n The Color Purple, Alice Walker's great epistolary novel, narrator Celie writes letters to God in which she tells her life story. Raped and impregnated by her father, Celie is married off young to a man she doesn't love. After meeting a beautiful singer named Shug Avery, however, Celie finds the strength to leave her husband and reunite with her children.
Narrator Celie, a victim of incest, is forced to give up her two children. She's married off to Mr.—, who beats her and forces her to care for him and his children.
Celie meets the singer Shug Avery, with whom she has an affair. From Shug, Celie learns how to stand up for herself and finds the courage to leave Mr.— and live her own life.
After discovering a stack of letters that Mr.— hid from her, Celie reunites with her sister Nettie and her children.
Overview
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The Color Purple
Summary of the Novel
The novel focuses upon the growth and development of a girl named Celie. Raped at 14 by her own father and then forced into a marriage with a cruel older man, Celie learns to be quiet and submissive. The person she cares most about, her sister Nettie, is forced out of her own home and kicked out of Celie’s home by her husband, Mr.____. Mr.____ had married Celie so that she could take care of his children and work for him, since he is already in love with Shug Avery.
When Shug Avery falls ill, Mr.____ keeps her at his home. Thanks to Celie’s care, Shug is able to recover and the two women begin a friendship. Over time, Celie learns to stand up for herself and gain self-respect. Celie also learns how to love, as the two women become lovers as well as friends. Shug promises Celie that she will stay and protect her from the abuse of Mr.____.
Nettie, meanwhile, finds refuge at the home of Samuel, the local reverend, and his wife, Corrine. Corrine and Samuel have two adopted children, Adam and Olivia. Celie is actually the mother of these children; they were taken from her by her father before she married Mr.____. Eventually the entire family, including Nettie, is sent to Africa for work as missionaries. They attempt to teach African children about Christianity. Nettie becomes involved in the struggle to educate a young African girl, Tashi, despite the wishes of her father, who believes that women should follow the custom of striving to become good wives. Nettie also enters a conflict with Corrine, who believes that Adam and Olivia are the result of an affair Nettie had with Samuel. Corrine is convinced that this is what happened because the children resemble Nettie so closely.
Nettie finally tells Samuel and Corrine that Celie is the children’s original mother, but by now Corrine doesn’t believe anything she says. When Corrine falls ill with a fever and comes close to death, Nettie becomes more desperate to make her believe the truth. Finally, Corrine remembers an early meeting that she had with Celie and dies understanding that Nettie had never had a relationship with Samuel. As the years pass, however, Nettie and Samuel fall in love and marry. Eventually, the missionaries are unable to save the Olinka tribe, whose land has been taken by developers. They plan to return to America and rescue Celie from her unhappy marriage. Nettie chronicles her adventures in Africa by writing letters to Celie twice a year. These letters, however, are taken by Mr.____ and hidden from Celie, who believes her sister is gone forever.
When Celie, with Shug’s help, finds out that Mr.____ has been hiding these letters, she makes a stand and leaves Mr.____’s house. She learns how to live life on her own and how to take care of others, all the while waiting for Nettie. After her departure from Mr.____’s farm, Mr.____ and his son Harpo learn to be kinder to each other and to others. Celie enjoys a life of independence and eventually accepts and reconciles with the people who have treated her cruelly. The climax of the novel occurs when Nettie returns with Samuel, Olivia, Adam and Tashi, who has married Adam. After a tearful reunion, Celie, after all her suffering, is the happiest she has ever felt in her life.
The unique structure of the novel should be noted. Walker uses first-person narration, that is, the action of the novel is written through the eyes of the character Celie.
Celie’s narration takes place in the form of letters, first to God, then to her sister Nettie. Nettie’s adventures are told through her point of view, through letters written to Celie. Therefore, the plot of the text is actually two separate stories, loosely connected through Celie’s relationship with Nettie. Celie and Nettie comment on their shared experiences, such as Celie’s relationship with Mr.____ and the discovery of Celie’s children, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps left by only one perspective in narration.
The Life and Work of Alice Walker
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