Oppression In The Color Purple

Oppression in the south during the beginning of the twentieth century often led to multiple layers of abuse in society. Those who were oppressed often were cruel and mistreated others in an attempt to take control. These layers of abuse resulted in marital and family conflicts. Women, especially, were the victims of this abuse. Due to the mistreatment, the women often are forced to find different ways to deal and cope with the oppression. Alice Walker examines these layers of abuse in marital and family relationships on a young African American woman forced into an abusive marriage in her book The Color Purple. It is through this abusive marriage that Celie comes to the realization that she must fight back against the oppression if she ever …show more content…
Since Shug is described as a much more self confident woman than Celie, it's no wonder she was able to teach Celie to take her life into her own hands, and fight back against Mr.____. When Shug becomes horribly sick Mr.___ takes her into his home and has Celie raise her back to health. The two develop a strong friendship or sisterhood from this bonding time and end up becoming extremely close. So close infact that Celie decides to open up to Shug after she is healthy again and proclaims that she will be leaving within the next month. Celie opens up by admitting that Mr.____ “beats” her when shug is “not here” (pg 74) stating that Mr.____ is abusive but keeps kind when shug is around to prevent shug from leaving him as he knows how close Celie and Shug are together. Shug is appalled by this newfound knowledge and can only ask her why he would do such a thing. Celie can do nothing but give her honest opinion to shug in that he beats her because she's “being me” and not “being you” (pg. 75). Shug does all she can to comfort Celie, a person she considers family, she assures Celie that she won't leave until Mr.___ never “even think[s] about beating” her again (pg. 75). Shug later, through all the lessons in life, helps Celie come to the realization that what she believes to be her guidance away …show more content…
The bond Celie and Shug share grows mentally, emotionally, spiritually and eventually even physically more and more the two spend time together. Through all this Shug moves forward with her life and gets married to a prize fighter named Grady however Celie is still suffering abuse every day from Mr.____. The abuse is eventually shown to be extremely emotional as well after Celie finds out from Shug Avery that Mr.___ has been smuggling letters intended for Celie from her long lost sister Nettie. Shug finds one of these letters and give it to Celie and they later find the entire stash in a trunk. This mentally scarring realization that her sister has been trying to contact her all these years makes Celie snap. Needing to leave the oppressive and abusive relationship Mr.___ has with Celie, Shug states that they are leaving Mr.___ to go to Memphis. Enraged with the idea Mr.____ explodes at the two, saying the only way they're ever leaving is “over [his] dead body” (pg 199). The audacity to keep control over Celie for another second, after all he's done, after hiding letters from her for all these years, causes Celie to finally do what she's always wanted to do. Stand up against Mr.____. She reveals to Mr.___ that she knows everything about how he hid Nettie's letters from her. Celie then keeps standing her ground, saying “all” of Mr.____’s children were