The Color Purple Analytical Essay

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the heartbreaking story of a young African American woman named Celie, who is trying to find her way through life and conveys a message of resilience through racial oppression. Throughout the story, Celie takes readers through her life and speaks about the hardships she has to overcome through letters to God or her sister, her main goal is to conquer these tough times she experiences and find her voice through her friends, family, and husband. A life changing connection Celie made in the story is with Shug. The relationship between Shug and Celie changed Celie's way of thinking and going about life. The two characters are very opposite of each other where Shug is very confident and outspoken and Celie is

She will not stand up to him because of his abusive nature and even believes that he beats her because she is not Shug, Celie’s low self-esteem is rooted in all of the abuse she has experienced. Shug has given Celie an environment where she can feel safe and heard by loved ones, taking Mr.____’s power over her and the family away. Mr.____ did not just have power over the people in his home, but also over Celie’s sister Nettie. A sisterly bond is unbreakable, but they were still torn apart and did not hear from each other for years, although they eventually found a way back to each other. “The simple fact of the matter is that our parents leave us too early and everyone else comes along too late. Our siblings are the only ones who are with us for the entire ride” (Smith). This showcases Celie and Netties relationship perfectly; they were all either of them, but they were forced apart. So Celie thought Nettie was dead and began writing letters to God because there was nobody else that would listen to her, eventually after she found many letters from her sister and began her letters with Dear Nettie instead of Dear

But I’m here” (Walker 206). This is a part of the story when she finally stands up to her husband and tells him she's leaving, she also tells him that everything he has done to her will come back to him. At this moment, she has found her voice and makes Mr.____ listen, all of the things she describes herself as in the previous quote are things that her husband has held against her and ridiculed her for. She takes these words away from Mr.____ and owns them, conveying her message that she will not put up with this abuse any longer, she has found her voice. “The letters, diaries, and oral histories collected by the Black Women in the Middle West Project and deposited in the Indiana Historical Society contain descriptions of the domestic violence that inspired black women to leave their rural homes for uncertain futures in the city” (Hine). This quote gives a real world connection to the story because this is a reality for so many people, and the mental effects of domestic violence can be