Saber Saleh
Mr. Sutherland
2nd period
2/25/11
The Color Purple
Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple it’s always about religion, gender inequality, and last but not least education. The story centers around two African-American sisters in the early twentieth century, Celie and Nettie. Celie is a woman who has been in a miserable life with her family, like the time her dad just rapes her out of no where because her mother would not do it with her husband. Nettie is the younger one, she’s been a good person she goes to school and learn the right things also she has not been torture yet by anyone because she minds her own business and think about her older sister. Celie always writes to God because she doesn’t have anyone else to help her out. No one is helping her because it was way back in the old days when means were treating women unfairly same with Nettie. Also another main point about this story is, gender and inequality is about staying alive with Celie but with Nettie she fights back and fights for what is right and try to find a way to survive. Finally, education was one of the main ideas which Celie did not get as much as Nettie. The purpose of Celie not having a good education was because she was dominated by her husband who forces her to follow his rules or he will abuse her that’s how she had a bad education she’s been in the house most of the time cleaning. This is base on all the things these two characters been through their whole life.
In the first part of the novel, Celie’s religious faith is strong, but it grows weaker throughout the story. In other words, the book always talks about religion because of Celie’s letters to God and Nettie. Then Celie starts writing to her sister because she knows that the only person that can keep her alive is herself and her sister. She writes, “Dear, Nettie, I don’t write to God no more. I write to you.”(192) this is the moment when Celie is clearly showing that she stop writing to God and starts writing to Nettie this also the time she ends her faith in God helping her out. On the other hand, Nettie’s faith remains constant throughout the book. Nettie was really religious because she always believes in it throughout her whole life.
Another thing about Celie and Nettie gender inequality is that Celie Survives when Avery Shug makes it to her house and always when she was not there. Something about Celie is that she obeys everyone, maybe it’s because she has been abused a lot from her husband because she always talk back to him, that’s what makes him very mad. Also Celie doesn’t ever fight back for what is right she is just doing something right for others and all she get from that is abuse. Nettie is the tough one because she fights back for what’s right unlike her sister because Celie only worries about her survival. Nettie also hates how people treat women because it unfair well she can’t do nothing about because she doesn’t have power during the time, the people that have power is the men.
Currently, Celie has not experience education like her sister Nettie. Celie use to go to school but she doesn’t anymore because she just had a husband and her husband is really strict and won’t let her go anywhere so that’s when Nettie comes because her father. As Nettie live for a while at Celie house she taught Celie English because no one else would have taught her at all. Nettie is the one who had education mostly everyday but not all the time. She has a better life then Nettie by 100%, and as she got older she had went around some of the world and taught other people, because she cares about everyone and she doesn’t want them to be like her sister. That’s why good things happen to Nettie most of the time because she helps others and teaches them so then they can have a great future like her. Also because of Nettie having a good education she travels around some of the world and she tells everything to Celie she states, “But let me tell you about the ship! The ship, called The Malaga, was three stories high! And we had rooms ( called cabins ) with beds. Oh, Celie, more water than you can imagine in one place” (138) this shows that because of her educations it really helps her a lot and learn other thing and have a good future, that’s how she travels around to other places.
In conclusion, both characters have been in the craziest situation. They would had never thought they would be in such as the miserable life like torture. This is based upon their life and what help them become successful and become brave and a whole new person and see what life really is. They just worried about survival and just obeying people so that they would not have any problem. They went through life in horrible ways which was tortuous because they never wanted anything else but peace and all they got was abuse. Another thing they wanted was each other all the time but they did not get it because Celie dad let her marry and evil husband that torture Celie and his sons torture her too. That was something very bad that happen to Celie because she got hit in the head by a very big peace of rock. First it was love then torture then back to love and life and now the days have come back all around like they were young again.
