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Celie In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

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The Color Purple by Alice Walker focuses on the life of Celie, a young African American woman, as she recollects her life through a series of letters to God. As a victim of rape and emotional abuse from her husband and father, Celie no longer feels any true emotions and lives in fear of men. When Shug Avery, a confident woman on the way to stardom, enters her life, Celie’s views on success and happiness are forever changed. Slowly, she begins to realize the value of independence and friendship as Shug shows her what the meaning of love really is. By learning to be self-reliant, Celie no longer has to depend on others for her own happiness.
Celie’s letters start out detailing her life as the oldest daughter in a family with six children. She …show more content…

Celie’s daughter in law, Sofia, is a strong and assertive character unafraid of defending her opinions. Despite her rough past and difficult experiences, Sophia has never let the derision of her family affect her spirit. In one conversation, she confesses to Celie that, “All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my brothers. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men” (Walker 40 ). Sofia’s confidence is her strongest quality, but also her most contentious. Unlike Celie, Sofia has the confidence to stand up to her husband, which frustrates and angers him. Harpo asks his father for advice on how to “manage” his wife, to which he responds, “how you spect to make her mind? Wives is like children. You have to let ‘em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating” (Walker 35). Even though Sofia pretends to ignore the abuse, she truly loves her husband and is deeply hurt that he continues to pressure her into the role of “wife”. After months of fighting and beating, Sofia learns that Harpo has been binge eating to overpower her. She cannot tolerate the abuse any longer and tells Celie she is taking the children and leaving him. She describes her relationship as “tiring” and confesses that “All he think about since us married is how to make me mind. He don’t want a wife, he want a dog” …show more content…

Through their journey from abused wives to tenacious women, these three characters learn the significance of self-made happiness and how independence is not only possible, but necessary for success. Celie, the woman who was once a daughter and a wife used to the constant ridicule of her family, changed her life for the better through forgiveness, faith, and friendship. Her friend and daughter in-law,Sofia, a loving mother and wife who was punished for her voice rose to defy the racist and sexist ways she was treated. And Mary Agnes, the diffident girl who shrunk away from the limelight, content to remain in the shadows of the strong figures around her, learned the importance of determination and courage through her success as a singer. The woman from this novel are a true testament to how women's rights have progressed over the last two centuries and how much farther they have to

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