How Does Celie Change In The Color Purple

Celie feels very little about herself and feels that she can’t please very many people, especially her “Pa”. “ She bout ten thousand times more prettier than me” (Walker 6). This quote that I found in the book reflects on how low Celie’s self confidence is. She finds just about every woman better looking than herself.

Celie: Celie starts out as a scared young kid, who is abused and raped by her stepfather. She does whatever anyone tells her and barely ever speaks up for what is right. In the beginning she feels so alone and thinks it's better not to stand out for it will only hurt her. When Mr. ______ begins to act violent towards her, she still acts in a passive manner. Celie gets more and more afraid until she meets Shug. Shug is a female friend whom is much stronger than her. She learns more about a sexual relationship, and how to be her own person. Celie learns to fight back and reinvent herself. Celie changes her perspective on religion to. God may not be the person she always thought he was. The letters from Nettie also change Celie, in fact now she knows she has family. She gains self worth in the fact that her kids, and sister are fine. In the very end of the book Celie becomes a new person, working and sewing as a job. She doesn't rely on men nor does she feel worthless.

She learns that a person does not have to be extraordinary to be loved, in fact people can be very ordinary, like herself, and deserve to be loved just the same. During this time in the novel Celie also finds the courage to stand up to Mr.___ and leave him. This action takes a great deal of self-respect because here for the first time the reader sees that Celie knows she deserves better than Mr.___. Celie is set over the edge when it is discover that Mr.___ has been deliberately separating Celie from her sister Nettie for many years. When Celie finds all Nettie’s letters Mr.___ has been hiding it set her into a spiraling rage that Shug calm her down from. Celie tells Mr.___, “Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble” (intext). The only way Celie can cope without killing Mr.___ is by making pants. The pants of course were Shug’s idea and Shug funds Celie so she can make as many pants as her heart desires. Later in the novel Celie has moved out of Mr.___’s house and made so many pants that she is something of a master. She opens her own store to sell her popular pants and finally is self sufficient. At this time Celie also was able to mend old bridges. When Shug left her for a younger man Celie found good company in Mr.___. Celie also was able to fully love Shug and do what was best for her even if it hurt Celie. (quote about loving shug) With all

Celie believes that Sofia is a complete contrast of her in terms of their behaviors. Sofia does not care to respect Harpo or Mister; she is fearless of them. When she was asked a typical women question of locating and finding objects, Sofia tells the men that she does not know where their belongings are. Moreover, when Celie obeys all these commands that Sofia disobeys, Sofia looks surprised and pities Celie. This gives Celie the notion that Sofia is not being submissive like she is supposed to be; she almost seems jealous that Sofia is able to gain such power against men, so she gives Harpo the advice that he should beat her to have the upper hand. For the first time in her life, Celie is able to see a women not being submissive to her husband and doesn’t seem to understand the reason behind

In order to survive this harshful life, Celie believes her best bet is to stay quiet and invisible. Consequently, Celie becomes a woman of slave labor, and completely bypasses the opportunity of self-discovery. Among meeting women who are mentally stronger than her, including Shug and Sofia, Celie chooses to survive rather than stir up a physical fight. Instead, she finally begins to battle back in sneakier ways, such as spitting in Albert’s father’s drink when he criticizes

This way of life is front and center in The Color Purple, so when the character Sofia was introduced, Celie was definitely intrigued. Throughout the beginning of the

However, for no justified reason she is abused arbitrarily by Albert regardless of how well of a worker she is to the household and the children. In her little discussion with Shug Avery, she explains how Albert beats her for no apparent reason. “He beat me when you not here, I say”, “What he beat you for? She ast. For being me and not you” (75-76). Fortunately, towards the end of the novel, Celie makes a decision to leave the continuous cycle of abuse and becomes an independent woman who has her own clothing company. Celie knew she was better than what Albert thought of her and because of her epiphany she discovered more inner beauty and self- confidence. All in all she received more respect and was looked more as a human being than a servant. Ironically Celie’s antithesis, Sofia, had her poor decision making progressively get her into a deeper

Shug asks why Celie gets beaten and she responds with, “For being me and not you” (42 PDF) This shows that Celie is passive and does not retaliate, but she is strong because she takes the beating and continues on with her life. Although Celie is a strong women, she is very naive when it comes to the injustices she has faced. This is most evident in her relationship with her father. Celie

The first sign that Celie is is transforming as a character is when she discovers Mr._____ is hiding her sister Nettie’s letters to her. " Now that I know Albert hiding Nettie's letters, I know exactly where they is. They in his trunk. Everything that mean something to Albert go in his trunk. He keep it locked up tight, but Shug can git the key" (Walker 118).

After 20 years of marriage, Celie finally gets the courage to leave her husband, begin a lesbian relationship with Shug and start her own trouser making business. This journey of constant abuse throughout her adolescence to a strong, independent woman with her own business seems typical of a novel to have a happy ending, but the novel has raised many questions about her portrayal of black female character and about where it fits in her other work in her

However her point, especially concerning domestic abuse, is about how harmful the practice is, as well as how it can be prevented. An important quality to notice throughout the male and female relationships in the novel is the authority that men have. Celie’s experience, characterized by psychological distress and sexual oppression from her step-father and husband, is reported to God through the letters that make up her story. Walker was able to continuously revisit the issue of domestic violence by simply showing the abuse as a regular part of life. When Harpo decides to make Sofia always listen to him, Celie suggests beating her.

Shug does not choose for her. It is Celie that decides to leave, to first go to Tennessee and then back to Georgia to take over the land that is rightfully hers, to be a seamstress that does not have to depend on anyone for money or anything else, having learned to stand on her own feet. Her choice to be independent is what leads to her happiness. When Celie writes that “Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt” (pg. 251, The Color Purple), she is referring to how the growth, of how the establishment of her own independence, has made her happier than she has ever been in her life.

In her award winning epistolary novel, The Color Purple, Alice Walker tells the story of Celie, a young African American woman growing up in the American South during the Reconstruction period (1930s). In a series of letters to God and to her younger sister Nettie, Celie tells the story of her life, ranging from the trauma of physical and sexual abuse she encounters to her success and wealth she earns as an adult. If suitable, The Color Purple is an essential learning tool for mature high school readers to help better understand the treatment of African Americans and what issues they were faced with and overcame in the South after the Civil War. The Color Purple opens with Celie’s memory of her father’s command to keep quiet about his

One of the most critical parts of Celie’s life while growing up are the flourishing relationships with Sofia and Shug Avery who give her confidence to talk about the problems she is dealing with and empower her. Celie is severely abused by her husband, Mister, but is first seen opening up about how she feels about him with Sofia (Walker 60). Celie is hesitant to admit much to Sofia and only says after being asked her opinion about him, “I mean, he all right in some things, not in others.” Although this does not provide much detail, it shows that Celie is truly trusting another person with her feelings and

This passage is important because it shows us Celie’s sexuality. One day Celie get’s beat because she supposedly wink at a boy at church but she tries to tell her “Pa” she don’t look at men but women because she is not scared of them. This shows us that Celie probably has a love interest in women due to the physical trauma she has experienced with her “Pa.” Later on in the book this allows her to move on into new relationships and disconnect herself from Mr._______.(5.1-4)