The character of Harpo from Alice Walkers The Color Purple is generally disliked by readers due to his personality and abuses on women. Harpo was originally married to Celie, then Sofia, Shug, and lastly Mary Agnes. Celie’s marriage to Harpo however, had been arranged by her father when marrying Nettie- Celie’s sister- was not an option. Values of Harpo are important to the storyline because they are what bring the group of women together. Decided between the marriages, the group of women was going to move away from Harpo and start over. Thanks to Harpo, Shug and Celie ended up finding love together, Shug and Mary Agnes finding fame through song, and Celie opening up her own business in making custom pants. Even though Harpo is known to abuse
However, even though at this point in the book she believes Nettie is likely dead, she stays in the marriage, thus proving the lack of value she has for herself. In this marriage, along with the beatings and rapes, Mr.____ doesn’t like to allow Celie to go places. When Shug is going to perform at Harpo’s juke- joint, Mr.____ doesn’t want Celie to come, saying, “Wives don’t go to places like that.” (Walker 73). Even though Celie has been dying to hear Shug perform, she does not argue with him.
Sophia, Shug, and Nettie are a strong, independent women who instructed Celie to fight Mr.. Nettie advised Celie that “[you] need to fight” and Celie responded that “I [do not] know how to fight. All I know is how to stay alive” (17). Celie thought that quiet being submissive was the only way to stay alive. Nettie said to fight and Celie thinks she is dead. Sophia fought the Mayor and the white townspeople beat her up so badly that Celie was shocked that Sophia survived.
Shug Avery marries Albert and becomes Celie's best friend and even develop feelings for one another. Avery is able to help Celie find the letters Albert have hidden. She is not able to communicate with her sister Nettie, who is now living in Africa. She also learns her children are still alive living in foster homes. Celie finds the confidence to stop Albert and leave.
An unforgettable story of enduring love and triumph over adversity, The Color Purple is a landmark musical from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker. This stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life.
In the book The Color Purple the character Harpo is victim to society's stereotypes and destroys his marriage in his attempt to conform to traditional gender roles. Harpo falls in love with Sofia, a strong willed woman whose personality balances with his more passive one. Yet Harpo attempts again and again to be the dominant one in the relationship, to be the man his father thinks he should be. His attempts to overpower Sofia fail, and end up driving her away.
In the book, The Color Purple, Sofia acts as a foil character to Celie; her strong and feisty personality helps Celie realize that she can choose different paths for her life to follow. Raised in a home constantly beaten, Celie learned at a young age her place as a women in pre-World War II society. To survive she complied with all commands shot towards her. When Sofia arrived however, Celie realizes there’s more options in life than just settling and becoming a scared and submissive house wife, there’s a way to finally see the color purple. Being brought up on the bible lead Celie to lead a very religious lifestyle.
Sex has been used by men as a weapon to take away power and use it to their advantage. Once Celie meets Shug, they eventually start developing a romantic and sexual relationship. Through all of this, Celie begins to heal and work on her self-worth and starts to take power from her abusers. Within this, Celie finds a sense of beauty, worth, and self-pleasure she lacked thereof, by Shug’s attention and affection. For instance, the novel states, “All the men got they eyes glued to Shug’s bosom.
The problem of Mr. ____ gets taken care of when Shug and her discover the letters that Mr. ____ has been withholding. Shug can see that he does not care for Celie at all, and that Celie has to get away from him. After reading the letters, they just lie together and for the first time since Nettie, she has a family member. She calls Shug her sister.
As this idea is presented by means of a statement, it also highlights the fundamental differences between men and women which appear in the novel. Compared to Celie who has more girlish features and less experience, Shug is able to teach her about the world and men. Eventually she becomes the main supporter in the form of a role model. “Shug Avery teaches her to value herself as a woman, and as a black woman with creative talents and the ability to earn her own keep. Shug helps to educate Celie out of her ‘triple oppression’, step by step.”
Once Shug is able to feel acquainted with Celie they find themselves doing everything together. Shug teaches Celies about herself mentally, spiritually, and physically with her body. The book captures the feelings held between the Celie and Shug with vibrant words and sentences between the two characters. ¨She say, I love you, Miss Celie. And then she haul off and kiss me on the mouth (Walker, 1982).¨
Both Hester and Celie have no love and happiness with their husbands. However, Celie continuously receives helps
Shug helps Celie find the letters her sister had been sending over the years since Albert made Nettie leave. Albert had hide the letters from Celie in a box under the floorboards in the closet. Shug showed Celie the love she had been lacking in her life. Near the end of the story Celie finally acquires enough courage to stand up to Albert at the dinner table. Celie defends herself and says the things she’s been holding back.
Literary Analysis: The Color Purple Every individual learns something new or different every day, whether it is somebody’s favorite color or learning something new about yourself. Many people can either learn from their hardships and past experiences, while others may learn from other people’s past through stories or guidance. Throughout the novel, The Color Purple written by Alice Walker, the main character, Celie, learned how to love herself, that everyone makes mistakes, and face her fears.
Family is shown throughout this book as the people who stick with a person, a biological relative, and these people in turn contribute to Celie’s development as a character. Family according to Alice Walker is many things, one of which is the person or people who stick with an individual through the good times and the bad times. For Celie in the beginning she had none of these people, but towards the end these people for her were Shug Avery, her friend and lover, and Albert, her husband who she did not want to marry. When introducing Nettie to Shug Avery and Albert, Celie refers to them as “My peoples. This is Shug and Albert” (Walker, 287).
Monika Pareek Professor Dasgupta Women's Writing 7th April 2016. Exploring the idea of 'womanism' in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker (b. 1944) is a novel of celebration of black women who challenge the unjust authorities and emerge beyond the yoke of forced identities. It is situated in Georgia, America, in 1909 and written entirely in the epistolary form, mainly by Celie, the main protagonist and her sister, Nettie.