Celie's Life and Hard Times.

Celie's Life and Hard Times.

Alice Walker vividly portrays the sad but apparent reality of life in

the black rural communities of America during the mid-twentieth

century. It is a time when the impacts of slavery are still prevalent.

The relationships within families - as reflected in the novel - also

feel this impact. In search of a means to overcome their inferiority

in a society dominated by whites, men usually have their womenfolk

provide them with the feeling of importance that they desire (such as

the practice of addressing their husbands as Mr.______). This attitude

towards women is made obvious on the very first page, depicting

Celie's perception of her stepfather, "He never had a kine word to say

to me. Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn't" (1).

As Celie's life progresses, having given birth to two children - both

of whom were taken away by her father - she is wed to Mr.______

unceremoniously. Pa, one the basis that she was too young, rejected

the request for Nettie's hand in marriage to Mr.______. Instead he

offers Celie, claiming she was the more viable candidate on the

following grounds:

She ugly. He say. But she ain't no stranger to hard work. And she

clean. And God fixed her. You can do everything just like you want to

and she ain't gonna make you feed it or clothe it. (9)

Beginning from that day on Celie's life took an ever-downward sloping

turn. She endures seeing Olivia with a new mother, the animosity of

Harpo, taking care of Mr. ______'s children, and his abuse. Her

relationship with Mr.______ is such that it could hardly be called a

marriage. She was to do just as he said, without so much as uttering a

word of disagreement. She no longer possesses a zeal for life: "My

life stop when I left home . . ." (85). Each day is just another chore

During this time Nettie had also experiences some trouble at home with

Pa. After she realizes that to remain at home any longer would be a

compromise to her safety she runs away to Mr.______'s home. There she

is welcome since Mr.______ still thinks Nettie to be very attractive -

but for a while only - as Nettie does not give in to his demands.

When Mr.______ drives Nettie away, Celie experiences a loss so

profound that it would take many years to undo the damage done. Up

until that stage in Celie's life none had ever expressed any concern

over herself. It was Nettie who ensured that Celie was literate, that

Celie received an education, that Celie was not pushed around by