As Celie’s mother dies, the readers realise from Celie’s fourth letter to God that Alphonso has brought home a new wife. This marriage does not end the physical and sexual abuse Celie puts up with. Celie states “I don’t even look at men. That’s the truth. I look at women tho, ‘cause I’m not scared of them.” This shows that Celie has been abused really badly which has then made her lose trust in men. However she feels safe around women as the readers later find out that women are the people who help her.
Celie's language is difficult to understand. The letters are not written in Standard English, her letters are written in non-standard, African- American dialect. Celie uses short and simple sentences. Therefore, at first, Celie's language might seem hard to understand to some people however to most readers it is not as hard, as the tone of voice that Celie has is very open and almost like confessional. This helps the reader to identify with Celie as they can see her pray to God through her letters and the tone of her letters.
Celie states in her letter to God “maybe you could tell me what to do?” This quote states that she is asking God for an answer, as there is no one else that Celie could turn to for help. Celie trusts in God, as he is the only being that she tells the cruelty that she's been through but towards the end of the novel she stops writing to God “There cannot be a God which causes so much pain” This is at the point when she no longer believes in God which therefore she decides to write to Nettie and Shug instead.
As a young girl, Celie constantly faces abuse and is told she is ugly. She decides that the only way she could survive is by making herself silent and invisible. Celie’s letters to God are her only means of self expression. Celie does little to fight back against her stepfather, Alphonso. Later in life, when her husband abuses her again she reacts in an unpleasant manner, The quotation “He start to choke me, saying You better shut up n git used to it,” reinforces how she's nothing to him, and that this will not be the last occurrence of these actions. "… all I can do not to cry. I make myself wood. I say to myself, Celie, you a tree. That's how I know trees fear man." The reader can see that Celie has lost her feelings, she is numbing out the pain of being beaten through comparing herself to a tree this shows that she cannot fight back physically but only within herself.
Celie states, “Then after a while ever time I got mad, or started to feel mad, I got sick. Felt like throwing up. Terrible feeling. I start to feel nothing at all.” This shows that after her trauma she is depressed and her anger starts rising up, however she forces herself not to feel pain. The way in which 'am' has been crossed out, and replaced by 'have' in the quote “I am, have always been a good girl” supports this state. However, Celie sticks on to Shug Avery, a beautiful and empowered woman, as a role model. After Shug moves into Celie and her husband’s house, Celie has the opportunity to be friends with the woman who she loves and to learn, at last, how to fight back.
Shug’s maternal prodding helps Celie’s development into an independent woman. Gradually, Celie recovers her own voice. Shug states that Celie is “still a virgin” because she has never had a satisfying sexual contact this quote is very ironic as Celie’s father states that “Celie is not fresh,” when he gives her away to Albert, Celie’s husband. Shug also opens Celie’s eyes to new ideas about religion, allowing Celie to believe in a non-traditional version of God.
Nettie’s long-lost letters, which Celie discovers with Shug’s help hidden in Albert’s trunk, strengthen Celie’s confidence by informing her of her personal and her children’s history. Celie’s process of finding her own voice ends with her explosion at her husband, Albert in which she curses him for his years of abuse “you a lowdown dog is what’s wrong, I say. It’s time to leave you enter into the creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need.” Albert responds in his usual way of insults and threats however this time the readers can see the change in Celie as her husband’s words no longer affect her.
The self esteem Celie gain changes her into a happy, successful, independent woman. Celie takes up her hobby of sewing and turns it into an opportunity for a profitable business. When Nettie, Olivia, and Adam return to Georgia from Africa, Celie’s circle of friends and family is finally reunited. Although Celie has tolerated many years of hardship, she says, “Don’t think us feel old at all. . . . Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt.” This quote states that the returning of Celie’s sister and children has made her start fresh to life as she feels almost like she is reborn.
In conclusion Walker presented the development of Celie by using a shy and almost apologetic tone of voice in her letters to God to portray the years of abuse she has experienced. This later transformed into a loud and a confident tone of voice which was directed to Nettie and Shug rather than God. This transformation was influenced by the build up of the abuse and harassment Celie had to put up with over the years. Therefore when given a chance to change for the better, she took it, to become the successful woman she has become in the end of the novel.
