Lindsey Hardy Final

   Celie, a young woman in the 20th century south. Abused from day one, Celie and her sister, Nettie, live with their mother and father on a farm somewhere in the south. When their mother goes ill, Celie begins to take the place of her mother, doing for her father, what her mother could no longer do. Walker writes, "Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn't" (1). Although he never touched Nettie, Celie gets pregnant, not once but twice, and each time her father would steal the child away to kill it. Because of these various hardships that the girls endure, their attitudes and actions are effected. They are both shy and soft-spoken women, more Celie than Nettie. Nettie was the stronger of the two, but you can't blame Celie, as she was treated way worse.
   The mental effect that the abuse had on Celie is one that you pick up on through the way she allows others to talk about her. In the quote, " He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it" (Walker 1) and "He say Why don't you look decent? Put something on" (Walker 3). The only way she can express her feelings towards others, is by letters to God. This shows how she really had no one. No one to help guide her, no one to give her strength and love. That is what she found in God, which is probably why all of her letters, at first, were written to him.
   Yes, my opinion of Celie did change throughout the story. At the beginning of the novel Celie did have a tough life, which is why she was so down all of the time. Because of this attitude in her, I was not drawn to her at first. I did not like the way she was so pessimistic about everything. However, she had no reason to be optimistic anyway. Throughout the story, you see Celie go from a battered young girl to a strong-willed, normal 20th century woman. With the help of friends, Shug Avery and Harpo, she gains courage to stand up to Mr. ____, the man she was forced to marry, who also beat her. She unleashes a new side of herself. She then has her own business making pants, which keeps her busy and gives her something to do. In this story you really see how a person can grow when they are surrounded by love and encouragement. Celie makes something of herself, hoping that one day, Nettie will prosper in the ways that she did.
   I believe that the reason Walker chose Celie to be the narrator was to have her story told in the best way possible. Reading the encounters first hand, from Celie's point of view, really made the stories believable and added emotion. If I read the story from the 3rd person point of view would still get the emotion across, but it would be harder to depict your ideas of each other character. Because Celie's descriptions depict her as "the victim", you can see how this little bit of bias really influences your ultimate opinion of the father. In the quote, "First he put his thing up gainst my hip and sort of wiggle it around. Then he grab hold my titties. Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. But I don't never git used to it" (Walker 1). Reading it from a different perspective could really change this. A different narrator may favor the side of the father, rather than Celie does for herself.
   Overall, I really enjoyed re-reading the novel, The Color Purple. This time around, I was able to get deeper into the text and really understand the message that the book was trying to send.

  

Bailey Druschel Final

My narrator of The Color Purple is Ms./Mrs. Celie. She is portrayed as an ugly, stupid, skinny African Amerian woman. Celie, in my opinion, is a sweet girl who doesn't know what she is doing because her Pa and Arthur control what she does. Celie is one to fall for chores and giving in to sex because she couldn't control any of it. Celie describes, "He beat me for dressing trampy but he do it to me anyway" (Walker 7). Celie is referring to Pa because her mammy was sick. She dressed up in her mammy's heals and feathers that he doesn't like, but he will make her have sex anyways. It just goes to show that Celie didn't have a clue of her surroundings. She was too young of a person to know what was happening to her. Celie obviously knew it was bad, but she knew she couldn't do anything to her Pa because he could've done something terribly wrong to her, like even beat her to death. My view of Celie changed dramatically when she stood up for herself at a family dinner with Shug. She told Arthur she wasn't dealing with his nonsense anymore and Shug said Celie was going to Memphis, Tennessee with Shug. Celie left and she was an entrepreneur for her famous pants clothing line, "Celie's Folk Pants." They came in all sizes and she made all her time spent on that to sell amounts of pants for money. Celie was given house she grew up in and lived there happily. Celie viewed herself as young woman. She felt better about herself as a whole and Arthur actually loved her for her this time. She was loved and felt good for once in the book. She changed for the good and Celie ended as a brave, independent woman in the South.

