Imprisonment is a word that is usually understood in one of two ways: literally and figuratively. There are many different ways to be imprisoned, such a mentally, physically, and emotionally, and these types of imprisonment are usually mentioned in most types of fiction literature. In the book “The Color Purple,” many different characters are all imprisoned in their own ways, though a certain few definitely stick out more than others. To me, Celie is the most prominent “prisoner” in this story. She is trapped in many different ways: physically, mentally, emotionally. She is physically trapped in her father’s house as a young girl, forced to take over her ill (and eventually dead) mother’s place, until a man wants to marry her sister. She is then married away by her father and thrown into a position that is basically that of a slave. The man she marries, named “Mr._____” in her journal, is abusive and makes her work all day long as he sits on the porch and drinks. He dehumanizes Celie, frequently expecting her to submit to insincere, forced intercourse. She is also expected to take care of her husband’s uncooperative children, who are blatantly …show more content…
If we refer to the beginning of the book, Harpo is trying to get his first woman, Sofia, to mind him by beating her. This backfired unlike he imagined, and she ended up beating him far worse than he beat her. Eventually, Sofia gets sick of his desperate grasps for control and leaves him. Harpo gets a new woman, and its Mary Agnes-- Squeak. Squeak is everything Harpo wanted from Sofia: feeble, obedient, and lovesick. A high contrast from Sofia, who was hardworking, forcible, and self-sufficient. In my opinion, Squeak is trapped, even if unknowingly, between the expectations Harpo holds for her and what he got from Sofia. He was used to having a wife who could provide for herself and could stick up for herself, and I think that he might hold Squeak to that