Shug and Celie in The Color Purple Essay

The effect of Shug Avery on Celie

In Alice Walkers The Color Purple, Shug Avery is one of her most vibrant characters. Shugs first impression in the novel is that of a negative one, she is insulting and arrogant. However, the key to Shug's character is the element of surprise. Shug, awakens love and self-esteem in Celie, and in return Celie, awakens generosity in Shug. Walker uses both of them help each other become what they really need to be.

Both Celie and Shug were very oppressed people. Celie was oppressed by her lack of caring, and by her lack of self esteem. Shug is caught in other people's image of her. She is not free to become what she really wants to be, which is a loving member of a loving family, which she never really had. This is shown by the quote on page 125-6. "(Mama) never love to do nothing had to do with touching nobody, she say. I try to kiss her, she turn her mouth away. Say, Cut that out, Lillie." Celie freed Shug from the role that everybody wanted her to fit into, and Shug freed Celie from the psychological bonds that were keeping her from making of her life what she wanted it to be, by being a mixture of friend, idol, lover, and teacher.

Both Celie and Shug became what they were told they would. Celie was always told that she was ugly, that she was useless, and that she was worthless. Alphonso and Mr.----- never lost an opportunity to tell her so. And so Celie became and believed she was ugly, useless, and worthless. Even Shug, when she first met her, exclaimed "You sure is ugly" (pg.48). Shug was told, first by her mother and then in the "respectable people's" opinion, that she was a whore, that she was wicked, and so she became a Temptress of sorts. "Even the preacher got his mouth on Shug Avery, now she down. He take her condition for his text. He don't call no name, but he don't have to. Everybody know who he mean. He talk about a strumpet in short skirts, smoking cigarettes, drinking gin. Singing for money and taking other women mens. Talk about slut, hussy, heifer, and streetcleaner." (Pg 46). She was the woman that all the men wanted and all the women hated, because there was so much she dared to do and so little anyone could do to stop her. However, neither of them necessarily wanted to take part in those roles, and both of them felt confined in them.

Shug has a certain "Venus Image" in the novel. She fits the role of the seductive woman, the temptress, the devil. However, when she and Celie became friends, Shug could open herself up to Celie and show the second side of her nature. When she was with Celie, she could relax and be herself, the sweet, gentle, and caring woman which so few people knew about. She didn't have to fit into the role that was expected of her; she could cuddle up to Celie, take care of her and be taken care of, she could be the mother or the child or both with absolute freedom. And Shug did love to cuddle. "I loves to hug, period, she say. Don't need nothing else right now." (Pg. 152) She could be gentle and sweet when she was with Celie, because Celie didn't want or expect anything of her expect what she really was.

Celie depended on Shug for love and security. Being constantly told that she was ugly had its effect on her; Celies sense of self esteem was exceedingly low. "But what you got? You ugly. You skinny. You shape funny. You too scared to open your mouth to people...You not that good a cook either...This house aint been clean good since my first wife died. And nobody crazy or backward enough to want to marry you, neither." That kind of verbal (and often physical) abuse was a part of Celies life. However, although Celie sensed something was very wrong, her feelings were dead, buried. Not only her love, but all her rage, her hate, her sense of injustice, her happiness. She wasn't even aware that they should be there. When Celie met Shug those feelings were slowly dug up again, and resurfaced completely only with the discovery of Netties letters.

The first thing that Celie needed to learn was how to care about someone again. Shug taught her about love. Once Celie loved Shug, then she was ready to take the bigger step and go into loving herself. Once Celie started loving herself, it became easier and easier for her to spread out all that love until it enveloped her whole world, her surroundings and the people in it. We can see the progress that Celie has made from the beginning of the novel when she states on page 228 "I love folks." Simply and directly, we can determine the change in her. The love that Celie and Shug had for each other can be interpreted as a sort of lesbianism. However, the relationship that they shared was not erotic. There is one part of the novel when the women start suckling each other, on page 118. "Then I feels something real soft and wet on my breast, feel like one of my little lost babies mouth. Way after a while, I act like a little lost baby too." It describes the motherly way that the women felt about each other. There was no sexualism in the act, it was not erotic at all. They were both, at the same time, the baby and the mother of the other. "Little lost babies" is how Celie describes it, and that is how both Celie and Shug felt.

When Shug leaves Celie for Germaine, the nineteen year old, Celie goes through a crisis. Shug had taught her a lot of things, but she still did not know how to fend for herself. Up to that point, Celie had depended solely on Shug for company, for love, for caring. She felt betrayed that Shug would abandon her when she knew Celie was defenseless, and knowing also that she was the only person Celie loved with the exception of Nettie, who had left her also. However, by leaving, Shug did the best thing she could for Celie. Because, once Shug was not there for her to lean on, Celie learned how to take care of herself. At that moment, she became truly independent, and the last of the ties holding her down vanished. When Shug returned to her Celies growth had been completed. She had progressed from being a scared child who needed someone to hold on to, be it Nettie or (as a replacement) Shug, to being a strong and mature woman, who was not afraid to do what she felt was right, and who deserved and what's more demaded respect.

In the same way, once Shugs own growth was completed, she no longer felt the need to be what people wanted her to be. She decided to retire from her career as the Queen Honeybee. When she was with Germaine, she went to see her children which she had not seen for many years. She was ready to break out of her mold, relax, be herself, and enjoy all the things that God had given her side. Though Shugs sexy style, sharp tongue, and many worldly experiences make her appear jaded, Shug is actually warm and compassionate at heart. When Shug falls ill, she not only appreciates, but also reciprocates the care and attention Celie lavishes upon her. As Shugs relationship with Celie develops, Shug fills the roles of mother, confidant, lover, sister, teacher, and friend. Shugs many roles make her an unpredictable and dynamic character that moves through a whirlwind of different cities, and late-night blues clubs. Despite her unpredictable nature and shifting roles, Shug remains Celies most constant friend and companion throughout the novel.