Celie's Sexuality In Alice Walker

The nickname Mr. is given to Albert as Celie never knew his name, she finally discovers his real name and with her own dignity calls him Albert. Celie admires the lady named Shug, short for sugar. Shug and Celie has a relationship, love, and collaborate with each other throughout the novel to allow Celie’s character to develop. Shug is the beginning of Celie finding her true self and permitting her to be stronger psychologically. Celie also learns along the way that Albert had been keeping her away from reading her sisters' letters written to her, when she finds out she attempts to kill Albert but is stopped by Shug. This shows how Celie wanted to stand up for herself.

Although it caused her much grief while it lasted, her forced marriage to Mr.___ turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it was through him that Celie met Shug Avery. While becoming a close friend and a lover to Celie, Shug shared with her that “God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. God ain’t a he or a she but an it.”(Walker 204) By saying this she offers an alternative to the image of a male god that Celie has always held on to. As Hankinson put it; “Celie’s movement from monotheism to pantheism parallels her movement from feeling of isolation and inferiority under male authority figures”(327) She is now able to see that she is just as much a godlike being as any human in the world, regardless of gender, race or social

Celie’s life changes when Mr.__ brings his deathly ill mistress home for Celie to nurse back to health. Mr.__’s mistress, Shug, is everything that Celie isn’t: sexy, sassy, and independent. Celie quickly falls in love with Shug, and Shug falls in love back. For the first time in Celie’s life, she has a chance to enjoy sex, romance, and friendship.

The abuse that Celie suffers for so many years has changed her, making her into a submissive young woman who can’t stand up for herself, even when she is not at fault; “He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church.

Celie writes very personal letters to God, where she continuously asks him for guidance, to “give [her] a sign”. At fourteen years old, she was experiencing many frustrations, and has several questions that she expresses to God. She claims that she has “always been a good girl” and uses this as a justification for asking God “what is happening

Celie practically struggled for happiness her whole existence. Her father sold her to a man who had no intent of loving or caring for her. Celies’ husband whom she refers to as Mr. physically and verbally abused her. Mr. felt that the only way to keep a woman in check was to beat her and he did just that throughout the movie. Like any woman would though the abuse Celie lost herself and respect for herself. Living with Mr. was a life full of darkness and hatred. Life with her husband was no better life than life with her stepfather. It took years for Celie to become brave enough to fight back for what she accept as true and gain understanding of how to convey amusement and have little outlook on life. After years of abuse, Celie no longer was afraid of Mr. She no longer cared for her husband or the

As Nettie receives opportunities Celie could never fathom, their relationship comes to a halt. Celie stops receiving letters from her sister and is left to take care of her husband’s obnoxious children from a previous marriage, and is verbally/physically abused on a daily basis by both her husband and his children. Celie’s husband has a torrent affair with Shug Avery, a blues singer with a practical mentality who does not endure any mistreatment from anyone, regardless of their gender. When Shug Avery falls into Celie’s care, Shug Avery teaches Celie a thing or two about self-confidence and the strength she must find within herself to stand up to her husband. Towards the end of the novel, Shug Avery encourages Celie to leave her husband and move with her to Memphis, where she can escape the pain of her past and for once in her life be happy.

Thrown into young adulthood at the early age of 14, at 21 years old Celie now begins the true process of developing intimacy with an unlikely character for the time. A long lasting friendship and mutual love affair between Celie and Shug has begun, and will later prove to be her saving grace as her confidence, identity, purpose, and will increase. Shug plans to leave

Celie becomes a different and stronger woman towards the end of the book compared to when the book started. “I think I can’t even remember the last time I felt mad, I say. I used to git mad at my mammy cause she put a lot of work on me. Then I see how sick she is. Couldn’t stay mad at her. Couldn’t be mad at my daddy cause he my daddy. Bible say, Honor father and mother no matter what. Then after while every time I got mad, or start to feel mad, I got sick. Felt like throwing up. Terrible feeling. Then I start to feel nothing at all” (Walker, Alice). Celie has been hurt so much she has basically become numb to life. She never gets mad because she knows there are more difficult problems in life. She used to get mad at her mother and father but now realizes she should not do that. “I have daydreamed not fairy tales but of falling swords, of putting guns to my heart or head, and of slashing my wrists with a razor” (Alice Walker). After Alice kept having those daydreams, she then later went to Spelman College on a scholarship. Celie and Alice both

Celie also values her sister Nettie greatly and protects her when it comes to their step-father, Alphonso raping the girls. Celie says “I ast him to take me instead of Nettie while our new mammy was sick.” the casual tone of the preceding line adds to Celie's lack of self-worth; she is so used to being raped by Alphonso that it no longer makes any difference to her. As Celie transitions to the Mister’s household, she is still treated with disrespect by the Mister himself and even one of his sons. In a letter to God, she writes “I spent most of my wedding day running from the oldest boy… He picks up a rock and laid my head open.” Celie grows older in this household and submits to more abuse from her new husband.

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

With Shug’s financial and emotional support in the beginning of her business venture, Celie is able to realize that she has talents that help her connect to others and gives her a sense of control in her life. In fact, she has a huge influence among her employees, who support her and view her as a role model, succeeding in the world despite all odds. In the end, it is Celie’s interest in creating a business that places her firmly in control of herself, her financial well being and a purpose in everyday life, while giving her the ability to connect with women who understand the difficult path to independence. All of these factors, as well as the overwhelming support of friends, help Celie feel proud, confident and happy with what she has achieved in life. With a huge step towards independence, Celie stops writing letters to God. Throughout the novel, Celie writes God to ask for guidance, will to live and help in difficult times, but now that she has interests that empower her, she addresses her letters to someone else. In a powerful letter to her sister, Celie writes, “I don’t write to God no more. I write to you” (Walker, The Colour Purple 192). Now writing to Nettie, Celie expresses she no longer needs a higher power to pray to, all she needs are the people in her life to tell her stories to. Celie connects with others through her business and her everyday life now that she is not

Celie's transformation from Mr. ____'s slave into an independent women is successful thanks to two strong women that become role models for Celie in her everyday life; Shug Avery and Sofia. Sofia is a role model in a more unconscious way for Celie then Shug is. Sofia's whole appearance and behaviour is proud, she lets no one sit on her and Celie is, at first, jealous of Sofia's self-confidence and tries to destroy it by giving her husband Harpo the advice to beat her to make her obedient; "I think about this when Harpo ast me what he ought to do to make her mind. [---] I think bout how every time I jump when Mr. _____ call me, she [Sofia] look surprise. And like she pity me. Beat her. I say"2. When this does not work, Celie realises that Sofia is someone to become more alike, not someone to destroy.

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).

“Celie is coming with us, say Shug… You a lowdown dog is what’s wrong, [Celie] say. It’s time to leave you and enter into creation” (199). Celie and Albert’s roles have switched at this point because Celie is the one with the upper hand leaving Albert speechless. She has developed her sense of power and authority through Shug’s help. Celie voices her beliefs and rages at Albert for all he has ever done to her, which show her development as a character. From her quiet and fearful personality, Celie has now found her sense of self and authority. She completely knocks Albert over and does not allow any room for him to talk. Her power is shown as she expresses her feelings about when he took Nettie away from her, and of how he treated her all these years. The friendship of Celie and Shug develop the character of Celie. Shug helps Celie to shape her character from guiding her through her beliefs, retrieving what is most important to her, and helping her to gain confidence and power against Mr. Albert.