Character Descriptions
Celie: Celie is a plain girl with a medium-dark complexion. She is naturally quiet and peaceful, never voicing any kind of anger or fighting back when people like her father, husband, and children abuse her. She is Mr---‘s wife (and Shug’s partner?). She is also very selfless, giving a lot of gifts to her friends and comforting them in times of need. Celie can get kind of jealous of people at times, and feels depressed because of her difficult life. She is a strong Christian in the novel at first, and it is her faith that keeps her afloat and is the reason she writes. However, she later is able to reconnect with her sister by recovering letters hidden by Mr.--- and starts writing to her instead of god. At first, Celie completely rejects god, believing that he neglects her just like all the other men in her life, but then takes on a more spiritual perspective of god through nature.
Shug Avery: Shug is a character that acts as a love interest and Character foil for Celie and Mr.---. Shug is very pretty, with a dark complexion and a thin but strong appearance. Shug is loudmouthed and “acts like a man” in that she doesn't take crap from anyone and stands in confidence at a level equal to men. She loves wholeheartedly, but can be cruel to people before she gets to know them based on superficialities like the way they look. Shug’s loving attitude towards Celie foils Mr.---‘s abuse, and her defiance towards Mr.--- foils Celie’s submissiveness. She is the first person to ever love Celie, and has a huge impact on her life, basically teaching her how to love again.
Mr.--- (Albert): Mr.--- is an attractive man with medium-brown skin. He is Celie’s husband and Shug’s ex. He is naturally submissive much like his son Harpo, but refuses to show this. He is very kind to Shug, taking her into his house and caring for her because he truly loves her. However, he is lazy and his frustration turns him into a bully around Celie, whom he beats for not being Shug even though she does everything for him. Mr.--- tends to be selfish around everyone accept Shug, even bullying his children from time to time, until the end of the novel. After Celie stands up to him and leaves him, he has a turning point and realizes the way he treated her was wrong, and turns to improving himself and working hard.
Harpo: Harpo is a “cute” slim boy with a dark complexion and a lengthy build. He is married to Sofia, and is Mr.---.’s son. He can be pessimistic and whiny at times, but normally tends to look on the bright side despite his difficult life. He is normally a hard worker and pretty reliable, but tends to make impulse decisions and not think things through all the way. He is a foil to Sofia, displaying the “feminine” more submissive gender role in their marriage. However, he is deeply ashamed of this and always tries to be on top, eventually resulting gin the end of their marriage, when she finally leave him, he turns their house into a juke joint and marries Mary-Agnes (Squeak), who does everything he says for the most part. However, he has trouble really loving her, and Squeak eventually gains her voice and leaves him as well.
Nettie: Nettie is an attractive woman with medium-dark skin. She is Celie's sister, and is intelligent and outgoing. She acts as a character foil to Celie, especially near the beginning of the book when she is always compared to celie as superior by others because of her looks and intelligence. Despite this, she never thought she was better than celie, was grateful for the sacrifice she made, and loved her very much. Nettie is forced to run away from her father's house for fear of being raped like Celie and after refusing Mr---., was not allowed to stay at Celie's new home. For awhile the reader questions whether or not Nettie cares about Celie because she never wrote, but it turns out Albert was just hiding the letters. In the second half of the book, Nettie and Celie are able to really reconnect and reform the close bond they had as kids.
Sofia: Sofia is a sturdy and strong girl with pretty medium-brown skin and a tough build. She is married to Harpo. Sophia is very reliable, always being there to care for her family. She helps Celie with her problems and encourages her to stand up to Mr.---. She doesn't hold a grudge, and forgives Harpo numerous times before deciding to leave him, She is his foil, and displays the more “masculine” gender role in their marriage, fixing up the house, hunting, and working in the fields. She is “one of those women who can’t be beat”, and only leaves Harpo because of his very over-controlling attitude. Eventually however, she is beaten down by society, when she refuses to be the mayor's wife's servant and her and the mayor end up getting in a fight. The police beat her to the point of looking disfigured, and she serves a prison sentence until she is able to get out by agreeing to be the mayor's wife's servant. She was her servant for many years, and during this period went through a really rough point in her life. She didn't begin to recover and act like her old self until Celie stood up to Mr.---.
Shug Avery: Shug is a character that acts as a love interest and Character foil for Celie and Mr.---. Shug is very pretty, with a dark complexion and a thin but strong appearance. Shug is loudmouthed and “acts like a man” in that she doesn't take crap from anyone and stands in confidence at a level equal to men. She loves wholeheartedly, but can be cruel to people before she gets to know them based on superficialities like the way they look. Shug’s loving attitude towards Celie foils Mr.---‘s abuse, and her defiance towards Mr.--- foils Celie’s submissiveness. She is the first person to ever love Celie, and has a huge impact on her life, basically teaching her how to love again.
Mr.--- (Albert): Mr.--- is an attractive man with medium-brown skin. He is Celie’s husband and Shug’s ex. He is naturally submissive much like his son Harpo, but refuses to show this. He is very kind to Shug, taking her into his house and caring for her because he truly loves her. However, he is lazy and his frustration turns him into a bully around Celie, whom he beats for not being Shug even though she does everything for him. Mr.--- tends to be selfish around everyone accept Shug, even bullying his children from time to time, until the end of the novel. After Celie stands up to him and leaves him, he has a turning point and realizes the way he treated her was wrong, and turns to improving himself and working hard.
Harpo: Harpo is a “cute” slim boy with a dark complexion and a lengthy build. He is married to Sofia, and is Mr.---.’s son. He can be pessimistic and whiny at times, but normally tends to look on the bright side despite his difficult life. He is normally a hard worker and pretty reliable, but tends to make impulse decisions and not think things through all the way. He is a foil to Sofia, displaying the “feminine” more submissive gender role in their marriage. However, he is deeply ashamed of this and always tries to be on top, eventually resulting gin the end of their marriage, when she finally leave him, he turns their house into a juke joint and marries Mary-Agnes (Squeak), who does everything he says for the most part. However, he has trouble really loving her, and Squeak eventually gains her voice and leaves him as well.
Nettie: Nettie is an attractive woman with medium-dark skin. She is Celie's sister, and is intelligent and outgoing. She acts as a character foil to Celie, especially near the beginning of the book when she is always compared to celie as superior by others because of her looks and intelligence. Despite this, she never thought she was better than celie, was grateful for the sacrifice she made, and loved her very much. Nettie is forced to run away from her father's house for fear of being raped like Celie and after refusing Mr---., was not allowed to stay at Celie's new home. For awhile the reader questions whether or not Nettie cares about Celie because she never wrote, but it turns out Albert was just hiding the letters. In the second half of the book, Nettie and Celie are able to really reconnect and reform the close bond they had as kids.
Sofia: Sofia is a sturdy and strong girl with pretty medium-brown skin and a tough build. She is married to Harpo. Sophia is very reliable, always being there to care for her family. She helps Celie with her problems and encourages her to stand up to Mr.---. She doesn't hold a grudge, and forgives Harpo numerous times before deciding to leave him, She is his foil, and displays the more “masculine” gender role in their marriage, fixing up the house, hunting, and working in the fields. She is “one of those women who can’t be beat”, and only leaves Harpo because of his very over-controlling attitude. Eventually however, she is beaten down by society, when she refuses to be the mayor's wife's servant and her and the mayor end up getting in a fight. The police beat her to the point of looking disfigured, and she serves a prison sentence until she is able to get out by agreeing to be the mayor's wife's servant. She was her servant for many years, and during this period went through a really rough point in her life. She didn't begin to recover and act like her old self until Celie stood up to Mr.---.