Discrimination In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

Superior Essays
Mr. and Mrs. Albert _____

Alice Walker once said "I grew up in the South under segregation. So, I know what terrorism feels like - when your father could be taken out in the middle of the night and lynched just because he didn 't look like he was in an obeying frame of mind when a white person said something he must do. I mean, that 's terrorism, too” (“Alice Walker.” 1). By saying this Walker gives us a look into why she may have written The Color Purple. To show us the oppression people of this time, especially women, went through. Also by growing up in the South Walker lets us into the personal and emotional aspect of a little girl just trying to make it. Celie, the main character, starts as a girl in the South whereupon she meets
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A girl becomes a woman. In the beginning Celie is oppressed by her father. Then given to a man who becomes her husband. Celie’s sister Nettie comes to live with them but then is kicked out by Mr._____, Celie’s husband. Celie then meets Shug Avery, a woman with whom she falls in love with, who helps her through the tough time of living with her husband Mr.____. Thinking all these years that her sister Nettie has been dead, Celie discovers letters from Nettie proving that she is in fact alive. This forces Celie to form a deep hatred for her husband. The novel transitions into two narrators, letters from Celie and letters from Nettie. With the help of Shug, Celie stands up to her oppressor and moves with Shug to Tennessee.By moving and standing up to her husband Celie becomes independent and her own woman. In the end of the novel Celie becomes friends with Mr.____ and is reunited with her sister Nettie and her children at …show more content…
Celie is practically given away to this man by her father. Already having a bad view on men Celie is immediately treated cruelly by Albert. “Mr._____ say, That cow still coming?” (Walker 11). Indicating that he wasn’t so much as worried about getting Celie but getting her cow which was promised to him by Celie’s father if Mr._____ married Celie. Albert is displeased with marrying Celie instead of Nettie. So this is possibly the only motive of marrying Celie in the first place.

Later on in the novel Celie learns what it’s like to be the wife of Mr._____. Celie is made to take care of everything around the house including the children who aren’t even hers. Mr._____ is very cruel to Celie. He verbally and physically abuses her. “Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr._____ say, cause she my wife. Plus, she stubborn. All women good for-he don’t finish. He just tuck his chin over the paper like he do. Remind me of Pa.” (Walker, Alice. 23). Mr.______ acts like Celie is a possession, an object to be had. He also treats her like an object like she is nothing. This is also a very important part of the novel because Celie begins to think that all men are alike in the way they treat her “Remind me of

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