I believe Alice Walker chose Celie because Alice may have lived a similar life as Celie. Alice may have wanted a narrator to describe the depth of women in the South in the 1900s to give us people today views of society in the 1900s. The author wanted the readers to view the nasty things these women went through with men. Alice could have been beaten by her father, or could've just had a live as a slave. Alice shows that Celie is a weak woman in the beginning of the story. Celie is only a teenage a girl with not much education. Alice try's to show that younger woman, such as Celie cannot control a man. She gives flashy scenes of Celie being raped and beaten by her Pa. Showing us readers how Celie was forced to marry Mr. _____. Celie's quote says, "How she could come to me if I marry him and he be so love struck with her I could figure out a way for us to run away" (Walker 9). Alice uses this to engage the reader with the problem of Celie marrying Arthur when he loves Nettie, but Nettie is too young. Celie feels terrible and doesn't want to lose her sister because Nettie loves him back. Alice wants to give foreshadow that they could run away for Nettie to marry Mr. ____, but that isn't what happens at all. Celie deals with Arthur for a while and Alice brings out an urge of anger with standing up for womens' rights. Celie always seems to dig down on herself and Alice could've done that to herself living with people who controlled her. I like Alice Walker and I like the way she wanted Celie to be the narrator. Celie could be another Alice Walker just as a character. Alice shows power for the climax and shows that women can have control. It shows how women can be stoned than what they really are and no one is stupid or ugly in any way. It shows how love is portrayed and anyone can love anyone. Alice made a happy ending and I'm sure that's how Alice's life ended up was happy.

Samantha Shipley Final

    


     The Color Purple is narrated by an African American woman named Celie who makes her way through the ups and downs of life in deep, rural Georgia. She is portayed in such a way in the begging that you as a reader take pitty on her. A young girl of fourteen, she is confused about why she is treated the way she is. Her mother was dying and her "father" turned her into an object of sex. It is no wonder her demeanor is so depressive. The negativity surrounding her in a way allows her to believe she is not superior and must obey others. "She ugly. Don't even look like she's kin to Nettie. But she'll make the better wife. She ain't smart either, and i'll just be fair, you have to watch her or she'll give away everything you own. But she can work like a man" (Walker 8). She is characterized as the lesser of the other charcters, constantly being put down by the men in her life. Not only was she constantly put down by her collegues but her opinions were represed too. Never did Celie have a say in what she wanted. She was known as the girl who was forced to do things against her will. Raped, forced to marry, and allowed herself to be beaten by those who took advantage of her. It was not until the end of the novel when Celie stood up for herself and the other women that I began to see Celie as a stong, an independent charcter.

     My love and understanding grew for Celie as the novel progressed. When she finally took all of her repressed feelings and opinions and told Mr._____ how she felt, I realized the whole time she was very much capable of sticking up for herself and had a good head on her shoulders.  My opinion changed from feelings of pitty and dislike, to feelings of understanding and compassion for Celie. Never have I ever thought of her as an independent woman. It seemed she only survived when she had a shoulder to lean on whether it was welcoming or cold. She is mostly definiatly characterized as a follower, not a leader. It was not Celie who chose to be married, nor was it Celie who chose to pack her bags and runaway to Tennesee, but those who she depended on to survive.

     You as the reader really get to know and understand character who is deemed author whether or not protagonist or antagonist. I as a reader believe the author choses there narractor for that reason exatly. Why would Walker chose such a woman like Celie to narrate? She an uneducated women who is constanly being mistreated by those around here. Maybe that is the reason she was chosen in the first place. We get so much of a deeper understanding of Celie when we read the novel because everything portayed, is portrayed from her perspective. First hand account. When I read from Celie's perspective, it in my opinion added a sense of charcter and allowed me to grasp a better understanding of the story. We are hearing the story from someone who is the victim and it deinaitely makes others in our minds seem like animals.

    In my whole hearted opinion, I loved the way Celie narrated and constanty wrote to God for guidance. "Dear, God I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happenng to me" (Walker 1). It gave the novel a sense of reality. She wasn't just wrting to a journal or a diary, but something real. It was as if we took the place of God under the circumstances and Celie was venting to us. We feel involved as the reader and it allows us to be put in a certain mindset that makes us feel part of the story. If the story had been narrated by another charcter of the story, say Mr.____ or Pa, we would have somehow taken pitty on them and only saw Celie as a lowly African American girl. This was Celie's story and that's why I believe the author chose her as narrator.

                                                                                            Samantha Shipley

Kacie Griffin Part 2

Why do you think the author chose them to be the narrator? How does their perspective change the story? What does it add? What is your opinion of them? Why? Include at least one quote.


Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, chose Celie as her narrator. I believe she chose her because of all the tragedy she went through. Her life was hard from the beginning, for she was raped by her father as a child. He seemed to take his sexual frustrations out on Celie because her mother was sick. Her stepfather once said to her: "You better not never tell nobody but God. it'd kill your mammy" (Walker 1). Celie's life definitely could not and did not get better until she made a change. Courage was a big theme throughout the book, and Celie showed it in ways you do not usually see. For example, Celie endured many gender discrimination issue within her own home. While this was happening, she still managed to do housework for the men treated the women so terribly. She is the face for women of this time period, and Walker wanted the message of courage to be portrayed that way.
      Celie's perspective definitely changes the story. We see everything that happens through her eyes, for we could have missed some aspects if Celie happened not to write them down. She had her own opinions and problems that shaped what the story was all about. One this that it did add was the parts where we saw the letters Nettie wrote. This was a neat aspect that definitely made the story more interesting to me. I overall liked the way Alice Walker decided to tell this story. The letter format made it seem more intimate and real.     

Kacie Griffin Part 1

Analyze your narrator. Who are they/ What do you know about them? How would you describe them? How where they characterized in the story? Did your opinion of them change? Include at least one quote in your answer.

The narrator of The Color Purple is Celie. Celie is a woman we saw mature of the course of the novel, for she was about fourteen when we started and many years passed as the novel progressed. She was beaten and raped by her stepfather as a young girl. This results in her getting pregnant twice, and her stepfather giving the children away. Celie was then married off to Mr._____. They did not love each, but they both did love Shug Avery. At first, Shug was just an idol to Celie, but after she met her, they fell in love. Celie loved Shug like she had never anyone before. Their bond was special and sincere. The only other person Celie had received love from was Nettie. Nettie is her younger sister who often wrote her from Africa. When Nettie was taken away from her, I believe that a lot of emotional damage was done on Celie. She lost hope then, and she did not even know it until years later. Celie was an evolving character who changed a lot throughout the course of the whole novel.
      At first, Celie was characterized as weak and fragile, but throughout the novel, she learned she was capable off standing up for herself. She stopped letting people walk all over her. When she fought with Mr.____ for saying she could not move to Tennessee with Shug was really the turning point for her. My opinion of her definitely changed. She was a boring charcter at first because she would almost always sit back and take the bad stuff, I felt she had no backbone or courage, but once she started being with Shug something changed. She had a fire in her that would not stop burning. Celie stopped judging herself so much with Shug, for when leaving for Mephis say tells Shug, "I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here" (Walker 207). This shows that Celie stops cares and realizes all she needs is Shug and Nettie to achieve complete happiness. 
           

Jaimee Martin

Why do you think the author chose them to be the narrator? How does their perspective change the story? What does it add? What is your opinion of them? Why? Include at least one quote in your answer. The above quotes should be used to support your answer to the above questions and should be fully introduce and discussed.

                Alice Walker tells a beautiful story for the perspective of someone who is perceived as not so beautiful and her life somewhat reflects that. I believe she chose Celie to narrate this book due to how people see her. I think Celie narrates to show that she is more to herself than just a face. She has feelings, she has needs, and she wants to be content with her life. In the beginning, she just wants to know why things happen in her life, “Dear God, I am fourteen years old. I am I have been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me” (Walker 1).  As we go through the book, she starts to get a grip on her life. Walker chose Celie to show that everyone goes through things in their life, and sometimes you may not understand why it happens, but in the end your life can be the way you want it to turn out. Celie is not privileged. She isn’t the prettiest face. She isn’t the smartest. At the end of the book, she has everything she wants.

                Celie’s perspective changes when Shug Avery comes into the picture. She changes from being quite a Debby Downer to Little Miss Sunshine. It shows what love can do to a person. It adds to the story by showing that, even the ugliest or uneducated people can have a happy life, it just can happen at different times in your life. My opinion of Celie has defiantly altered from when I began reading this book. She has changed so much within the time period of this book and to be completely honest, I became proud of Celie. I was proud when she left Mr._____. I was proud when Shug and she went to live together and she could peruse something she loved doing; making pants. I was discouraged in the beginning of the book due to what she went through and how she lived to becoming proud of who Celie became. This book goes to show, your life experiences are not who you are, they help create who you’re going to be in the end.

