After
reading the last section of the novel, The
Color Purple, there has been an evident development in the characters. As I
have only read the beginning and end of this novel, I found understanding the
novel much more challenging. However, in doing so, the transformation of
various characters was clear and noticeable. Many characters have developed in
many aspects; specifically, Mr.____, Celie and Nettie.
Mr.____
has changed in various aspects, but has also remained the same in certain ways.
In the beginning of the novel, he was portrayed as a lazy person, as he would
not pay much attention, or care for his children. I believe this characteristic
and habit in Mr.____ has been carried out through the novel as Sofia says, “Mr.____
live like a pig. Shut up in the house so much it stunk” (Walker 224). It is
clear that Mr.____’s way of living has not changed, if so, it has gotten worse.
The reason for this may be because of the divorce he and Celie have had. Other than Mr.____’s “housekeeping” habits, there
are some habits that he has changed; for example, his attitude towards Celie, who
is now his ex wife. In the beginning of the novel, he treated Celie with rarely
any respect, as he
would refer to her as “that one.” For example, when Mr.____ says, “I ain't
never really look at that one” (Walker 8). He would
look down on Celie and thought she was rather ugly compared to Nettie. Now, when he sees her
he shows more respect to her, and boots her self confidence by complimenting
her. “You look real good since you been up in Memphis” (Walker 254) says
Mr.____, as he tried to “flirt” with Celie. With all these hints shown
throughout the last section of the novel, I predicted that Celie and Mr.____
had split up, and gotten divorced. However, Mr.____ greatly tries to get Celie
back, as he is constantly complimenting her, and supporting her through some
difficult times. However, in the end, he does not end up with Celie, instead, a
close friend.
In the
beginning of the novel, all the letters were written by Celie. However, I discovered
in the final section, that some of the letters were also written by Nettie, to
Celie. Nettie was always depicted as the more educated and intelligent one,
between the sisters. This was evident in the final section of the novel as
well, because when I read the letters by Nettie, it was much more grammatically
correct compared to Celie’s writings. As mentioned, Nettie was greatly
interested in educating herself, and as I continued to read, in the final
section I understood and found out that Nettie was a part of a missionary,
preaching. This reveals to me that she has a passion for educating and teaching
others, and not only herself. This also shows that she is passionate for her religion,
as she travels and preaches. In the beginning of the novel, Nettie was supposed
marry Mr.____ but her father did not allow it to happen. As I read my section
of the novel, it was reveled that she had gotten married to someone else, named
Samuel. She has struggled with love earlier in the novel, but seems to be
extremely content with who she has now. “But Samuel tells me he loves me plump
and graying” (Walker 226); when Nettie says this in her letter, it assures Celie
that she is living a happy married life, as Samuel shows that he loves Nettie
the way she is. After reading multiple letters written by Nettie, she would
constantly write how much she misses her sister, and wishes she could be with
her. As I continued reading, it was clear that Nettie and Celie were going to
meet soon. As they haven’t seen each other for almost 30 years, I believe the
moment they meet again, will be a great goal achieved.
Last but definitely not the
least, is Celie. She has grown so much emotionally, physically and mentally. In
the beginning of the novel, Celie lives a very stressful and painful life.
However, in the final portion, Celie’s life has significantly improved,
compared to her lifestyle early in the novel. She had gotten rid of Mr.____, who
she despised to be married to, earlier in the novel. “Mr.____ done ast me to marry
him again… I say Naw… let’s us be friends” (Walker 283); here, Celie rejects
Mr.____’s second proposal, which shows us that she knows that she is better off
without him, and makes the right decision by rejecting him. As I was reading, there
was something that stuck out in my mind. Celie talked a lot about Shug in her
letters, and from time to time she would say how she loves her; and I believe
the love was more than a friendly or sisterly love. When Shug reveals to Celie
about a guy that she loves, she says, “I just been dying to tell somebody and
you the somebody I usually tell… I still love you” (Walker 249);
Shug reveals a secret to Celie, that she knows would hurt Celie, emphasizing
the importance and meaning of their relationship. When Celie says things such
as, “sometimes I think Shug never love me. I stand looking at my naked self in
the glass. What would she love?”
(Walker 259), Celie expresses how she feels after finding out that Shug loves
someone else, Germaine. The fact that she was looking at her naked body and asked
what Shug would love about it, suggests that their relationship was more than
just friends. When Celie said this line, I began to wonder if she was
interested in both men and women. As the novel progressed, I also came to
discover that Celie began to sew. She made pants for men and women, and also
taught Mr.____ how to sew as well. Furthermore, Celie has transformed mentally,
as she has a much more positive mentality then she did before. She was very
much negative and hopeless in the beginning of the novel. However, in the end,
she looks on the bright side of things, making smart decisions and doing what
is best for her. At the end of the novel, in her final letter to God, she writes
about her reuniting with her sister. After all these years, the hope and trust
she had in God finally, brought her sister back to her.
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