Celie and Shug in Alice

¶ … Celie and Shug in Alice Walker's the Color Purple

Friends and friendship prove to one of the most important aspect of life. This notion is explored in Alice Walker's novel, the Color Purple, through the characters of Celie and Shug. Celie is a woman in desperate need of becoming more assertive and proud of herself. In contrast, Celie is just that type of woman. When these two women meet and become friends, we see how Celie changes and, with the help of Celie, becomes the woman she was intended to be. Shug helps Celie to appreciate herself and God to a point where she is confident. This, in turn allows Celie to overcome her weakness when it comes to authority figures. Shug is a strong and necessary influence in Celie's life.

In the beginning of the novel, Celie's voice expressed hopelessness -- especially in regards to men and sex. Sex was simply an act where only the man was to enjoy himself. Toward the end of the novel, we see how Celie's attitude toward men has changed. In a moment of anger, she tells Mr. ____ that he is a "You a lowdown dog is what's wrong... it's time to leave you and enter into the Creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need" (Walker 207). She also tells him, "Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble... everything you even dream about will fail... Every lick you hit me you will suffer twice... The jail you plan for me is the one in which you will rot" (213). This passage illustrates how Celie's character has grown and how she will stand up for herself as opposed to simply sit back and take abuse.

God is an important aspect of Celie's character as well. In the beginning of the novel, Celie perceives God as an evil man. However, Celie's impression of God is changed when she begins to discuss religion with Shug. Shug opens Celie's eyes to the greater possibilities of what God can be and mean to her. Where Celie was rather weak spiritually, Shug was strong. For example, Shug is the first person to suggest to Celie that God exists everywhere in nature. When Celie opens her mind to this notion, she learns to appreciate nature and God on another level. An example of how she matured in this aspect can be seen when she told Mr. ____ he would suffer for all that he did to her. She writes that he words just came to her "from the trees" (213). What is interesting about this statement is the fact that Celie used to see herself as a tree that fought back her negative emotions.

Shug is instrumental in Celie's mental growth. She becomes Celie's confidant but, more importantly, Shug helps her view God differently. For example, Celie's earlier impressions of God are that he is a man that behaves much like the other men she has encountered in her life. She writes that God is "just like all the other mens I know... Trifling, forgitful and lowdown" (199). It is through Shug that Celie begins to recognize God is inside her and "inside everybody else" (202) and he is not a "he or a she, but a it" (202). Furthermore, she helps her see that God "ain't something you can look at apart from anything else, including yourself. I believe God is everything" (202). Shug's ideas help Celie understand God on a deeper, more personal level, which ultimately allows her to appreciate herself as well.

Shug and Celie are also very different people is regards to authority figures. In the beginning of the novel, Celie has a profound respect for Shug who had authority over Mr. ____, which is a complete contrast to the relationship Celie had with him. Celie is weak and literally takes the verbal and physical abuse heaped on her by the men in her life. She never questions it and never fights back. (43) Through the help of others, she begins to realize this and slowly she evolves into a woman who believes she can rise above such treatment.