Thursday, April 19, 2012

Summary

The Color Purple is a book of letters between Celie and God but also between Celie and her sister Nettie. Celie's father beat and raped her while growing up then sent her off with her husband Mr.___ who also beat her. Throughout the whole story she struggles with her anger held inside from being mentally and physically abused from the men in her life. When she marries Mr.___ he won't allow her to see her sister Nettie ever. They promised to write each other everyday and that only death would stop them from writing. 

Dialogue

Shug: More than anything God love admiration.
Celie: You saying God is vain?
Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it.
Celie: You saying it just wanna be loved like it say in the bible?
Shug: Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everthing people do to get attention... except walk? Oh Miss Celie, I feel like singing!




I chose this dialogue between Shug and Celie because it is what makes Celie believe in a god again. It also shows where the title The Color Purple comes from. Shug is explaining to Celie that all God wants is to be loved as he loves us, even in the little things like the purple flowers in the field. Celie finally understands that God gives us so much more than we usually see. She thought that God only put terrible men and disasters in her life but really he gave her friends and children and a pant business all to love and cherish. 

Internal and External Conflicts

In Celie's life she struggles with her inner anger towards the men in her life who have abused her. She has mentally been hurt by people telling her that she is dumb, ugly, and black who will never go anywhere in life. Her external conflicts are when her husband and father beat her and she never once fought back. All the way until the end Celie keeps to herself but no one can hold years of anger and abuse inside. She tells Mr.___ that he will rot in the jail that he planned for her. Afterwards she leaves him with Shug to go and start her single life and make pants for a living.

Theme

The over all theme of the novel The Color Purple is overcoming adversity. In the book Celie struggles with the men in her life and how they hurt her throughout her life. They beat her and raped her with no feeling or guilt. She struggles with keeping to herself and not fighting back. Her whole life she just wanted to be free which she was finally allowed to when she left with Shug and started her own pant shop.  

Quotes

"The jail you planned for me is the one you're gonna rot in!"
                                            -Celie
"All my life i had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my brothers. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men..."
                                                       -Miss Sofia


In the first quote is when Celie is finally leaving Mr.___ and he is telling her that she can't live without her. And he calls her many names and she replies with that quote basically telling him to suck it.
In the second quote Miss Sofia is showing how most women feel about men. They feel that men are the enemy and they just have to keep fighting.

Conversation

Celie: hello
Psychiatrist: hi how are you today
Celie: well I'm alive ain't I?
Psychiatrist: (chuckles) why yes you are ma'am
Celie: now why you laughing at me?
Psychiatrist: because you stated the obvious that you were alive but i meant emotionally how are you.
Celie: well emotionally I'm doing just fine my shop is booming and I'm making a good amount of money to support me and my grown children
Psychiatrist: well that sounds mighty fine to me how old are your children?
Celie: well my son Adam is about eighteen and my daughter Olivia is sixteenish, they are very smart. They grew up in Africa with my sister Nettie.
Psychiatrist: Why didn't they grow up here with you?
Celie: well I thought they were killed for the longest time because my pa gave and took them away from me. But then by some fate of God my sister came to live with them and went to Africa as a missionary with their family. But now they came home to me to stay forever.
Psychiatrist: well that sounds very nice. Do you trust many people?
Celie: yes, i trust Shug, Nettie, Sofia, Olivia, Adam, and Squek. I trust them with anything really.
Psychiatrist: I've noticed that you only trust one man and that is your son. Why do you think that is?
Celie: well no man has ever done me any good and they won't anytime soon. They just want something to pleasure them then work as a slave for life. Don't no man i ever met ever been trustworthy other than my son Adam.
Psychiatrist: do you really feel that way about all men?
Celie: why yes i have no proof that any man other than Adam is good. Not my father not my husband nor any other man I've met.
Psychiatrist: well that's just plain sad to hear for the male gender. There are a lot of bad people but they aren't all men and there are plenty of good men out there. Also there are plenty of bad women out in the world.
Celie: why there are a good amount of bad women out there but they won't beat you and make you do things with them that you don't want to. And no man has ever been good to me other than my well raised son and that is that. I think that is enough for today bye.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Teri Hatcher



Teri Hatcher at the age of five was sexually abused by her uncle by marrige. Her parents were unaware at the time. In 2002 she assisted the police to prsecute her uncle who had been molesting a 14 year old girl who ended up killing herself.  Her uncle later died of colon cancer in prison. This relates to Celie because she was sexually abused at a young age a throughout her whole life she struggled and in the end got away from her husband and father.

