The Color Purple Quiz

November 11, 2009 burkleykatiezqbp

I feel that the directors changed events in the book because they felt that maybe a different audience would come see the film than read the book. The film ran basically the same course as the book with minor differences in how the characters were portrayed. For example, the book focused more in-depth on Sofia and her relationship with the mayor, his wife, and his daughter. Also, a major difference I saw was this relationship between Shug and her father. This was not seen in the book. It almost weakens her character a little in the movie because she, like Celie and most of the other women characters, was being oppressed by this male force.

The color purple in The Color Purple is significant because it in a way represents black women at the time period of the book/movie. At one point Celie and Shug are walking through a field of purple colored flowers and Shug says something about how God could never understand how one could walk by the color purple and not notice it. The black female characters represent this unseen, rather unnoticed beautiful color.

Shug Avery is the caregiver archetype. She constantly is taking care of Celie and trying to get her to see the good in her. She shows Celie what it’s like to be happy and what it is like to have a friend.

I am like Celie because I too have felt like “all I know how to do is stay alive.” Obviously not to her extreme situations of abuse, but as to not really knowing what my place is in the world, not thinking I’m good enough at anything. I have felt at one time that all I have to live for is just trying to stay alive.