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Celie's Abuse In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

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Celie's Abuse In The Color Purple By Alice Walker
On the very first page of The Color Purple, the reader encounters strong words and difficult concepts. The book unfolds into a series of letters from Celie to her sister Nettie, as well as some diary entries. The book talks mostly about Celie’s life. We learn that in the beginning of the novel Celie is raped by her father. Another thing we learn is that Celie’s mother is ill and therefor is unable to care for her family.

Celie, the narrator, is a poor and uneducated, 14 year-old African American girl. Throughout the book Celie writes letters to God about the man she believes to be her father. Alphonso, beats and rapes her because her mother is ill. I believe it is important to determine that Celie’s abuse was emotional, sexual and
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