Who Is Celie's Identity In The Color Purple

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple chronicles the lives of African-American women living in the deep American South during the 1930s. Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the novel addresses the many issues that plague black women, especially their exceptionally low status in the social culture. Walker cleverly tells the story of two sisters, Celie and Nettie, through a series of letters and diary entries. Celie, a poor, uneducated young woman, has been sexually abused by the man she believed was her father, and at the tender age of fourteen is forced to be the wife of a physically and mentally abusive widower, and the caretaker of his unruly children. Contrary to her sister, Nettie manages to escape the sexual advances of her “father,” as well as, Mr.______, Celie’s husband, and become an educated and traveled missionary. Sisterhood is defined as a “congenial relationship or companionship among women; mutual female esteem, concern, or support.” In the end, it is the sisterhood that surrounds Celie, as well as the hope Nettie supplies, that allows her (Celie) to escape the authoritative control of her husband and embrace her own identity. As I read this novel and I compared its details with my experiences as a black, female, college student. I begin
Celie, initially, was jealous of Sofia’s ability to vocalize her opinions. She demonstrated her jealousy by telling Harpo to “beat her,” referring to Sofia’s inability to “mind.” But when the time came, Shug, Celie, and Squeak managed to get Sofia out of jail and help look after her children. Ironically, Harpo was still married to Sofia, and Squeak was his girlfriend. Yet it was Squeak, once physically at odds with Sofia, who sacrificed herself to get Sofia from behind bars and in the Mayor’s home as a maid. The sisterhood continued despite the issues between the individual