The two main victims of violence in the book are Celie and Sofia, who both experience abuse in their childhood and in their marriages. Sofia tries to fight the abuse that was made against her by being violent herself since she is a brave and a strong woman, however Celie in the beginning is introduced as weak and submissive.She has to tolerate Fonso and do as he asks in order to protect her sister Nettie and her mother from Fonso’s cruelty.In order to escape from Fonso, she marries Albert, who is an abusive husband that values her only as a sexual object and a caretaker for his children. To make himself feel more important and prove he is the boss, Albert regularly beats Celie.Due to all the abuse that she experienced, her self-esteem was also injured dramatically.Fortunately, Shug breaks the pattern of violence and abuse for Celie. Sofia also escapes her domestic abuse by leaving Harpo.
Throughout the novel, Celie keeps repeating the fact that she is discriminated against by the white community. Nettie fears bringing Olivia and Adam back to America; because they have grown up in Africa,and have never experienced racism or what it feels like to be disciminated. It is clearly racism that puts Sofia in jail. The mayor can slap her and go free, but when she hits the mayor, she is beaten and jailed. When Mary Agnes came to her her white uncle to talk about releasing Sofia, she gets raped the warden knows he does not have to worry about being charged with raping a black girl. When Eleanor Jane brings her baby boy for Sofia to
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