To page 244

I agree that there is a lot going on! It is so sad that the Olinkas are being driven out of their land. Their village has now become the headquarters for the rubber plant. They now have to pay for their water and the tin, and they don't have good living conditions. I'm glad that they are still sticking to their beliefs. They won't put roofs on their houses because they cannot grow roofleaf. They do meet Jared Hunt on their ship to England. They are going to England to get help for the Olinkas, right? Anyhow, Jared is a very strange lady. She talks about how proud she is to be a good grandmama and how she is so wealthy. I am also not sure about her significance to the story. Then, the children seem to be having a hard time getting used to all of the change. Nettie says that Adam is "unusually glum" and she had to talk to Olivia about what was wrong. (page 235). They finally got there and they went to the bishop for help. When they asked for help, he was quite rude and didn't help them whatsoever. He refers to her as Mrs. _________. Why do they keep the last name a secret????? It seems that Samuel is coping well with Corrine's death, and Nettie and him are thinking about getting married. I got really confused about the part with the aunts. As you said, I guess they were just the ones who got them started as missionaries. Then, Nettie talks about how much she loves Samuel. I'm happy to see that she found someone who she can trust and rely on. Adam misses Tashi, and I think that they will end up being a big part of each other's lives.


Surprisingly, I found some vocab words, too:
verbosity: expressed in or using too many words
staid: sober and steady
blight: something that spoils or damages things severely



--Leah

to page 244

Well there is a lot going on, but it's a lot of boring stuff.
Celie is in her new house with Shug, Squeak, and Grady. I think that something is going on with Squeak and Grady, other than drug dealing partners. By the way, we find out Grady is now a drug dealer of marijuana. He grows it in the backyard. Shug is gone for periods of time with traveling and singing. Celie has found her calling, making pants. She loves it and everyone loves her pants. Two women are helping her, Jerene and Darlene. On page 218 Darlene is trying to help Celie talk. Celie is not really into the whole idea, but I really think it would help her for the pant business and her whole life. Then on page 220 it really shows how Celie is changing. She goes back to see Sofia, Harpo, and the children. Now she is dressing up all nice, doing her hair, and people are noticing. Then on page 227 we find that Albert is going through some troubles of his own. Leah, you were right in your predictions, he is the destruction of himself. He is troubled by everything he has done.
Then there is a long letter that Nettie wrote. I found it really boring. On page 229 it says something about Nettie and Samuel getting married, well at least I thought. However, then on page 242 Samuel announces to the children that they will be getting married. So now I'm a little confused. The family is now in England, which also confuses me because they talk about going back to Olinka, if that is the case then why did they leave to begin with? Samuel is troubled however because he feels that he is making no difference. Then they meet this women Jared Hunt, who seems all over the place. She wants to write but pretends to be a missionary just to please her family. I have no idea where she came from and what her purpose is in the book. Also in Nettie's letter her and Samuel talk a lot about the two aunts that joined Samuel and Corrine together. Althea and Theodosia seem to be the people that inspired the couple to become missionaries. However, they did not do too well.
Things are all over the place in the story. I want something to happen, or something to come together. Hopefully, Nettie will be coming to America, Samuel even told the kids that they would be going soon. I wonder if they will be returning to Olinka first, if that's the case Nettie won't see Celie for a long time.







--BethAnn

To page 228

Shug and Celie started drawing a sort of dream house. I was round and pink and had elephants and turtles. I wonder what is the significance of elephants and turtles. Then, Shug starts leaving for her job. I felt bad for Celie because she seemed lonely once again. It surprised me that Shug came back in such bad shape. Celie said that she was overweight and dirty. I didn't think that Shug would let herself get like that. Then, Celie starts to make so many pants. She makes them for Shug and Squeak and Jack. I think that this has become a hobby that keeps her mind off of her dysfunctional life. I also think that it gives Celie a sense of accomplishment. She has finally found something that she is good at. I am glad that Shug says that she is not ashamed of Celie not being educated. If she would have said that she was ashamed of her, I think Celie would have had a major breakdown. I was a little confused as to how Celie got back to see Harpo and Sofia again. But anyway, it had to be really good to see something familiar. Things changed since she left. Mr. ______ apparently worked in the fields. This really surprised me. I was also surprised about the drugs Celie was introducing to them. Was it illegal to grow and sell drugs at that time? I think that drugs are the last thing that they need right now. Then they were talking about a funeral. If was a funeral for Sofia's mom, right? We then find out that Harpo and Sofia's daughter is sick, and that Mr. _______ is pretty much going insane. Harpo has to stay with him sometimes because he is losing it. This has to be hard on Harpo to see his dad go through such a hard time. Maybe if Mr. _______ dies, Harpo and Sofia will have something more in common and could be there for each other and possibly get back together. It seems as though Mr. _______ has brought his failure upon himself. All of the horrible things he has done are now coming back to haunt him. We'll just have to see what happens.

--Leah

To page 210

I thought that Shug and Celie's conversation about God was very interesting. Because of all of the hardships Celie is going through, she is starting to lose faith in a God. She is thinking that if there really was one, her prayers would be answered. Shug knocks some sense back into Celie and reassures her that there is a god. Then Shug askes Celie what her god looks like. Celie is sort of a shamed to say, but I don't know why. She seems to tell Shug everything else. Then Shug gives a whole explanation about how God is in everything around us and that going to church means sharing the spirit of God. I thought it was a great point when she says, "Everything want to be loved" (page 198). I think that this is one thing that every living thing strives for. I think that Shug has been such a good influence of Celie and has really given her an eye-opening experience.

