The Color Purple Book Review

The men in the story are seen as devils filled with great evil. They beat their women and they control everything they do. The women have no control over their own lives and they feel dirty constantly. They all want to have a happy life, but the men keep that from happening. Celie has a bad background because of the way she was treated by her family (i.e. "My mama crazy," "Pa not Pa"). She was forced to marry a man at a young age that she didn't even like at the least. She went through abuse for a long time, became terribly depressed and she only loved her sister, Nettie, who ran away, because she didn't want to be forced into getting married to Mr._ like Celie. Also Mr._ didn't want her because he didn't like her, and he swore that she would never be able to contact Celie. Sofia had an influence on Celie because she stood up for herself and fought back. Then came along Shug that had fallen in love with Celie who had lost her sister, which eventually returned after an extremely long time from Africa.

Celie was a very troubled depressed woman because she didn't think that anyone truly loved her. When she and Mr._ would have intercourse she still said that she was a virgin, because she never felt good when she ever had sex. Mr._ would get on top of her and do his thing then they would go to sleep, Celie said. The two of them didn't get along that entire well. She was always doing work for him and he never showed her any gratitude.

Celie had an unbreakable friendship with her sister Nettie. She didn't know where Nettie had run off to, and she feared the worse because Celie never heard from her. Later, Celie found out that Nettie had been writing her all those years, but Mr._ had been keeping the letters from her. Celie became enraged and tried to kill him.

Sofia was a fighter. When Harpo tried to tell her what to do, she didn't follow instructions. When Harpo would go to far, Sofia would fight back, instead of taking the abuse. Sofia had made an impact on Celie because she showed her that the women could gain complete control. Celie had learned that indeed she had what it took to live a happy life. Celie had gained the confidence to do something about the situation she was in.

Shug (a beautiful and appealing women to Celie) had come along one day and she had helped Celie find Nettie's letters to Celie. Celie and Shug had developed a friendship that led them to becoming partners. When they had sex, Celie finally felt something good for once. Celie had left Mr._ and gone to live with Shug. While she lived with Shug, she started making pants that turned into her business. Unfortunately, Shug had found a nineteen-year old boy, Germaine that she decided to leave Celie over. When she had first left, she told Celie that it would only be for 6 months, but Celie didn't hear from her for a very long time. When Shug tried to return Celie rejected her.

Celie was extremely heart broken over her life and the people she thought loved her, and she loved them. In the end, she had gained the land, the house and the store, that her mother passed on to her and Nettie, which she had received, from their real father. Finally she felt life was good, instead of always feeling hurt, or pain, or feeling like nothingness, but now she feels like she's something. Her love for her sister, Sofia's influence and Shug convincing her to leave Mr._ had all contributed to her success in the end.

Source: The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Book.