In the book The Color Purple, Alice Walker described the life that African American women had to face on a daily basis. The book tells a story about how black men mistreated black women; sexual and physical abuse (Kauffmann). The purpose of the Color Purple is to recognize pain, but tell it in the form of a story; demonstrating this by writing a story that can be learned from suffering (Fiske). According to Fiske, “The color purple is continually equated with suffering and pain…described as the color of “eggplant” (Fiske). Women suffered physical, mental, and sexual abuse throughout the book. Men were the leaders and if they didn't do what they were told or respond, there were always consequences. Black men were not the only people who abused their significant other, but white men also beat black men (Walker). The color purple is brought together from all the common experiences and struggles faced: oppression, abuse, and violence (Fiske). The main theme of the book is the overcoming of the two main separations, sexuality (between women) and a bit of pantheism (Marte-Jones). Women really didn't have much to say during this time and men only wanted them for the sex. Their main goal was to have children and become housewives. When Celie's mother left, she fulfilled the role of mother to care for and protect her sister, but she began to notice that Mr.__ was looking at her sister in a way that she knew was not okay. Nettie was afraid but Celie knew God had everything under control (Williams). According to Tate, “The novel evolves as Celie, a fourteen-year-old black girl, confides in God through letters about what has happened to her. She was raped by a man who she assumes...... middle of paper ......women move on, remain strong and able to work together. The quilt that Celie sews in the book represents the characters and how they are brought together to help each other grow and strengthen. Shug is the only person who shows Celie what it feels like to be in love. It also helps her find her sexuality and know what she wants. It helps to get rid of all the pain that she was encountering while being with Mr._ (Williams). It is thanks to Shug that Celie knew her sister was still alive, because she and Shug found the letters that were hidden. (Fiske). Sofia also helped Celie improve herself by teaching her to stand up for herself. Celie admired Sofia because she wanted to be able to stand up for herself, like Sofia (Hall) would have done. Women learned to work together to improve themselves, which made their lives better.