Jaimee Martin

Analyze your narrator. Who are they? What do you know about them? How would you describe them?  How are they characterized in the story? Did your opinion of them change? Include at least one quote in your answer. The quotes should be used to support your answers to the questions and should be fully introduced and discussed.

                In the beginning of the book, I believed Celie to be a very religious young woman with not many other goal in life besides pleasing her Pa. Every day, Celie wrote to God. Her journal entries always started with “Dear God,” and then continued to tell him about her day. She’d always write to him, even if her day was awful, God knew about it. She was also not very educated, but she knew God didn’t care. Nettie her sister continued through school, while Celie had her children. But eventually Celie started writing to Nettie, she lost her faith in the middle of the book, “Dear Nettie, I don’t write to God no more. I write to you” (Walker 192). I believe this changed her as a character. She had no faith in God, but had faith in Nettie. Celie was also very home oriented. She cared for her family even if her family didn’t care for her. At a very young age, she was married off to Mr._____ and was told to take care of his children as if they were her own. So that’s what she did, although she was still concerned with her actual children, to whom she gave birth to, “I was in town sitting on the wagon while Mr. _____ was in the dry good store. I seen my baby girl. I knowed it was her” (Walker 13). Although she never saw her children, she knew which ones were hers and still cared to know if they were having a good life. Celie was also very quiet, she didn’t speak up much but when she did, she got beaten by Mr._____. She was also very in love with Shug Avery, a woman. Celie is god and home oriented, shy, not educated, very caring towards everyone, and in love with a woman.

                I know that Celie is a strong woman. I know she is shy, but also has a mouth on her when needed. It took Shug Avery to get her out of her shell, to break out of her cocoon and turn into a beautiful butterfly. When Shug came around Celie became who she was destined to be. She became smarted, more outspoken, more outgoing, brave, and defiantly more understanding and loving. When Celie moved to Tennessee with Shug, Celie became Celie. She opened up, she found a passion and pursued it as well as never losing her faith in Nettie. She learned how to accept everyone and everything for what they had done in the past. She never gave up on Shug when she wanted to go have her fling with the 19-year-old boy, she developed a relationship with Mr._____ when she returned home, and again never lost faith in Nettie. Nettie was her world, I believe she is another reason Celie opened up, because she wanted to have something to show off when Nettie came home.

                My opinion of Celie did change as we progressed throughout the book. I thought she was just a plain canvas. She didn’t have goals, she was quiet. She let her husband and Pa abuse and rape her. She never once fought back. Celie was the definition of cowardly, but as we progressed through the book that changed and it was abrupt too. When Shug Avery came to town and started living with Celie and Mr._____, Celie almost instantaneously had a different outlook on life. She started talking back, not listening to Mr._____, resisting him as well, and she fell in love. She gained her self-respect that was long missing in her life. Shug Avery opened up Celie, and changed my perspective of the whole book. Love made Celie the happy, goal aspiring, brave woman she was in the end of the book; as well as, her faith in Nettie.

How does the perspective of the narrator change the story? What do you think the Author is trying to convey with this? Jaimee Martin

In the beginning of the book, Celie was kind of held up in other peoples lives. She didn't do anything for herself. She did things for others rather than to please herself. As we've progressed through the book, Celie has opened up. She came out of her box, she became herself. I think the author is trying to convey that as people grow up, and meet new people, lives change.  Like, for example in the beginning of the book, she did what her Pa wanted, which carried over into what Mr. _______ wanted. Now as we've gone to where she's met and been involved with Shug Avery, she has done things to make her happy. She expanded into her needs with Shug, she has felt loved now. She doesn't keep her thoughts to herself, she is herself now. She has evolved.

Analyze a Charcter in your story. How are they characteized in the novel? What is their role in the story? What do you think of them? Why? Jaimee Martin

Analysis of Nettie

Nettie, the sweet, thoughtful smart one. "I have never been able to bring myself to wear one of these dresses, which all seem to have been made with giants in mind, so I was glad Corrine's things. At the same time, I dreaded putting them on" (Walker, 190). In this book, Nettie is graceful, quiet, intelligent and know when to get herself out of bad situation. She is perceived as a leader, which is who she is. She takes care of Corrine and Samuels kids and educates herself and others. I think Nettie has a well off life compared to her sister. She wasn't really abused, she was educated, she wasn't forced into anything, she made herself a life. To be fully honest, I'm proud of who Nettie is due to how she carries herself, and the way her life has planned out.

