The Color Purple Timeline
Celie
Celie is married off to Mr.____
Celie and Shug find the letters from Nettie that Mr.____ had been hiding from Celie
Celie meets and falls in love with Shug (talks about religion)
Celie returns to Mr.___ and reconciles; she now owns her Pa’s old house
Celie goes to Memphis with Shug and starts making and selling pants
- In this event, Celie truly discovers who she is and what is important to her with some help from Shug. Celie and Shug talk while Shug is sick and staying at Celie and Mr. ____'s house. It is through this event that Celie's views on religion and her relationship with her husband are discussed.
- This event is important because it marks a turning point in the story. After Nettie left Celie never really had a good relationship with anyone, but Shug was able to befriend Celie and help her discover who she really was and stand up for herself, something she had never done before.
- In this event, Celie is forced to marry Mr. ____ after her Pa refused to allow Mr. ____ to take Nettie's, Celie's younger sister, hand in marriage
- This event is significant because Celie is forced to marry a man that she doesn't truly love and originally thought her sister should have married. This is also one of the first major events in the story, and Celie's unhappy marriage is what leads her to run away with Shug as well as her husband to hide the letters from her sister.
- In this event, Celie and Shug find a chest full of letters that Nettie had sent to Celie but Celie had never received. Celie had asked about the letters earlier, but Mr. ____ continuously denied the fact that any letters had been received. Nettie had previously said that if Celie stopped recieving letters from her then she was probably dead. As neither sister received any letters from one another they assumed the other was dead.
- This event is significant because it marked the point in the book where Celie truly knew her sister was alive and began writing to her sister instead of simply writing to God. It also marks the point were Shug begins to no longer trust Mr. ____ and helps Celie stand up for herself and against everything Mr. ____ had done wrong by her.
- After Celie's Pa dies she leaves Memphis and returns to her family home where she finds everything has been left to Celie (and had been left to Celie after her mother's death. Celie leaves Shug behind in Memphis as she has found a young male suitor, replacing Celie's role as Shug's true love. Due to this loss, Celie is able t bygones be bygones and reconciles with Mr. ____ who apoligises for what he had done wrong. Celie also discovers that he is surprisingly good at sewing and enlists him to help her to continue to make and sell clothing.
- This event is significant because it allows everything to begin to fall into place and resolve itself. With this reconciliation Celie and Mr. ____ are able to come to terms and accept each other for ho they are no matter how quirky or strange or what they like that isn't typically viewed as being assigned to their gender role. It also allows Celie to be able to fully gain her independence to support herself.
- Celie leaves Mr. ____ at the request of Shug and moves with her in order to live a better life. While living in Memphis, Celie finds herself often becoming bored as she does not ve to do as much work around the house living with Shug and Shug is often out singing and performing. In order to cope with this boredom Celie starts making pants, and after Shug complements Celie on how well made and comfortable her pants are she begins selling them.
- This event is significant as it marks Celie's transition to becoming more independent and having the ability to support herself. Celie not only learns that she can survive living without the help of Mr.____ (or any other man) and that she has the ability to make a living on her own. She also discovers that she has a true talent herself after previously feeling talentless compared to Shug. She also learns that she doesn't and shouldn't have to change herself for anyone else after one of the people hired to help her make pants tries to change the way she talks.
Nettie reunites with Celie
Nettie tries to help Olinka people keep their land from the rubber plantation and road builders (imperialisation)
Nettie goes on a mission trip to Africa with Corrine, Samuel, and Celie’s children
Nettie experiences how the worldviews African Americans and women
Nettie marries Samuel after Corrine dies in Africa
- At the very end of the story, Nettie returns from Africa with Samuel and the children and reunites with Celie. This is after Celie has been reunited with Shug, Mr. ____, and the rest of the various family surrounding them.They are having a big family reunion and Celie is wondering whether she'll ever see Nettie again when she sees Nettie and her family walking down the road towards the house.
- This event is significant because it is the first time Nettie and Celie have seen each other since Nettie left Mr. ____ house at the very beginning of the story. This is also the first time in years that the two sisters know each other are really, truly alive as they never had a way of being sure either one got each others letters. In fact many of Celie's letters to Nettie were returned, and Celie received word that the ship Nettie was to return to the US on had been sunk. Therefore, this meeting is the first time either sister has truly know the other was alive in years.
- Nettie, Samuel, and the children go back to England in an attempt to gain aid from the church to help stop the construction of a road and rubber plantation that is ripping through and destroying the Olinka's tribal lands. However, Nettie and Samuel come back empty handed and the Olinka village is taken over by the rubber plantation forcing the Olinka's to change their practices and cultures to fit those of the rubber plantation's owner.
- This event is significant because it is an indirect description of imperialism and its affects on the native people who are forced under imperialism. It is also important because no matter what Nettie tries to do she cannot gain any support or help for the Olinka village, showing how people really view Africans. It also a turning point in the story as after this even the Olinka loose trust in Samuel and Nettie and thier intentions to help the village.
- In this event, Nettie travels with the town's pastor, Samuel, his wife, Corrine, and his adopted children, who happen to be Celie's children that were sold away by her Pa, to Africa. Nettie was working with the family as the caretaker of their children as well as helping with housework; she was able to go on the mission trip because the other missionaries were suddenly unable to go at the time of the trip.
- This event is significant as it allows Nettie to both grow as a character and experience more of the world as she travels. Nettie's views of religion changed as she traveled and experienced each place she visited on the way to Africa. The mission trip also allowed Nettie to grow a closer bond with Samuel and the children, but Corrine grew worrisome of Nettie's involvement with the family.
- As Nettie travels to and reaches Africa she comes to many other cities and cultures before reaching her final destination. She visits New York on her way, allowing her to not only experience the racism in the city but also the Harlem Renaissance of African American literature and art. She also visits England, which banned slavery long before the United States, allowing her to experience a new culture where African Americans are more generally accepted. When she finally reaches Africa she sees how African tribes view both women and African missionaries that come to teach their religions to the Africans.
- This event is significant because it is Nettie's first exposure to a world that is not her own. She also relates everything that happens back in her letters to Celie allowing Celie to try and understand these other cultures along with Nettie.
- Corrine becomes very sick while in Africa. During this time she begins to doubt the relations between Samuel and Nettie as the children that she has raised look so much like her, due to the fact that they are her niece and nephew. Before Corrine dies she believes Nettie is telling the truth, and that she only wanted to b so close to the children as she was their aunt and she had no previous relations with her husband. However, after Corrine's passing, because Nettie was already so close to the family and served as a caretaker and second mother to the children, she marries Samuel while in England.
- This event is significant as it marks a great change in Nettie's life. It allows Nettie to be able to truly connect with Samuel and learn more about the man she had spent so long with in Africa. It also allowed for a connection Nettie had previously lost with her sister as she did not have a sisterly connection with Corrine, as the Olinka people thought Nettie was Samuel's second wife. It also gave Nettie another role to look forward to as the children had grown old enough to take care of themselves.
Nettie