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Celie Gives Birth
Celie is impregnated twice by her father, Alphonso, after he beat and raped her. Both times, however, he stole the child and Celie had the idea that he just killed them in the woods.This is important because Celie's son and daughter come up later in the book. -
Death of Celie's Mother
Celie's mother becomes seriously ill and dies, which is important to the story because she could have stood up for her young daughter and helped Celie get through the hard time. -
Celie Gets Married
Celie and Nettie (Celie's younger sister) see this man named Mr. ____ who keeps following them around. Mr. ____ asks Alphonso if he could marry his young, beautiful daughter Nettie, but Alphonso says no. However, he told Mr. _____ that he could marry his ugly daughter Celie instead, and he reluctantly accepts the offer. Celie's marriage is important to the story because she receives abuse from Mr. ____ during the time that they are together. -
Nettie's Visit
Nettie visits Celie and Mr. ____ in an attempt to escape their father's abuse to her. However, Mr. ____ still desires Nettie and as he tries to seduce her, she narrowly escapes. Celie never hears from Nettie again and presumes she is dead, which is important because this actually turns out as false. -
Harpo vs Sofia
Harpo, Mr. ____ 's son, falls in love with a girl named Sofia, who is large and quite spunky. Harpo impregnates Sofia, so they decide to get married. Harpo is told by his dad to control Sofia by abusing her, however her size and strength overpower Harpo, leaving him with a loss every time he tries to fight her. This is important because it shows a woman's power over her man. -
Shug Avery's Visit With Celie
Shug Avery is a lounge singer that Mr. ____ has his eyes on and she comes into town to do a gig at a local bar. Mr. ____ lets her stay at his house when she ends up falling ill. In the beginning, Shug is rude to Celie, until Celie becomes her caretaker. Celie becomes sexually attracted to her. Shug moves out after having problems with Harpo, but starts singing at his pub a few months later. The relationship between Shug and Celie is important because as it progresses, they strengthen each other. -
Nettie's Letters
Celie tells Shug how she assumes her sister Nettie is dead. Nettie said she would write Celie, but she never got a single letter. Shug says that Mr. ____ has a ton of letters he keeps hidden in the trunk of his car. Shug and Celie get the letters and put them in order and then they read the letters together. This is important because Celie got some of the best news of her life! It is a definite plot twist for her. -
Nettie's Discovery
In the letters, Celie reads that Nettie is on a missionary trip to Africa with a young couple, Samuel and Corrine. They have two adopted childrene, Olivia and Adam, who surprisingly look like Nettie. Corrine is worried about who Nettie really is, but as she falls ill, Nettie asks Samuel about how they adopted the children. This leads Nettie to discover that they are Celie's kids, which is important to the story because it shows that they are in fact alive. -
The Moves
At dinner one night, Celie lets out all of her built-up rage and screams at Mr. ____ about how badly he treats her. Shug and Celie agree to move to Tennessee, where Celie starts a hobby of tailoring. Celie moves back to Georgia after she hears that Alphonso died and opens up a shop by Mr. ____ after learning he changed his ways. This is important because they can start over together the right way. -
Nettie's Return and Happy Ending
Celie and Mr. ____ start to understand each other and turn out to become really good friends. Nettie returns to America with her new husband Samuel and the children. Although emotionally drained with the return of her sister and children, Celie notes that although she has grown old, she feels the youngest she has ever been.