Samantha Shipley

How does the perspective of the narrator change the story? What do you think the author is trying to convey with this?

     I had answered this prompt last week, but I believed my perspective has changed as I have read further into the story. I had previously said that be reading the authors account of the story would allow us to become biased toward other characters, but I'm not entirely set on that fact. It seems in this novel, the narrator (Celie) tells the story as it is. She doesn't make herself sound perfect nor does she for any of the characters. I believe the author is still trying to convey a deeper connection between the reader and the narrator, but it I also our job to pick up details that the narrator has left out. Maybe that is the authors intention? To force us as readers to because more engaged in the novel. Or maybe it is their intention to let us fill in those details from our imagination, so we can feel as if we are part of the story too.

Samantha Shipley

Analyze a character in your story. How are they characterized by the author? What is there role in the story? What do you think of them? Why?

     "I am fourteen years old. I am I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me" (Walker 1). Celie has always been portrayed as a young girl who has been forced to grow up at a much earlier age than she should have. It's not consider maturation in my mind because she is so clueless about life as a adult. Throughout the beginning of the novel Celie is characterized as a young women who is dominated by the men in her life. This seems to change toward the end of the novel when she finally stands up to Mr._____ and thinks about herself for once. "I never ast you for nothing. Not even your sorry hand in marriage" (Walker 201).

     Celie's role in the story in the narrator, but also a wife to Mr._____, a mother, a sister, and even a friend. Toward the beginning of the novel I has feelings of strong dislike for Celie because she couldn't stand up for herself. I believe that it is important to think of yourself, your morals, and your well being before others. My perspective changed on Celie when she finally took charge and stood up for what she believed would benefit herself. I started to have more faith in her and began to realize all she had been through. I began to blame her less for beginning timid because I would probably do the same if I was in her position.

Bailey Druschel

How do men react in this time to all the woman being laughable and demanding? Will it change the novel? 

The men think it's funny that the women are leaving. The men don't think it's very respectful for the women to laugh at them too. "It bad luck for women to laugh at men" (Walker 201). Harpo sees all the women laughing and how some are leaving that it makes him angry at Mary for wanting to leave to go on stage. Harpo is mad at Mary for wanting to shine and sing. He can't stop her because she isn't letting him. The woman are looking upon the men now. They don't like these actions. Arthur thinks he should've beat Celie more and looked after her. He called her a bitch and said he wouldn't give her a dime. She didn't ask for money though. She wanted to leave with Shug. Arthur does think Celie will come back for him, but I don't think she will. He thinks he controls her still. He called her ugly, think, awkward-shaped, and more just to let her feel down about leaving, but that didn't stop her. She knew she was here now and she didn't want to deal with Arthur any longer. The story will definitely change dramatically that Celie is gone with Shug. The story will have a whole new view and the men will not be able to control it. The women are now taking over and standing up for what they should be standing up for. These men don't like the actions, but Celie thinks Arthur will rot in jail for all he's done and karma will bite him right back for everything harmful thing he's done to her. 

Bailey Druschel

How has the view of Celie changed through out the story? How has it effected the story?

Celie was one to do what she was told whenever someone demanded it. She was the person most people would count on for a chore. She dealt with doing demands for her own family and even being raped by her own so called father. Her mother was crazy and didn't have a clue on what was going on and eventually she wasn't around to do anything at all about it. Celie couldn't do anything about it because she was afraid. She knew she would get beat and raped more. She knew she had to face the scary part and look at her "father" do those things to her. He forced her to marry someone she didn't know or love. Arthur took over Celie at that point and treated her the same as her non-biological father. Although she wasn't raped, she still had to lay there and not actually be loved. He beat her also and controlled what she did and how she dressed. Always had to wear dresses and couldn't do anything herself. It was like she was a child to him, but something came up in the novel that was absolutely surprising. "It's time to leave you and enter into the Creation" (Walker 199). Those words from Celie put me in shock. She started standing up for herself and believing in herself to demand what she wants and not what other people want. She cusses and yells at Arthur and tells him she will leave. Celie's view changed dramatically with in the instant of a page and now she will love her own life and start her own pants company. It effects everything about her life and where she will be going with in the next chapters and she will end up as a happy person as I view it.

Kacie Griffin

How does the perspective of the narrator change the story? What do you think the author is trying to convey with this?

