I'm Leaving ... To Make Some Pants!

Celie finally did it. She finally spoke her mind to Mr. ____, and she, Squeak, Shug Avery, and Grady have left for Memphis for good. It shocked me almost as much as it shocked Mr. ____, because Celie is not outspoken, but when he tried to stop her, she said, "Until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble. Until you do right by me, everything you dream about will fail. Every lick you hit me you will suffer twice. The jail you plan for me is the one in which you will rot," (Walker 206). I thought that this was such a powerful speech because it contrasts with Celie's former silence. She brings all of her past pent up anger that she had from living with Mr. ____ for all of those years. Although he tries to strip her of her self worth by saying that she is poor, black, ugly, and a woman, Celie's sense of self is too strong to be battered by what he says. Even though it angers him, Celie's speech does inspire Mr. ____ to rebuild his life.

When she, Squeak, Grady, and Shug Avery first arrive at Shug's house, Celie is not sure what she should do with herself. I think this is because she is used to being ordered and pushed around, that she is unsure what she should do with her newfound freedom. Shug is rich because of her singing, and buys Celie material when she wants to start making pants. At first, all she does is sew and sew, but when Shug and Squeak see pairs of pants that they like, Miss Celie's Folkspants Unlimited is born. Not only is it a form of self-expression (these are some pretty wild pants, folks!), but the money that she makes gives her economic self-sufficiency. Celie has always relied on someone for everything, not because she is lazy, but she just didn't know how. Now she has taken something that is usually considered a domestic chore and has turned it into means of independence. Go Celie! If these were real, I would probably buy a pair myself.

I think that this Scrapblog that I made reflects Celie's growth and decisions throughout the course of this section. At the beginnning of the passage, she starts writing to Nettie instead of to God, so this Scrapblog is sort of a visual letter to Nettie.


Nettie begins to have a conflict with Samuel's wife, Corrine. The members of the Olinka tribe think that Adam and Olivia, being Celie's children, look more like Nettie than they do Corrine, and think that Nettie is Samuel's "other wife." Because she has become uncomfortable with the situation, Corrine told Nettie that she can no longer invite Samuel over, let the children call her "Mama Nettie," and share clothes with each other. At first, Nettie and Corrine were like sisters, but now their damaged relationship and Olinka gossip has ruined the friendship between them.

Nettie also learned sickening news from Samuel. Their father, Alphonso, is not their real father. Their real father was a successful farmer, so he purchased a dry-goods store, which did better than the white-owned stores, because he took all of the black business away from them. Their father was lynched, and shortly after his death she gave birth to Nettie. Their mother then married Alphonso, and she continued to give birth to more and more children until the day she died. Samuel also reveals that he knew Alphonso in his pre-preacher days. One night, Alphonso shows up at Samuel's house, and tells them that his wife was unable to take care of their two youngest children (really Celie's chidren). Corrine and Samuel were unable to have children, so they adopted them naming them Olivia and Adam.

Nettie reveals in her last letter in this section that Corrine died from what began as a simple fever. I think that part of what lead to her death was the feeling of resentment and bitterness that she had toward Nettie after she told Corrine and Samuel she was their children's aunts. Corrine becomes convinced that Samuel and Nettie are lying to her and that the two of them knew each other before they agreed to help Nettie. But eventually, Nettie is able to come to terms with Corrine before Corrine dies by stimulating the memory Corrine has of meeting Celie in the fabric store. She forgives Nettie right before she dies.