ESSAY CEMETERY

The life of The Color Purple's protagonist, Celie, is populated with both men and women. Whereas the men in the narrative wreak damage to Celie's self-esteem, emotional capacity, and love of life, the women around her have a rehabilitating effect on Celie. Kate, Sofia, Nettie, and Shug Avery all strengthen Celie in different ways, so that she is able to reconstruct her life and find optimism and joy in her experiences. From a very young age, Celie is abused by the men in her life. The man she believes to be her father rapes her and takes her out of school when she has the first of his two children; the man she marries as a teenager beats her repeatedly and engages her in passionless sex. Her supposed father discusses Albert, Celie's future husband, with insulting derision: "She ugly. Don't even look like she kin to Nettie ... She ain't smart either, and I'll just be fair, you have to watch her or she'll give away everything you own … And another thing? ...

Very strong language When I start to hurt and then my stomach start moving and then that little baby come out my pussy chewing on it fist you could have knock me over with a feather. Education is important He got only three children though. He seen Nettie in church and now every Sunday evening here come Mr.___.I tell Nettie to keep at her books. Dreaming of a different life Shug Avery was a woman. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more pretty then my mama. She bout ten thousand times more prettier then me. I see her there in furs. Her face rouge. Her hair like somethin tail. She grinning with her foot up on somebody motocar. Her eyes serious tho. Sad some. I ast her to give me the picture. An all night long I stare at it. An now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery. She be dress to kill, whirling and laughing. Protective of Netti I ast him to take me instead of Nettie while our new mammy sick. But he just ast me what I'm talking bout. I tell him I can fix myself up for him. I...

Celie, fourteen years old, is raped by her mother's boyfriend (her father?) and has his baby. She lies to her mother and says she doesn't know the father. The father kidnaps and kills the baby in her sleep. Her mother dies. She has another baby and thinks this time he has sold it. He marries a girl her age, "the new mammy", and brings her home and takes her frequently. Celie loves school but the first time she became pregnant Pa took her out, saying she was too dumb.  Her little sister Nettie has a suitor, Mr. _____, but He won't let her marry him because Nettie is too young. He says he will let him have Celie instead. Finally, he decides to marry Celie, after the woman who took care of his kids left and on the condition that the cow they have comes too. He has three children. Celie finds comfort in a picture of Shug Avery, Mr. ____'s sweetheart. She is black, beautiful, sophisticated and well dressed. She gets married. The oldest boy, twelve years old, is opp...