     Celie, the narrator of the novel, has been the main source of information throughout the entire story. We see everything as she see it. There was a point in the book we started reading Nettie's letters to Celie, but we still were looking through Celie's eyes. She has indeed had a perspective change throughout the course of the story, for the major point for me was when she stopped writing to God. At that moment, I felt like she had changed. Her opinions and way of going about things was different. Her first letter to Nettie read, "I don't write to God no more. I write to you" (Walker 192). This is a very abrupt way of staying she doesn't have faith anymore. I feel that she has given up, and has blamed all her issues on God's silence. She believes he has not answered, or even heard, her prayers. While Celie has had a hard life, I still think she should not be so negative about her past experiences, even with them being as awful as they were.
     Alice Walker shows many parallels throughout her writing. She shows the discriminative ways of the times with her simple letters. With Celie's change in perspective, I believe she is trying to show how much pain can change you. Celie has been through so much, so I cannot completely blame her for a loss of hope. Her life, and many other black women during this time, were left to feel worthless. She is showing that a buildup of pain and suffering can put a toll on someone, and it did for many in real life.     

Kacie Griffin

What role does gender play in your story? How are men and women treated differently?

     Gender plays a huge role in the novel, The Color Purple, for it dictates many of the characters lives. In the 1930's, women, especially African American, had restricted rights. This even occurred in domestic home with marriages. Celie was taken advantage of by her step Pa, married off to a man who does not love her, and beaten by both men. While all this happened to her she never spoke up because she simply thought that it was her place to sit back and take it. These times were discriminative towards women. Men felt they were superior to women and many aspects. To them, all women could do was take care of children and do housework. Almost every women we have met in the story has to deal with a man that thinks she is nothing but wife material. Women have just as much to offer as men, but were not given the opportunity to speak their minds and express themselves during the early twentieth century.
      Men and women were treated extremely different during this time, specifically in this novel also. When Shug, Squeak, and Celie decide they are leaving to move north without Harpo and Mr._____, the men cannot stand for it. Every man at the table thinks it is a joke until Celie lets them hear. She finally stopped holding back her opinion and said what she thought. This instance put them in their place only momentarily. A few moments later all the women start to laugh at the men, and Harpo then says, "Shut up Squeak, he say. It bad luck for women to laugh at men" (Walker 201). This statement stood out to me because he actually said it was bad luck to make fun a man if you are a woman. This just goes to show that men were treated with more respect because they were respected by other men but also by women. The same respect was not given to women, for men looked down at them in almost every aspect.      

Lindsey Hardy

How does the time period affect the characters?

This book is set in the time period of the 1920's, also known as the "roaring twenties". During this time, the prohibition of alcohol had just been passed which involved a lot of propaganda saying that alcohol was the cause of domestic abuse towards women which had sparked a lot of controversy. This is relevant to the book because a centeral conflict is domestic abuse towards women. Domestic abuse was a common but overlooked issue during this time period.

Another issue during this time was racism. The twenties was a time of racial hatred in which blacks were looked down upon, and many whites were already members or becoming members of the Klu Klux Klan. Blacks were often murdered or brutally beaten by members of this organization. Most blacks were lioving in harsh conditions and poverty, like the characters in The Color Purple.

Lindsey Hardy

What role does gender play in your story? How are men and women treated or portrayed differently?

In my story, The Color Purple, gender is a huge aspect of the story. The interactions between men and women are the base of this story. Celie, who is only a teenaged girl, is regularly raped and beaten by her father, and later she is married of to a man named Mr. ____, who also rapes and beats her. The men in this book are dominating and manipulative while the women are seemingly helpless in the beginning. As all books are, the women soon find strength within each other; however Celie first encouraged the men's dominating and abusive actions towards her stepdaughters.

In this story, the men are portrayed differently than they are in most stories in the way that they are not romanticized. They are not written to be Prince Charming or a knight in shining armor to save the damsel in distress. The women have to find strength within each other to overcome the abusive situations that they face against men. The 1920's for black women was very different than our world today. There was not a wide standard of racial acceptance instilled in America like there is today, so these abusive actions towards them were overlooked.

Kacie Griffin

How does the time period affect the characters?

