Review of Walker's Novel, The Color Purple

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The Color Purple is a very moving and spiritual book. It takes a women who has nothing to speak of going for her and who is a victim to the world, and it takes her to a place where she is a strong individual who can voice her own opinions about things without people telling her what to do. She gets incredible power that grows inside her throughout the book. It is only fully released near the end of the book when her sister, Nettie, is about to come home. As for her, Celie, she just survives during her life, and takes what is handed to her. Until one fateful day when a woman named Shrug comes into the picture and comes to stay with them while she is recovering from a disease. From that day on, Celie could see that some women stand up for themselves, just like her step-son's wife always had, her name being Sofia. Between Sofia and Shrug, they drag Celie out inch by inch until this strong woman arises and stands up to her dead-beat husband who beat her all the time until Shrug cooled him down. Shrug is like Celie's guardian angel that came to rescue her and who helped her find the strong women that she already had inside of her. She becomes not only strong, but she also becomes a woman that is in control of her own life instead of all the men in her life having control. Celie lost control when she was about fourteen. Her dad, or later she realized step-dad, took the control away. From that moment on, until Shrug came around, she was the weak victim that did everything she was told, and let herself get beaten because she thought she deserved it after all. She always thought she was ugly. In her mind she was ugly and not deserving of love or anything good in the world. But when Shrug came around, her mind changed to thinking that s... ... middle of paper ... ...ie actually influences someone else. Her name is Mary Agnes, but Harpo called her Squeak. She stood up to hum by saying, “My name is Mary Agnes.” (pg.102). When Shug gets a husband, Celie is jealous. (pg.113). When Nettie's letters come, her real courage creeps up because she also finds out her children are alive, and it reaches a point where her and Shug leave along with Squeak. Celie stands up for herself by saying to Mr., “Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble/ Until you do right by me, everything you even dream about will fail...” (pg. 213). She continues until Shug stops her and tells Mr. that he needs to back off. Then she started making pants and by the end of the book, she saw herself as strong and beautiful in her mind and outside. By the end, the transformation is complete. She is strong and beautiful and she is not a victim anymore.

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