Time in, and time out we hear of the people who were captured and sold, enslaved and beaten, released and freed, then segregated and restricted. After being freed, a time of segregation followed. A time when Jim Crow laws, and Black Codes were in affect. This is a time when Celie from The Color Purple lived and struggled.
Life for Celie was extremely hard. She was raped by her father, giving birth twice, both his children. She was then forced to marry a man, and he beat her, forced her to have sex with him, and made her do all the house and yard work, along with taking care of his children. After meeting her husbands" lover she becomes friends with her, and goes with her to make pants while "Shug" (the mistress) sings at bars. After many years she is reunited with her sister, who miraculously was able to raise her children.
Through all the pain that Celie went through, whether it be physical or emotional she was able to stand up for herself. Her two children were taken and adopted by two missionaries. Her sister was forced to live elsewhere after being kicked out of her house. When looking for work she met a couple, and they were mercenaries with two children, her sister's children. When they grew up, they finally found out the truth-shocking Celie that her children were still alive. Wither Albert (Celie's husband) Celie was beaten, forced to raise his children, and do all of the work. Albert gives Celie no respect until she moves and lives with Shug for a few years, then he wants to re-marry her and show her how he really is. Celie, now is smarter about how things are and decides to just be friends even though tensions between him, her and Shug are strong.
In the beginning she was weak and timid. Not saying anything when she was spoken to. Never saying a word during dinner. Not until after all her pain and adventures did she become strong. She would then speak during dinner to everyone.