I believe the time period of the novel, The Color Purple, has a big impact on the characters. It is set in the 1930's which was a time not only of segregation but depression. America was a struggling, especially African Americans. In one of the letters Celie wrote, she talks about how Mr.____'s land does not bring in as much money as it used to. I took this as a example of how the depression was hurting Celie and Mr____'s family along with the other characters. Also, in the 1930's women did not have the rights we have today. Every character that is a wife seems to be mistreated by their husband. Beatings were common in households back then. Celie and Sofia are greatly affected by this, for it upsets Sofia so much she leaves. Celie, on the other hand, sits there and takes it. I believe she does not know what else to do. She is lost and has never seem another way. The women seem to be the prime aspect of this novel, and I am interested to see how they deal with their gender equality struggles as the book progresses.
   The 1930's also come with major discrimination against blacks. Segregation was put in to play, and whites felt they were superior. One character that color discrimination greatly affected was Sofia. While driving away from Harpo's a white women, the mayor's wife, approached her and her children. Mr___ tells the story of Sofia being jailed and says, "She say to Sofia, All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid (Walker 85). The mayor then slaps Sofia for her answer. To me, Sofia felt threatened and dehumanized by this woman asking her to be her maid just because her children were clean. The  mayor's wife only though of her as help and not a person. Sofia was then put in jail, for she was lucky she was not executed for crimes like many blacks were at this time. African Americans were not treated fairly and would continue to be mistreated for years to come.        

Kacie Griffin

Analyze a character in the story. How are they characterized by the author? What is their role in the story? What do you think of them? Why?

  So far in the novel, the character Sofia has already changed and has had a variety of things happen to her. We meet her when she is pregnant with Harpo's child. Her and Harpo wanted to marry and seem to be in love. From the beginning she was strong willed, tough, and was not afraid to state her opinion. Celie seems to be jealous of the way Sofia is with her independence and free mind, for Sofia will never left Harpo beat her or tell her what to do. Though this upsets Harpo, Sofia was raised this way and it is a part of who she is. To me, Sofia is one of the most admirable characters in the story because of her strength in physical and mental aspects. I like the fact that she is brave enough to go against what a typical, black woman in these times would do. She is not the typical housewife, and she does not want to be.
  We see a change in Harpo and Sofia's relationship as the novel continues. She believes she does not love him anymore. When Sofia talks to Celie about leaving she states, "I use to chase him home from the field. Git all hot just watching him put the children to bed. But no more. Now I feels tired all the time. No interest" (Walker 65). She feels she is loosing interest in him and it upsets her that he does not notice. I believe she wants him to notice and make a change, but he doesn't see it and she leaves. The next time we see Sofia she is almost a different person. She walks into Harpo's with another guy that brings some mystery. Harpo believed that she was never coming back, so he was in stock with her return. She seems to bring a lot of anger with her because to beats up Squeak and the mayor's wife. This act puts her in jail where she remains at this point in the story. Her role in the story seems to be that she is a friend of Celie's but also an idol. I am interested in what will happen next with her and what her character has to bring to the story.  

Find a recurring literary term or technique in your book. Is it effective? Why/why not?

Dear God is a word at the top of every page in The Color Purple. I feel like it is significant to Celie keeping her heart with God. She doesn't want to tell anyone what happens but God because she looks up at God as a forgiver. Whenever she feels like she did something wrong, she thinks about God knowing that she did wrong and God is punishing her from sleep. It's her way of speaking out and letting her life out in a novel. She wants God to know everything and she only really needs one person in her life, God. Much repetition has been about God knowing what happened and her punishment. This "God" term is very effective in her book because it shows that she knows how to communicate with someone that she knows is always there for her in her bad times. It shows that Celie is really a strong woman because of everything she goes through and all she does is talk to God about it. "Sofia. I sin against Sofia spirit" (Walker 39).She knows what she did was wrong and she knew that Sofia would find out that Celie told Harpo to beat Sofia. Celie is always in reach of God and God is significant to the novel.
Bailey Druschel

What role does prejudice play in your book?

