Religion in The Color Purple Essay

Celies Religious Progression

In the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Celie, the main character is able to change her view of God from being a real but invisible person to God being everywhere. By changing and maturing her religious beliefs, she is able to grow into a new awareness of herself. Celie changes her immature viewpoint of God through the help of Shug Avery.

Shug Avery is a woman with a very powerful personality, guides Celie into believing that God is everywhere. Celies immature way of thinking makes her believe that God is a white bearded old man but eventually rebels this way of thinking when she meets Shug. Celie has a hard time believing in God because He has never helped her through the hard times that she has had with men. Celie and Shug often talk about God. She say, Celie! Like she shock. He gave you life, good health, and a good woman that love you to death. Shug tries to make her believe that there is a positive in everything. Listen, God love everything you love.

Shug has realized that Celie has lost all faith and doesnt believe in God. Shug believes that God is has no gender and no race. Yeah, It. God aint a He or a She, but a it. But what do it look like? I ast. Dont look like nothing, She say. Celie doesnt quite understand how He is an it. Throughout the novel Celie becomes more faithful and starts to believe in God. I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and dont even notice it. Celie recognizes that just as the color purple needs to be noticed so does God. This helped her leave Mr. _____ and go with Shug to start a pants shop.

In Celies final letter to God she says, Dear God, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear everything. When Celie writes this in her letter it proves that she has matured her way of viewing God. She thanks God for making her life better, giving her children back, and also having her sister Nettie back. From this point on she continued to believe in God.

Celie was able to change her beliefs and mature her childish way of viewing God. She overcame the picture that was embedded in her mind since she was a young child. Celie finally believed that God is everywhere and He is in everything. She enjoys having the faith that she had once longed to have.