Celie and Shug
After reading Celie and Shug's first interaction, readers find it hard to believe the outcome of their relationship! When they first meet, the first thing that comes out of Shugs mouth is "She sure is ugly". Before they met, Celie had seen many pictures of Shug and would almost idolize her. She dreamt of the day when they would meet. But, just as Shug's first impression of Celie was nasty, Celie's first impression of Shug was "She got a big pointy nose and a big fleshy mouth. Lips look like black plum. Eyes big, glossy. Feverish. And mean. Like, sick as she is, if a snake crossed her path, she would kill it" (p.46). Later in the novel readers see that these great friends bring out the strengths and weaknesses in each other.
Later in the novel, these two characters really learn to love each other. One of the reasons readers can assume why Celie loves Shug so much is because of her hate towards men. Shug is Celie's first experience with another woman's body. Readers can assume that Celie is so attracted to Shug because of her hatred towards men. These two become such great friends that eventually Celie opens up to Shug about how Mr.____ beats her and how since Shug has been there, he hasn't beaten her. Readers realize this is because Mr.____ is just so happy that Shug is there. Because of this, Shug decides to stay longer just to protect Celie. Celie is in need of this protection at this time in the novel because Celie is not able to stand up for herself. Through Shug's willingness to stand up for Celie, Shug teaches Celie how to stand up for herself. Through their relationship, Shug Avery helps celie eventually grow into a stronger, more independent person. Not only does Shug do this for Celie, but she also helps Celie find herself. Because of their friendship, Celie becomes much more confident and able to stand up for herself. Additionally, Shug helps Celie make good decisions. An example of this is when Celie has the opportunity to slit Mr.___'s throat when shaving his neck. Thankfully Shug stopes her form doing this. |