Purple


The color purple is the mixture of blue and red. Red is energizing and wild. Blue is soothing and blending. Celie is both blue and red because red represents her love for Shug and her rebelling against her husband. She is also blue because she blends but is a calm person throughout most of the book who just does what she is told. Purple is also the name of the novel because Celie and Shug are talking and Shug says, "God "gets pissed off" if we walk by the color purple without noticing it". Which is telling Celie that there are so many things that God have given us that we don't notice and to live life to the highest. Also Celie shows her "red" color when she says to Mr. ___, "I curse you! Until you do right by me everything you do will fail!" She finally couldn't take it anymore so she put Mr. ___ in his place. Her blue colors show more in the beginning when she is quiet and keeps to herself.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Navy Blue




Navy blue is a very dark blending color. It basically goes with all other colors when it comes to clothing and matching things. In The Color Purple Celie just does what she is told for example, “I don’t say nothing.I think bout Nettie, dead.She fight, she run away. What good it do? I don’t fight, I stay where I’m told. But I’m’ alive.” Her view is just living is enough and blending in with the background, like navy blue, is fine. "Well the next time you come you can look at her. She ugly. She don't even look like she 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 that you own. But she can work like a man." This shows how little she is respected by  her father who is the one speaking. After he says this Celie doesn't do anything. She just goes where ever she is told. Her father never asked if she wated to marry Mr.___ but she just goes with it to blend like navy blue. 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Screaming From the Inside Out


The painting "Scream" by Edvard Munch, a Norwegian artist, connects to Celie because she she was angry and scared just like the person in the picture. Celie struggled because she could never tell anyone how she really felt because of the fear that she would be hurt. Also she didn't want to show how she felt because it would make her more vunerable and weak. But just like in this picture she was screaming inside for all the pain and suffering she had been through. She was sometimes scared for her life and couldn't do anything about it because of the time and age she was living in. In the end she doesn't care what society thought of her and left her husband and home so she could be free of screaming inside.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Poem About Anger


Anger Is One Letter Short Of Danger

Anger is fire
It burns the soul
Anger is deep sea
Drowns one to death
Anger is a storm
Blows one
Out of the world
Anger is demon
Overpowers the mind
Anger is a virus
Slowly kills a person
Anger is evil
Brings one closer to hell
Anger is madness
Makes one suffer
Anger is an enemy
Destroys one slowly
Turns friendship
Into enmity
Always remember
Anger is
One letter short of
Danger
It takes its toll
Does not spare
A single soul 
Dr.Rajendra Tela,Nirantar

This poem relates to Celie because she has so much anger built up over the years of abuse from her husband and parents. Also in this time period where the book was set women were starting to revolt against sexual-ism which stirred up a lot of anger between men and women.

Most Important Passage

“What you do when you git mad? She ast. I think. I can’t even remember the last time I felt mad, I say. I used to git mad at my mammy….Then I see how sick she is. Couldn’t stay mad at her. Couldn’t be mad at my daddy….Bible say, Honor father and mother no matter what.” 


I feel like this is the most important passage in the whole novel because it shows how passive Celie is and how she respects others even though they don't respect her. Her father would beat and rape her yet she never showed him how she felt. Also her mother was very very rude and bossy, yet celie stood by her and took care of her all the way to her death. 

Song lyrics that relate to The Color Purple

                                                                "The Lonely"


2am; where do I begin,
Crying off my face again.
The silent sound of loneliness
Wants to follow me to bed.

I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most.
I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well.

Dancing slowly in an empty room,
1.Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby.
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.


2.Too afraid to go inside
For the pain of one more loveless night.

But the loneliness will stay with me
And hold me til I fall asleep.

I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most.
I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well.

Dancing slowly in an empty room,
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby.
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.

Broken pieces of
A barely breathing story
3.Where there once was love
Now there's only me and the lonely.


Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again.

  1. Celie is the main character who is in love with Shug who leaves her for a much younger man. Celie feels alone and misses her dearly. Also Shug was a singer who use to sing to Celie.
  2. Celie is married to Mr.___ who would make love to her but neither of them felt anything. 
  3. Celie felt very alone in the world that was ruled by men and ended up leaving her husband to start a pant business.