The Color Purple is a story about an African American women named Celie that focuses on the numerous issues she encounters in the deep South. She delivers her experiences through a series of letters that are addressed to God and some to her sister Nettie, who’s a missionary in Africa. Celie writes to God and her sister Nettie because she has no one else. Through the repetition of motifs and symbols, Alice Walker is able to give everything a significant meaning to create various themes throughout the story. Throughout the novel, Walker uses epistolary writing. Using epistolary writing the author is able to show how impactful and meaningful writing is to the main character Celie. Celie’s horrible experience of getting raped by her own father traumatized her for life. He told her after abusing her that “you better not never tell anybody but God” (1). So she did. She expressed her emotions by writing letters to God; therefore, Celie was able to get to know herself as a person. It was Celie’s way to express herself because she felt that there was nobody that would listen to her. Although Celie started to write to her sister Nettie in…show more content… For example, God is constantly repeated across the novel. Celie sees God as her listener and thinks that God is a white man. Celie starts to loose faith in God because she believes that God “act just like all the other mens I know” (193). Shug Avery tells Celie that “God is everything” (197). She explains to her that God itself is a symbol that has been created to suit the white’s beliefs. Shug tells her that God could be anything that makes a person happy. Not necessarily a white male. Another major symbol in the novel are the pants Celie starts making. Celie becoming a free women is symbolize by pants. She no longer cares for what Mr.____ thinks so she starts her own pants business. Celie starts wearing pants to fight the stereotype that men only wear
