Celie and Nettie
In Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple, there are two very important characters that play a big role in this story. Those characters are Celie and Nettie, African American sisters. They both share similarities and big differences. Their main difference was that they both went through a very rough childhood. They then went through separate ways leading to very different ways of life which change who they are completely.
Celie has gone through a lot that’s stuck with her for most of her life. To start off, she was sexually abused at a young age by her step father. She was raped because her mother did not want to have sex with Celie’s step dad because she knew that she would end up pregnant. Cilie’s mom could not withstand another pregnancy. Celie describes her situation in brutal detail in the first letter of the novel.
“You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t…Then he push his thing inside my pussy. When that hurt, I cry. He starts to choke me, saying you better shut up and get used to it.” (1)
This experience was very brutal for her. She even says that she feels sick every time. This quote shows her disgust towards herself. This did not happen once but twice and Celie got pregnant twice by her step father. Not only that, but when she was in labor and gave birth to her child, her father gave one of them away. “He took my other little baby, a boy this time, But I don’t think he kilt it. I think he sold it to a man and his wife over at Monticello” (3) This just shows that her father was cruel enough to sell Cilie’s baby and make her suffer again. That’s just another experience she won’t forget.
Celie then marries Mr.___ and once again lives a horrible life. Mr.___ married Celie not because of love, but because he needed a wife to take care all of his children. Almost throughout the whole novel, Celie does not stand up for herself and must do everything that Mr.___ tells her to do. Celie does not have a voice in Mr.___ home. “Harpo ast why his daddy why he beat me (Celie) Mr.___ say, cause she my wife. Plus she stubborn…he beast me like he beat the children.”(22) Celie is beaten only because she is Mr.___ wife. Her being beat only because he Mr.___ wife, just shows that she has no voice in Mr.___ home. She says that when she receives the beatings from him, she makes herself like wood and takes the beatings. That shows how strong she is. Another thing that Celie has to go through in her everyday life is to do everything Mr.___ tells her to do. Whether she does it or not, she still might receive a beating from Albert just for the hell of it.
Throughout the entire novel, there is someone very important to Celie and also helps Celie change. That person is Shug Avery. Shug is a very important woman to Celie because she brings hopes up. It is said to be that Celie survives being with Albert only when Shug stays with them. Well this is because Albert loves Shug and not Celie. Celie is just a useful person.
“Pretty soon it be time for Shug to go…one day she say to me well. Miss Cilie, I believe it time for me to go…she come over and put her hand on my shoulder. He beat me when you not here…what he beat you for? For being me and not you.” (76)
This shows that Mr.___ beats Celie only for who she is. Celie takes care of his children and does everything she’s told to do. And what it looks like,Mr___’s thank you is a hit to the face. Since Shug Avery stays in Mr.___’s home, Mr.___ pays all his attention towards her and not Cilie, Which is why Cilie says she receives the beating for being who she is and not Shug Avery.
One thing that really affects Cilie is when Albert has “sexual relations” with her. In one of the letters, Cilie talks to Shug of what she feel when this happens.
“Most times, I pretend I aint there…Just do his business, get off, go to sleep…She start to laugh(Shug) do his business, she say…you make it sound like he going to the toilet on you. That what it feel like, I say. (77)
This is important because it shows what Celie feels when Mr.___ has sexual reactions with her. This has happened with her dad. So she basically knows what it feels like. But, the fact that she still lives day after day even though she’s treated like crap, just happens to show her determination of trying to live better.
Nettie on the other hand, Is much different than her sister Celie when it comes to explain their lives. Celie and Nettie went through rough childhoods. Sometimes your childhood can be similar to what your future would be like. For example, there’s Celie. But, with Nettie it’s different. Destiny chose Nettie to live a better life unlike her sister Celie.
Unlike Celie who is like a servant instead of a wife, Nettie is missionary that is living in Africa with a caring couple who cares for her...
“Corrine and Samuel and the Children are part of a group of people called missionaries…they feel they were born for missionary work in Africa. We’ve been together. They’ve been like a family to me.” (129)
Apparently, Nettie feels that she now has a family who cares for her. She’s has a rough childhood without the support of a loving mother and father. Probably, if she wouldn’t have met Corrine and Samuel, then she would have ended up like her sister Celie, miserable. Do to this, Nettie is also very independent.
Unlike Celie, Nettie is much braver and fights back. First of all, Albert doesn’t love Celie at all. He loves Nettie. On day, Nettie goes to see Celie and she’s welcomed by Mr.___. So then Nettie was off to school. Mr.___ starts to creep on her and begins to follow her on his horse. Then all of a sudden, Mr.___ pops out and tries to rape Nettie. But, Nettie defends herself and hits Mr.___ with her books despite the consequences. Celie didn’t know what happened until she read on of the letters that Nettie wrote.
“…He followed me on his horse…After while, I had to rest. And that’s when he got down from his horse and started to try to kiss me, and drag me back into the woods…I started to fight him, I hurt him bad enough to make him let me alone.” (126)
This shows how strong and brave Nettie is and stands up for herself. She did no want to be sexually abused and feel what her sister felt and still does. She saved herself from a horrible experience.
As you can see, Celie and Nettie have very different lives, Celie was miserable until she stepped up and had the confidence to leave Mr.___. Nettie, who leaves and become a missionary with a loving couple who cared for her throughout many years, but all of this happened because of Celie’s most important decisions that changed their lives completely. That decision was to marry Mr.___. “I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. But I say I’ll take care of you. With God help.” (3) Celie was willing to protect Nettie from Mr. ___ at all costs. Celie then says “I ast him to take me instead”(7) This was the turning point of everything. Nettie was saved. In conclusion, the way Celie and Nettie lived was because on of Celie’s most important life changing decisions.
