The Color Purple

The Color Purple takes place first in the 1900s.  The main character Celie played by Whoopi Goldberg. This was her first movie that really started her acting career.  In the movie Celie started off with a hard life, a step-father who rapes her non-stop and two babies she conceived but couldn't raise. When her mother died leaving her and her sister Nettie with her step-father, and the first thing he did was sell her off for marriage. Now her husband, Albert Johnson played by Danny Glover didn't want to marry her he wanted to marry her sister. My first question was, "Why is a grown man trying to marry a 14 year old girl, and secondly why was this okay in this time?" Back in the old days [antebellum South] I understood the slavery, but black on black slavery just never made any sense to me.

Some years go by and Celie gets older, and so do all of Mr. Johnson's kids.  Celie's sister tries to come and live with them, but Mr. Johnson couldn't keep his hands off. Nettie left; she wrote everyday, [should be two words; one word means commonplace or ordinary] but Mr. Johnson hid everything from her [Celie] making her believe her sister forgot about her.  Now you know every angry man has a soft spot, someone who could bring out the best in him.  His light was Shug Avery, played by Margeret Avery, a traveling singer who was shamed away by her preacher father for creating a bastard child.  Whenever Shug came around Mr. Johnson was a lot nicer and didn't beat on his wife Cellie. But whenever Shug wasn't around Celie got beat for not being her.  Shug brought a light into Cellie: made her feel pretty, had her experience somewhat of a romance, when on the other hand Mr. Johnson just brings her down and degrades her as a woman.  When Harpo, Mr. Johnson's son brings home a wife to marry, Sophia (played by Oprah Winfrey) everything changes. They start having kids then they start beating on each other but still making babies in the middle. Later Sophia has an encounter with a white man [the town's mayor no less], and she punches him in the face she goes to jail for 8+ years.  She comes home to be a maid for the white lady whose husband put her into jail.

The second time Shug returns, she returns with a husband which hurts both Celie and Mr. Johnson because they are both in love with her. This is around the time when she learns she has two children who are living in Africa with her sister Nettie. She tries to get away, but the first time Mr. Johnson was blocking her way.  She tried to be dramatic and fall out, but Mr.Johnson doesn't care. The third time Shug came back it was time for Celie to leave; she was tired of the abuse and her step-father had passed away and left her a house and a store.  Celie makes her break; Mr.Johnson tries to get control one last time, but she breaks away.  Mr. Johnson didn't realize how big a component Celie was to his life; she cooked, she cleaned, she took care of the kids and she made sure her husband had everything he needed.

After a few years pass by, Celie has her home together and her store is up and running. Her Shug, Harpo, Sophia all living together and Mr. Johnson all by himself. He had a change of heart when he got the letter from immigration, he signed off for Celie's sister and children get to come back to the south with them.

The main lesson this story taught me is to not take my life for granted and not take my freedom for granted either.