Women in The Color Purple are being beaten and taking advantage of. Celie seems to get it the worst in her lifetime. Her father raped her while young and forced her to marry young someone she didn't love. Men take advantage of these women. They make them clean, cook, take care of the kids, meanwhile these men go out and Mr. ____ worries about his love Shug. Everyone loves Shug and think she is a wonderful singer and beautiful woman, especially Celie. Celie is looked at very ugly and not smart. Shug is looked at beautiful and intelligent by her actions of not tolerating men like all the other women do besides Sofia. Women are the target in this novel because the men think they can control them and most women let the male takeover. At least Celie is the main target that doesn't seem to care what she is treated like because she just does what she is told."I don't argue. I git the coffee and light her cigarette." (Walker 51). Even Shug Avery is controlling over Celie.
Bailey Druschel

How does the perspective of the narrator change the story? What do you think the author is trying to convey with this? Samantha Shipley

                                                Does a Narrator Influence a Story?
 
    In The Color Purple, a young fourteen year-old girl named Celie tells her perspective of life in the 1930s. Everyone has a perspective on life depending on whose telling it and what they have experienced. One experience shared by two will each have their own storyline or highlights that really stood out to them, so when a narrator is portraying  story, we get their point of view and will most likely take a stand with them. Whether their point of view is biased, exaggerated, vague, etc, what we hear from them is the story that is formed in our minds. The author is most likely trying to convey or allow the reader to form a deeper connection with said narrator and get on a level with them that will allow us to understand the story better. We become emotionally attached to these characters allowing our minds to be filled and intrigued by their point of view. For example, Celie explains how she felt about being married off to a man she never knew as that mans view would of had a completely different affect on us.

                                                                                        Samantha Shipley

How does the time period affect the characters? Samantha Shipley

                                                      A Woman of the South

     The time period portrayed in The Color Purple was around the 1930s in the southern regions of America. Now, the rural south seemed to still be coping with racial tension from the Civil war, and from the unruly statements of the Jim Crow Laws. African Americans during this time were treated poorly by those who believed the white race was superior among all other. Celie was indeed an African American in the south at the time the story was narrated; however, not only was she of a different race, but she was a women. Women's suffrage had weighed in as a major issue during the early 1900s. Yes they earned their rights, but the minorities were still left out of the question. This left for the harsh treatment of all characters mentioned in the stories including the men. Not only did racial tensions affect each character, but the Great Depression played a great role in overall moral. Times were difficult even for those of the white race, each forced to become even more poverty- stricken that an African- American in that time period.

                                                                                                        Samantha Shipley

Anazlye a character in your story. How are they characterized by the author? What is their role in the story? What do you think of them? Why? (Jaimee Martin)

The character I want the analyze is, Shug Avery. Shug Avery is a famous singer in the book, as well as Mr._____ ex love, or his first true love. She is portrayed as rude, but very beautiful. She never stays in one place, and has children but doesn't care for them. Shug is also very "into herself." She loves her body, and will sleep with probably any attractive man that crosses her path. She becomes ill and then goes to live with her ex and Celie. Celie is infatuated with her, but Shug doesn't see it and befriends her as well as ordering her around. Later, Mr._____ and Shug sleep together with permission from Celie, although she's not really okay with it. My opinion of Shug is that she's full of herself. She loves herself too much. I believe this because she doesn't look for peoples feelings. She isn't polite, she wishes every one do her dirty work. She doesn't even take care of her own children, how could she possibly care for herself? She doesn't. Shug needs to grow up in my mind and learn boundaries.

What role does gender play in your story? How are men and women treated or portrayed differently? (Jaimee Martin)

In this story, gender roles are some what stereotypical and not stereotypical. Celie is your average house wife back in the 30's. She listens to what he husband wants and she will do it. He says no, she stops in her tracks. She doesn't complain, but is very unhappy in her marriage. Her husband Mr.______ gets away with whatever he pleases. They both know they don't love each other, but stay together to please her Pa and so his children  have someone decent enough to care for them. Mr.______ thinks of himself of upper class compared to Celie, I believe. He goes out when he pleases, tells her what to wear and what not to wear, calls her ugly, and he ever brought his ex love to live with them so she could get better.(This is the very stereotypical household during this time period. Shug Avery was the woman. She is not your typical stereotypical black woman from this time period. She's very about herself, she's not married, she travels, and is apparently very rude to others. She also sleeps with Celie's husband.  Another not seen thing you witness in this book involving gender roles is that Celie finds Shug very attractive, she even speaks of "feeling" something for her. That is very out of the blue for this time period. Another out of the blue thing was Sophia leaving Harpo. Usually the man will leave the woman, not in this case. This book portrays both men and women in stereotypical positions, as well as non stereotypical positions. Gender roles are important, as well as straying from the usual image is important in this book.