Color Purple Conflict

In the movie, Celie was one who had very low self-esteem since childhood. She felt worthless within her first marriage which was forced on her because she was sold to a man she called Mister who only needed someone to care for his kids. Perhaps if she would have had the opportunity to address those issues within her life with these few stages she might have thought more of herself. One article listed some stages that should be examined in one’s life to determine where to find one’s self. It stated,”

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

However, the pair forms a nurturing relationship in which they take care of one another.  These days Shug is all about love, and touch and feeling.  As Shug says of her love of cuddling, "I love to hug, period, she say.  Don't need nothing else right now" (Walker 152).  Celie learns from Shug how to care about people once more, including caring for herself.  Celie begins this journey to independence and love of self and others through her relationship with Shug.  At one point she and Shug have physical relations, but it is Walker's purpose to show this as a means of providing each other comfort, nurturing, and humanity - not as a display of homosexuality.  The entire episode is treated in the novel as a nurturing act, akin to a mother compassionate mother nursing her needy child, "Then I feels something real soft and wet on my 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

    Celie is not a typical protagonist. In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, the main character Celie is an ugly, poor girl who is severely lacking in self-confidence. However, Celie transforms throughout the course of the novel and manages to realize herself as a colorful, beautiful, and proud human being. Celie becomes a powerful individual.

As Avery helps her in her journey to become an independent and valued person. Celie starts to question her faith in God. She wonders why God does not listen to her and argues that “if he ever listened to poor colored women the world would be a different place”(193) and when Avery asks her how God looks like her answer was that God is white. This emphasizes Celie’s claim that God is now to her like every other man because he rejects her for being black and now she does not want to write to him anymore. Ironically Shug helps Celie get back to writing letters to God by telling her that she cannot blasphemy against God.

That is, until Shug stepped in. Alone, however, Celie was simply an ugly, skinny girl too afraid to stop those who pushed her around. Celie was a girl hoping simply to survive the horror that was her life. Conflict: A conflict in the story is Celie vs. Men.

Celie is able to accept her past and establish a clear vision of herself and fulfillment through the acts of love. She meets other women who tell her that she should stand up for herself and fight, but Celie feels that it’s better to survive than to fight and risk not surviving. However, there are certain triggers that lead Celie to stand up. Like a true fighter, Celie proves herself to be willing to stand up for the people she loves. Even as a downtrodden victim of her Pa, Celie sacrifices herself and offers herself to her father so that he keeps his hands off of Nettie. As mentioned in this quote, where Pa is sexually abiding Celie, “First he put his thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. ” (Walker, 4). Celie has the potential by putting her efforts into other people, but not realizing she is able to stand up for herself the same ways he does for Nettie. Relating it back to the novel, “Beloved”, Sethe does the same representation when she is trying to save Beloved even though the idea is bizarre of her killing her own child, but she only does it so that she would not have to suffer the way Sethe did. Celie is introduced with Shug Avery a blues singer, who she was first found “rude”, but as the story moves along, Shug Avery becomes the reason Celie learns to love herself. Because Celie is finally opening herself up by loving someone, Celie becomes more lovable. Through Shug’s love, Celie begins to realize her own self-worth, from the minute when Shug Avery wrote a song for Celie, as said in this quote: “This song I'm bout to sing us call Miss. Celie's song.”(Walker, 73).By the end of the novel, Celie loves more

One of the themes of the novel is transformation. This theme discusses how Celie transformed from a submissive woman to a person who stands up for herself. This ties into the theme of gender roles because the women in the novel overcome the oppression of the male characters. Mr.__ and Celie's husband would physically and verbally abuse her, and Shug helped form Celie's personality into a woman who is outspoken. The abuse from men in her life hindered her true personality to show throughout the novel.

As a result of being beaten for most of her life, Celie doesn’t have the willpower to fight back. It is through the other women that Celie gains the strength and the will to fight back and leave her damaging situation. In both novels, the women have their roles in society decided for them. Esther is told she will become a wife who will stay home and care for her children, because she should have a man support her instead of earning her own money.

You mad cause he don’t seem to listen to your prayers.” Shug’s encouraging words help Celie to regain faith in god. This then allows her to realize that she was only mad at god because she thought he was a man, and to come to the conclusion that men are the real ones who have caused suffering in her life. Beyond all of this, Shug is also able to attract Celie sexually and show her that sex does not have to be a painful experience, but instead it should be a feeling of freedom and joy. This is the first time Celie experiences true love, and Shug reciprocates the feelings allowing Celie to finally realize her own self worth.

Shug also teaches her about love. By being in a relationship with Shug, Celie learns what it feels like to be loved and what it feels like to love someone else. Shug also teaches Celie to masturbate, thereby teaching her to literally and symbolically love herself, independent of anyone else. Celie’s increase in self-esteem is evident when she curses Mr._____, declaring nothing will go right for him until he does right by her. Mr._____ chides her, saying “Who you think you is?

After falling subject to the men in the story, the women  learn to stand up for themselves and fight for what is rightfully theirs, freedom. Parental figures are supposed to be there to protect and look after their children, but Celie’s parents failed to do that and instead she became a quiet girl who was abused and was scared to stand up for herself. The men throughout the story have a tremendous influence on the female’s decisions, but after all the traumatic events,  they learn to stand up for themselves and fight for what is right. After seeing what the women have been through, the men in the novel change over time due to the female influences and try to understand what they have been going

In the beginning of the movie Celie is having the best time of her life with her sister. Their father called them in with a strict tone and the girls looked upset and scared. In this part of the movie it shows the closeness with her sister. It also shows that there father is strict and it made the girls upset. With her father being strict it made celie grow up as always

Sometimes, standing up for yourself against those who oppress you is what is necessary. In the beginning of the movie (1909), we see a young Celie with her sister, Nettie. The two are sexually, mentally, and physically abused

As a result of not receiving parental love, Celie lacks self-confidence and rejects herself. After being seperated from her sister and befriending Shug, Celie slowly develops practical skills. She learns how to clean a house, manage children, and work