Celie Power Quotes

Being both a woman and having colored skin, Celie faces discrimination often by the power of others, setting her apart from the rest as a sort of punching bag for some of the worst people around her. This otherness in power is known to hinder her everyday life as Celie fights to even be noticed by those around her. Though it took her some time, that imbalance of power was eventually uncovered after Shug taught Celie more about how she specifically sees the world: “Man corrupts everything, say Shug. He on your box of grits, in your head, and all over the radio. He try to make you think he everywhere, you think he God, but he ain’t” (Walker 198). This quote is so impactful to Ceilie because it solidifies her knowledge of the power dynamics between

In a way Shug explains that men control even the basis of Celie’s thoughts because of how much everyday norms tend to surround men's whims, leaving a society based on the ultimate power and opinion of the man. Unlike Shug who is already confident and sure in herself Celie has to learn to discard their norms in order to break the abuse of power held over her. Another way the world’s unfair balance in power affects Ceilie’s everyday life is the dynamic between white and black people. Though slaves had been freed years ago in this novel’s timeline, white people still exert their power and demand over everyone in the black community: “I know white people never listened to colored people, period. If they do they only listen hard enough to be able to tell you what to do” (Walker 196). This behavior, shown so clearly by the white characters in this novel, has displayed to the readers an even uglier side to the power imbalance. Celie knows after working for the mayor’s family that despite what they say they will never truly care about her or her family, because they think of her as lesser. To them she is ultimately nothing more to them than an almost animalistic presence, forced to serve