reading log 1 - The color purple

The first part of the book takes place in the American south in the beginning of the 20^th century and we get to follow a young misplaced woman. The beginning evolves round her move from her abusing father with whom she has given birth to two children to her marriage with a husband that enjoys beating her at a regular base. It also evolves around her imaginations about another woman, a woman that her husband also is madly in love with. Besides from that in the beginning we mainly get to follow her daily life and chores and interactions with people that cross her path, people that I guess in the end will have a great influence in how her life will evolve. In the book a woman named Shug Avery early starts to play a big part in the minds of the main characters. This woman also comes to live with Celie and her husband since she has fallen ill and from my point of vie a triangular love story is about to unfold.

Celie is the main character in the book. She is a very warm-hearted and kind person who sacrifices a lot of herself to give other people happiness. But her problem is that she can’t stand up for herself and let other people treat her bad, probably because she has never known anything else. She grew up with an abusing father and often sacrificed herself for her younger siblings and later on she got married to another abusing man and sees it more as something natural being hit.

Celie is the most important person in the book so far but another character that often is in the centre of the story is her husband Mr -----. He originally wanted to marry Celies sister but had to settle with her instead. His marriage with her seems mostly to be out of convenience because he needs someone to take care of his home and raise his kids. There are no genuine feelings between them and Mr ----- are actually in love with another woman called Shug Avery. He seems to be a man that doesn’t think so much about other people’s feelings and sees his wife and children more like tools than equal life companions.

“You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mummy.

Dear God,

I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me.”

These are the first lines in the book. They don’t exactly tell you right upfront what is happening but you can pretty easily make a guess. From these few lines the book seems to be about a young woman in a bad position. It seems to be a child that has ben awfully mistreated by someone. Right here you already make a guess about sexual abuse but you don’t know by whom or how much.

The books name the color purple may at first seem a bit abstract but when you think about it the title may also symbolise her longing to have a more colourful life.

In the book she mentions that she would like to change her old dark coloured dresses to something more glamorous and bright.

“I think what color Shug Avery would wear. She like a queen to me so I say to Kate, Somethin purple, maybe red in it too”

This may symbolise not only how she would like to present herself but also the way she would wish for the outcome of her life to become. Also the title as the quote mentions may refer to Shug Avery, a woman who under a long time has influenced and been a role model for Celie.