We finally get a reference to the color purple, but I don't really understand it. I don't know how that is going to tie the whole book together. Then, we hear more about Squeak and Harpo. Why is Squeak's daughter's name Suzie Q., and is that her and Harpo's child? I was really surprised that Shug announced that she and Celie were leaving. I had a feeling that Mr. _________ wouldn't take it very well. I also saw some more character changes. Celie was actually standing up for herself and yelling at Mr. _______. She would have never done that in the past. Also, Mr. _________ sounded a little nervous. He was stuttering and didn' t know what to say. He actually showed a little bit of weakness, which I had never saw before. Their fight ended up becoming very heated. It surprises me that Harpo and Mr. _______ are letting the girls leave. It seems like they could do more about it if they really wanted to. Lastly, Mr. ________ is one of the meanest people I have ever seen. He treats people so badly!


--Leah

to page 210

Well things are really starting to change.
In the beginning of the reading Nettie tells Corrine the truth (page 185). Corrine is dying and Nettie feels that she won't live if she doesn't know the truth because she won't be fighting to live as hard. Nettie proves that Celie is the children's mother and not her by having her remember what Celie looked like. Corrine does believe her after time but still dies. I wonder if now that Corrine is dead that when the family returns home Celie will get her children back? I really think she will.
I found this quote in the book that really made me think and believe that this is true throughout the whole book, "...unbelief is a terrible thing. And so is the hurt we cause others unknowingly." (page 186)
The workers then come to the village again and one even tries to learn their language before "it dies". What I found is so weird, is on page 190 it says the the Olinka people feed the workers. Why would they be nice to people who are destroying their village?
Shug and Celie then go to Pa's house to learn and find out the truth about Celie's real father. I was confused throughout this part. I am guessing that Celie's father could not take care of his children because he could not afford it, so Pa took them and that was that. Pa didn't even care, he was just like, "oh you found out." However, I wasn't really expecting him to show much emotion. He was too busy fussing over his not even 15 year old wife. That is disgusting.
On page 193 Celie talks about not believing in God anymore. I think the last straw for her was the talk with Pa about her real father. She feels that God has done nothing for her and her life is a wreck. Which it kind of is. While Shug is trying to fill her belief back up again she talks about the importance of the color purple on page 197. I was wondering if it had to do with the title of the book. She didn't say much just about enjoying life and noticing everything. Like the color purple in the field. I'm not sure what the significance is, but I thought I'd point it out.
Page 201 and 202 was a complete shocker. Shug announces that she is leaving. However Celie is going with her. On page 202 Celie completely chews out Mr. ____ and tells him how horrible of a person he really is. I was not expecting this at all and I didn't know she had it in her. Good for her though, I wanted that to happen for a long time.
Squeak is going along too, I wonder what their new future will hold for them. Fame and money for Shug and Squeak I am guessing. Maybe a new love and family for Celie?






---BethAnn

To page 192

Ok... well nothing is really getting any more interesting but here we go...

At the beginning of this section, Celie seems kind of different. She seems so happy and optimistic as she describes the beauty of spring. It kind of seems like Celie is seeing some brightness for her future. Maybe she this book will have a happy ending after all of this depressing stuff. Anyway, I found it very strange when Celie says, "But then I remember, he not my daddy, just my children daddy." (page 181). This was when it really hit me about Pa. It really wasn't her dad who raped her. It was another guy. I was confused as to how he was related to the family. I thought it had to be very sad for Celie to find out that she no longer has either of her parents. I think that it would be so hard for someone to grasp the concept of no longer having any parents. I think that I would feel so alone and scared because Celie doesn't even have her sister to be with. Just a side note: they mentioned the word lynched a couple of times and it was one of the first words in the whole book that I didn't know the meaning of. I was also confused about what Shug says at the end of page 184. What does she really mean about this? I know that I talked to you about this but the quote on page 186 also really stuck out to me. Unbelief is a terrible thing, but how do we know when we are believing too much? I was really sad that Corrine died. The one thing that I was glad to see was that she ended up understanding Nettie and actually believing her. I can't even imagine losing a spouse. Samuel has to be in so much pain, and no one can really do anything about it. I know someone who this happened to and I know how painful it is to watch a someone suffer through it. They also mention how the white men keep coming back. I want to know why the Olinkas keep catering to them. Why would they keep helping them?


--Leah

to 178

Where do I begin?
There is more and more coming from Nettie, all of her adventures in Africa. She is now helping to teach and nurse somewhat a tribe called Olikna. Their major crop that cherish is the roofleaf. All their huts are made from this and it's in an abundant there. On page 151 some trouble begins because the Olinka people keep asking if Samuel and Nettie are husband and wife. Corrine then starts to wonder if they had a previous affair.
Nettie is so happy to be in Olinka. She teaches children and even adults. However there is only one girl who attends class, Olivia. Leah, I read that quote that disturbed you, but the quote that disturbed me was on page 161, "Our women are respected here. We would never let them tramp the world as American women do." Tashi, a young girl who strived to learn, was not allowed to be educated because of her father, and he was the one who said that. He said she was becoming "too thoughtful". That to me is just pathetic. Then Nettie said, these men remind her of Pa. How both men alike treat and respect women. That made me upset too.
Leah this is the most degrating quote I found in the book, "A girl is nothing to herself; only to her husband she can become something." That quote is on page 156, and you know what they are talking about when they say, she becomes that something? A mother. That's all, a mother. They even put down Nettie because she said, well I'm not a mother. They were like, oh yeah you aren't much. I would've been so upset!
Then a bigger problem arrived. A road was being built. The people of Olinka were so excited for this road to be built. When they thought it was finished because it came right up to their village they invited the road workers for a feast and celebration. The next day the road workers came to level down their houses to make way for the expansion of the road. It was a huge betrayal towards the Olinka people. Now their whole village is in danger. The cheif went to talk to the man in charge, but the man didn't even think twice. This might be the end of the Olinka village.





---BethAnn