Character Analysis of Celie in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple

Foremost, one of my favorite characters in all Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple is Celie. Celie proves time and time again to be persistent, witty, and overall courageous. I think what makes Celie such a compelling character is that despite all the obstacles she faces with Albert, she remains fearless. Nonetheless, I think a big part of how Celie is able to stay fearless throughout the film is that there are several moments where she is talking to God, or she says, “Dear God. . .”; overall, I find these key moments to be inspirational, to say the least, because Celie faces not only abuse from her husband but the loss of her beloved sister for a majority of the film. I also found that Celie is witty because she manages to find all the letters her sister sent her and leave Albert to go be with Shug Avery in an overall more safe environment. As Celie is leaving, she tells Albert, “Until you do right by me, everything you think about is going to crumble.” I interpreted this profound line from the film as Celie telling Albert that despite what he did to her, life will take care of itself and all the wrongs Albert did to Celie. I think Celie is also saying that until Albert fixes his wrongs, he will have a very unforgivable path ahead of him in his life. Likewise, as the movie progresses, Albert’s life does begin to take a bad path; his beard grows out, all his farm animals are not taken care of and his crops are not managed properly. I think Karma is seen in this aspect of the film because Albert’s life is taking a turn for the worse due to all the wrong things he did to Celie. Further, Celie also tells Albert and everyone around her as she is leaving: “I'm poor, Black, I may even be ugly, but dear God, I’m here! I’m here!” I think what makes this line so profound is this scene is one of the first times Celie speaks up for herself and truly embraces how courageous she has been throughout her life in the movie. These lines really showed me that despite everything that happens in life, you are still alive and here, and that it is a blessing in itself. More so, when Celie finds the letters and reads them, she says to Shug Avery, “But I don’t know how to fight; all I know how to do is stay alive.” I think this is a turning point for Celie because she realizes she wants to do more in her life than just survive. I think Celie finally realizes that she needs to take control of her life and defend herself against Albert. I think, as viewers, we see the most change in Celie after this moment because Celie has met her breaking point with Albert and wants to see a change in her life. I think, above all else, this moment makes Celie victorious because she is standing up to ultimately her biggest bully, Albert, because Albert truly is a bully. Furthermore, I found Celie to be persistent, witty, and courageous, and overall I found this Celie to be inspirational.