The Color Purple Book Report Essay Research

The Color Purple Book Report Essay, Research Paper

1. The main character in The Color Purple is a young black Georgia girl named Celie. She is uneducated and uses a non-standard dialect when writing and speaking. She was born into a poor family. Her mother was ill much of the time, and there were too many children. She was raped by her father, who she later finds out is actually her step-father. She has very little self-worth and self-esteem. In the end she is able to triumph over the sexual and racial oppression that she has had to face.

2. One of the minor characters is Shug Avery. She is a blues singer who teaches Celie about love and self-esteem. At first she seems to be selfish and arrogant. She tries to avoid the truth about who she really is. She is uncompromisingly honest, in fact, her first words to Celie were, “You sure is ugly.” By nature she is manipulative and superficially popular. She’s a “free spirit.” She’s full of life on stage, and it appears that she lives a sweet life. The fact that she sings blues is due to the lonely isolation she feels.

Another minor character is Mr.—– or Albert. He is the moody, vicious man that Fonso chooses as Celie’s husband. He is quite an evil man, and surprisingly weak. His mistreatment of Celie is totally unnecessary, yet his adoration of Shug shows a soft side. Albert’s father did not raise him to be independent, but rather to serve his father’s own needs. As he grew older and had his father as a role model, he became self-centered and an irrational individual. Just like the other characters, Albert is reformed throughout the novel. He goes from being a detestable figure to an understanding, grandfatherly figure.

3. The setting is not actually told to the reader. It must be concluded from clues throughout the novel. It is however stated that it takes place in Georgia and Africa simutaneously, since Celie is in Georgia and Nettie is in Africa. There are large gaps between letters, sometimes as much as five years. The letters begin in a time when people ride around in wagons, and when the letters end, people are driving cars. From this it can be concluded that the time is near the beginning of the twentieth century.

4. The novel begins with Celie’s letter. She is writing to God and trusting him as she would trust a best friend for guidance and strength, despite the unhappiness she feels within herself and all those around her. She tells him that she is only fourteen, but already she does the cooking, cleaning, and caring for her siblings because of her mother’s poor health. She has also been raped by her father.

By the age of fifteen Celie has grown up considerably. She is pregnant for the second time. Her mother dies and leaves her to watch over the children. At this point she believes that Fonso, her father and the father of her children, has killed her other child. Fonso remarries and promises Celie to marry Mr.—–.

For years, Celie withstands Mr.—–, Albert’s, brutal violence. She is more a slave to her husband, than she is a wife. And then something unexpected happens. Her husband’s mistress, Shug, comes to the house to recuperate and Celie becomes her nurse. As Shug grows stronger physically, and as Celie nurses her, Shug encourages Celie to grow stronger psychologically. At the same time, Sofia, Celie’s daughter-in-law shows Celie how to stand up to men, prejuduce, and injustice, and to fight. It isn’t easy for Celie to act on these new concepts, but when she finds proof that Albert has hidden all of her sister’s letters from her, trying to make her think that Nettie was either dead or that she never wrote, Celie can’t take anymore. She fights back. She leaves him and goes to Memphis to find happiness with a woman who loves her.

All through the years, she has kept the memory of Nettie alive, despite the fact that that there was no proof Nettie was even alive. Nettie is not only alive, but she helped raise Celie’s two children.

When the novel ends, Celie has learned to love herself and others. She has endured much and has learned to fight. She has won her battles. In fact, not only has Celie won, but she has discovered a sense of joy that she never realized was possible.

5. One symbol from the book would have to be Olivia and Adam. They are Celie’s children by her father. Both of their lives originated from her being raped by her father. They both symbolize her pain and grief. They are reminders of the incest in which they were created from, and yet at the same time they symbolize a type of freedom or joy. Theey were brought into the world under bad circumstances, but they led happy lives. Things can change.

Another symbol is the road that runs through the Olinka village. Just as the slave traders arrived many years before and robbed Africa of its best people, the roadbuilders now rob the Africans of their homes and lands. The Olinka did not realize that the road was going to run through their village. They are symbolically blind to the progress that they cannot stop. They became friends with the roadbuilders who were their distant cousins, and much like the time when the blacks sold one another into slavery, they were betrayed.

6. A. You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.

Dear God,

I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is