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Brief Summary Of 'The Color Purple' By Alice Walker

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The Color Purple

Introduction The Color Purple was written by an American author Alice Walker and was published in 1982. It won numerous awards in literature and film. It also had musical and radio adaptations. The story is all about Celie, who is a black woman and it was taken place in Southern United States. Celie’s life became a very hard one, for she had undergone severe maltreatment and sorrows which started on her adolescent years until her married life. Despite the tribulation, Celie made a letters to God as her confidant and as her way of expressing how she feels. She had met a lot of people along the way which plays several roles that made her learn a lot of things. Some made her life more difficult, …show more content…

During her young and difficult life, she started writing letters to God and express how she feels. She had tremendous abused from her father Alphonso who raped, beaten, and impregnated her twice. She presumed that Alphonso also killed her children after she delivered them. Alphonso had a new wife after her mother died. After quite some time, Alphonso wanted her instead of her pretty sister Nettie to marry a man they known only as Mister but with a real name of Albert. Her sufferings continued as Mister treated her as a slave, beaten her often, and treated unlikely as a wife. Her husband also have a mistress named Shug Avery by which the photographs she saw. Her sister Nettie tried living with them but manage to leave due to the advances of Mister. Mister’s sister named Kate felt sorry for Celie’s fate and encouraged her to fight Mister. Mister’s had a son named Harpo (not Celie’s son) who married a brave girl named Sofia and also encouraged Celie to fight back. Mister wanted Sofia to be inferior to his son by trying to beat her, but Sofia as strong woman manage to fight back and even to Harpo. Sofia moved out with her children due to the rudeness of Mister and Harpo, while Harpo had another girlfriend named Squeak. Sofia was lead to meet Miss Millie, the mayor’s wife who put Sofia to jail due to her insubordination. When Mister’s mistress Shug falls ill, he took her home and made Celie nurse her. The two women initially have quarrels but they turned having intimate relationship with each other. Their relationship continued even if Shug had a new husband named Grady. They talked about a lot of subject, including Celie’s sister Nettie. Shug helped Celie to discover how mister hidden the letters of Nettie for Celie. From the letters they learned that Nettie met a missionary couple, Samuel and Corrine with their two adopted children Olivia

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Shug speaks up for her, but Mr.____ becomes upset about letting Celie go, and mutters “My wife can’t do this. My wife can’t do that. No wife of mines… He go on and on.” (Walker 73).

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Once Shug is able to feel acquainted with Celie they find themselves doing everything together. Shug teaches Celies about herself mentally, spiritually, and physically with her body. The book captures the feelings held between the Celie and Shug with vibrant words and sentences between the two characters. ¨She say, I love you, Miss Celie. And then she haul off and kiss me on the mouth (Walker, 1982).¨

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The problem of Mr. ____ gets taken care of when Shug and her discover the letters that Mr. ____ has been withholding. Shug can see that he does not care for Celie at all, and that Celie has to get away from him. After reading the letters, they just lie together and for the first time since Nettie, she has a family member. She calls Shug her sister.

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Shug helps Celie find the letters her sister had been sending over the years since Albert made Nettie leave. Albert had hide the letters from Celie in a box under the floorboards in the closet. Shug showed Celie the love she had been lacking in her life. Near the end of the story Celie finally acquires enough courage to stand up to Albert at the dinner table. Celie defends herself and says the things she’s been holding back.

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Shug Avery, a gorgeous, flamboyant, and “scandalous” blues singer leads a successful career on her own, traveling the country singing. She refuses to let any man control her, and Celie’s husband even treats her more respectfully than he does his own wife. While Shug was initially bitter and cruel towards Celie, she quickly became her biggest supporter. Most noticeably, Shug demands Albert stop beating Celie, saying: “I won’t leave…until I know Albert won’t even think about beating you” (Walker, 1982). In addition to Shug, Sophia, another African American womanist, is known throughout the novel for her stubborn refusal to let any man or woman overpower her.

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Hopelessness is a common feeling among people today due to a number of controlling figureheads, such as parents, governments or boss, in everyday life. Nobody understands this hopelessness better than the protagonist in The Colour Purple, by Alice Walker, who struggles with finding her independence in a world of controlling men and no imagination of a better future. At first, the protagonist, Celie, obeys an abusive husband, and never fights back because she has no role models to teach her otherwise. However, as independent, strong women are introduced into her life, Celie begins to understands a life where she follows her dreams and live by her own rules. Finally, following the example of her role models, Celie is inspired to become an independent businesswoman with a healthy view of self-worth.

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Literary Analysis: The Color Purple Every individual learns something new or different every day, whether it is somebody’s favorite color or learning something new about yourself. Many people can either learn from their hardships and past experiences, while others may learn from other people’s past through stories or guidance. Throughout the novel, The Color Purple written by Alice Walker, the main character, Celie, learned how to love herself, that everyone makes mistakes, and face her fears.

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Monika Pareek Professor Dasgupta Women's Writing 7th April 2016. Exploring the idea of 'womanism' in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker (b. 1944) is a novel of celebration of black women who challenge the unjust authorities and emerge beyond the yoke of forced identities. It is situated in Georgia, America, in 1909 and written entirely in the epistolary form, mainly by Celie, the main protagonist and her sister, Nettie.

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