenges without fear. Part of Celie’s maturation also occurs due to her relationship with Nettie. Celie lives for the letters from her sister, ones that Mr. ____ gladly keeps from her if he can. Through these letters we also watch the maturation of Nettie who benefits from her association with Celie as much as Celie does AND as much as
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Color Purple, Shug Shug, Shug Avery, Nettie Celie, Lillie Walker, Celie Shug, Nettie Nettie, Pa Walker, Nettie Shug, color purple, women novel, celie able, Pocket Books, women suffer, black women, nettie celie, black women suffer, little lost, celie shug, abuse women, abuse sexual,
Approximate Word count = 1281
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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