The Color Purple (The Color Purple Collection, #1)

by Alice Walker

To tell the truth, you remind me of my mama. She under my daddy thumb. Naw, she under my daddy foot. Anything he say, goes. She never say nothing back. She never stand up for herself.

What you do when you git mad? she ast. I think. I can’t even remember the last time I felt mad, I say. I used to git mad at my mammy cause she put a lot of work on me. Then I see how sick she is. Couldn’t stay mad at her. Couldn’t be mad at my daddy cause he my daddy. Bible say, Honor father and mother no matter what. Then after while every time I got mad, or start to feel mad, I got sick. Felt like throwing up. Terrible feeling. Then I start to feel nothing at all. Sofia frown. Nothing at all?

What you staring at? she ast. Hateful. She weak as a kitten. But her mouth just pack with claws. You never seen a naked woman before? No ma’am, I said. I never did. Cept for Sofia, and she so plump and ruddy and crazy she feel like my sister. She say, Well take a good look. Even if I is just a bag of bones now. She have the nerve to put one hand on her naked hip and bat her eyes at me.

😂

I put my plate down on the card table by the bed. I go dip her up some water. I come back, pick up my plate. Look like a little mouse been nibbling the biscuit, a rat run off with the ham. She act like nothing happen. Begin to complain bout being tired. Doze on off to sleep. Mr. _____ ast me how I git her to eat. I say, Nobody living can stand to smell home cured ham without tasting it. If they dead they got a chance. Maybe. Mr. _____ laugh.

Us three set together gainst Tobias and his fly speck box of chocolate. For the first time in my life, I feel just right.

This the letter I been holding in my hand.

Cause she the only one you ever love, she say, sides me.

He been keeping your letters, say Shug. Naw, I say. Mr. _____ mean sometimes, but he not that mean. She say, Humpf, he that mean. But how come he do it? I ast. He know Nettie mean everything in the world to me. Shug say she don’t know, but us gon find out.

Nobody dance like Albert when he was young. Sometime us did the moochie for a hour. After that, nothing to do but go somewhere and lay down. And funny. Albert was so

funny. He kept me laughing. How come he ain’t funny no more? she ast. How come he never hardly laugh? How come he don’t dance? she say. Good God, Celie, she say, What happen to the man I love?

Us had the kind of love couldn’t be improve. That’s what I thought.

Poor Annie Julia, Shug say. She never had a chance.

I went to school with Annie Julia, Shug say. She was pretty, man. Black as anything, and skin just as smooth. Big black eyes look like moons. And sweet too. Hell, say Shug, I liked her myself. Why I hurt her so? I used to keep Albert away from home for a week at the time. She’d come and beg him for money to buy groceries for the children.

I treated you so mean. Like you was a servant.

And I didn’t even want him for a husband, she say. I never really wanted Albert for a husband. But just to choose me, you know, cause nature had already done it. Nature said, You two folks, hook up, cause you a good example of how it sposed to go. I didn’t want nothing to be able to go against that. But what was good tween us must have been nothing but bodies,

Cause I don’t know the Albert that don’t dance, can’t hardly laugh, never talk bout nothing, beat you and hid your...

I think Africans are very much like white people back home, in that they think they are the center of the universe and that everything that is done is done for them.

Guess what? Samuel thought the children were mine too!

TWIST THE PLOT THICKENS

Pa is not our pa!