Sofia is a fighter and indirectly teaches Celie to stand up for herself. In the South, during the 1930's, blacks worked for whites, and black women were expected to "mind" their husbands. Sofia does not fit this norm, in fact, she defies it. Sofia is married to Celie's step-son, Har

Shug cares deeply for Celie and looks out for her physical well-being. After Shug learns of Mr._____'s continued beatings on Celie, promises Celie that she will not to leave their home "until I know Albert won't even think about beating you" (Walker 79). And because of Shug's presence, Mr._____'s beatings lessen greatly. Shug even talks to Albert about being more gentle with Celie in bed, telling him he should even try to increase her pleasure. Mr._____ does try to be more gentle, but fails in increasing her pleasure. After Mr.____ retreats to his old abusive ways, Shug encourages Celie to leave him. The old Celie would never have the courage to leave her husband, but with Shug as her guide, and her continuous support, Celie decides to leave her husband and move to Memphis to live with Shug. Talking to Albert concerning Celie's well-being, proves to Celie how much Shug cares about her. Shug loves Celie, and to Celie, that is the most important thing in the world. To Celie, Shug is perfect, her skin, her body, her way with men. Shug is the women Celie dreams of being. Knowing that someone like Shug could care about someone like her, is a major stepping stone in Celie's transformation. Shug gives great pride and value to Celie's life.

po, yet refuses to be pushed around by him. She has had to fight "all [her] life" (Walker 42), for as a black women, it is her only defense against black men and a white society. Sofia tries to solve all of her problems by means of physical violence. While this may not be the best way to deal with her hardships, it is good for Celie to see that it is possible for a black women to stand up for herself and to fight for her rights. When Harpo tries to control Sofia, she fights back, beating him, and exposing her will to fight for what she believes in. Celie's traditional values come out when she gives Harpo the suggestion to beat Sofia to get her to listen to him. When Sofia hears about this, she immediately confronts Celie about it. Sofia is honest and goes after what she knows is right. When confronted on the street by the white mayor's wife and asked to be her maid, Sofia is insulted. She curses and throws punches at the mayor himself. Even after she is beaten by the police and taken to jail, Sofia does not back down. Sofia's visible courage to fight against unknown odds is an inspiration for Celie who mirrors this later in life. Sofia shows Celie how to stand up to men and to life's injustices, and most importantly teaches Celie to fight.

Celie was living a restricted life "that she passively accepted" (Taylor, Masterplots 311-312), when, by the hand of God, she came into contact with three different women with similar characteristics. These women each taught and encouraged Celie to stand up for herself, and with their help Celie was able to grow as a woman. Sofia taught Celie to stand up for herself and showed her that it is not necessary to fit society's norm. Celie's continuous love for Nettie was a sustaining source of strength for her. Like Sofia, Nettie showed Celie how to stand up to the men w

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Approximate Word count = 2081
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)