Mereeta Mathew
American Literature CIA3
II PSEng
1313236
29 August 2014
Character List of Minor Characters
In
the novel “The Colour Purple”, a lot of minor characters are portrayed which
contribute a lot to the story.
Harpo is Mr. ______’s / Albert's misguided, immature eldest son,
Sofia's husband. Many of
Harpo’s actions overturn stereotypical gender roles. He confesses to Celie
about his love for Sofia, cries in her arms, enjoys cooking and housework,
kisses his children, and marries an independent woman, Sofia. However, Mr. ______’s
expectations of stereotypical male dominance convince Harpo that he needs to
beat Sofia. His efforts at abusing Sofia fail, since she is much stronger than
him. At the end of the novel, Harpo reforms his ways, and he and Sofia
reconcile and save their marriage like cooking and taking care of a house.
However, because society and his father’s behavior tells him that the domestic
realm is for women only, Harpo runs into a lot of unnecessary conflict in life.
If left to his own devices, he’d be happy to be in a harmonious relationship
with his wife, Sofia. However, believing that "manly" men dominate
their wives, he’s constantly causing himself marital problems. Over the course
of the book, Harpo begins to feel more comfortable with himself and realizes
that he’s pretty happy being a stay-at-home dad. Harpo is one of the numerous
examples in this novel of characters who is not fitting into the gender roles.
Mary Agnes (Squeak) is Harpo’s lover after Sofia leaves him.
As a mulatto, a person of mixed black and white ancestry, Squeak highlights the
complex nature of racial identification. Although abused like many of the women
in the novel, Squeak eventually undergoes a transformation much like Celie’s.
She demands to be called by her real name, Mary Agnes, and she pursues a
singing career. Mary Agnes, Harpo's girlfriend; she is a
scatterbrained woman who begins to make a name for herself as a blues singer
after she leaves Harpo. Squeak might have been mousy at first, but she gains power after
the white warden rapes her – not because of the rape, but inspite of it. After
being raped, she stands up to the rest of the people in her life who fail to
recognize her as a person. Specifically, she fights against Harpo, ultimately
leaving him to become a singer. Her transformation into an independent person
is symbolized by her name change; she insists that people call her Mary Agnes
instead of the dismissive nickname "Squeak."
Alphonso is Celie and Nettie’s stepfather, shortly after their father is killed, he
marries their widowed mother, who the sisters think
is their real father until Nettie learns the truth years later. When Celie is
young, Alphonso rapes and abuses her until she moves out of the house. Unlike
Mr. ______ and Harpo, who are transformed, Alphonso remains an abuser until his
death. Celie inherits her house and property after Alphonso dies. He is a remorseless child molester at the
beginning of the book, and unfortunately no better at the end of his life. He
has a fetish for teenage girls, and our first introduction to him is when he
rapes his fourteen-year-old step-daughter, Celie. He seems to only value women
for sex and take care of his home. Even as an old man when Celie confronts him
about not being her real father, he feels no guilt about his treatment of
Celie. He’s also married to a fifteen-year-old girl named Daisy.
Samuel is
a minister or missionary who, along with his wife, Corrine, adopts Celie’s
biological children, Olivia and Adam. A wise, spiritually mature black
intellectual committed to “the uplift of black people everywhere”. Samuel takes
Corrine, Nettie, and the children to Africa for missionary work. He tells
Nettie the story that makes her realize Alphonso is her stepfather rather than
her biological father. After Corrine’s death, Samuel marries Nettie. Samuel is the kind minister who takes Nettie in after she
escapes both Alphonso and Mr.__. As Nettie spends time with Samuel, she
realizes that not all black men are aggressive and bent on dominating women,
which had unfortunately been her impression based on her experiences with
Alphonso and Mr.__.
Corrine
is the Reverend Samuel’s wife and the adoptive mother of Celie’s two children,
Olivia and Adam whom they bought from Alphonso. Corrine is a good woman, but in
Africa she becomes paranoid about Nettie, especially because the locals think
Samuel is polygamous with two wives. After
moving to Africa, Corrine grows increasingly suspicious and jealous of Nettie’s
role in her family. She is suspicious that
Nettie and Samuel may have been having an illicit relationship for a long time,
that the children are theirs. While still in
Africa, Corrine dies from a fever, opening the opportunity for Nettie and
Samuel to marry. Before she dies,
however, she realizes the truth and lets her husband know that she no longer
resents Nettie.
Olivia is Celie’s and Alphonso’s biological daughter, who is adopted and
raised by Samuel and Corrine in Africa. Olivia develops a close sisterly
relationship with Tashi, an Olinka village girl. This friendship, which crosses
cultural boundaries, serves as an example of the strength of relationships
between women.
Tashi is a bold, intelligent, and assertive young Olinka girl who
befriends Olivia and Adam. She eventually becomes Adam’s wife. Tashi defies white imperialist culture
and embodies the struggle of traditional cultural values against colonization.
She chooses to undergo two painful African traditions—facial scarring and
genital mutilation—as a way to physically differentiate her culture from
imperialist culture.
Adam is Celie’s and Alphonso’s
biological son, who, like Olivia, is adopted by Samuel and Corrine. Adam falls
in love with Tashi, a young Olinka girl. By marrying Tashi, Adam symbolically
bridges Africa and America, and his respect for and deference to her subverts
patriarchal notions that women are subordinate to men.
Grady is Shug’s husband. Celie thinks Grady is
extremely boring and just plain not good enough for Shug. Celie can’t stand the
way he treats Shug, calling her "mama." Shug quickly tires of Grady
and is pleased when he takes up with Squeak, eventually leaving to start a
marijuana plantation in Central America. After a while, Squeak leaves him, too,
because he’s always stoned and not doing much with his life. He is a loving and sweet man, but also a womanizer. He spends
Shug’s money flamboyantly and frequently smokes marijuana. When Grady and
Squeak begin an affair, Shug seems relieved to be rid of any responsibility to
her relationship with Grady. He is a "skinny
big toof man wearing suspenders," according to Celie.
Miss Millie is the wife of the mayor of the town where Celie lives; a dithery white woman who fancies herself a champion of
black people. Miss Millie is racist and condescending, but
she admires the cleanliness and good manners of Sofia’s children, so she asks
Sofia to be her maid. Sofia replies, “Hell no,” and is sent first to jail, then
to Miss Millie’s, where she ends up working as her maid after all.
Eleanor Jane is the mayor’s daughter who Sofia raises. She is the only member of the mayor’s household that shows any
kindness toward Sofia. Eventually, Eleanor Jane comes to see Sofia as a second
mother. She develops a strong attachment to Sofia and
turns to her for emotional support. However, Sofia does not reciprocate Eleanor
Jane’s feelings because of the years of mistreatment she suffered at the hands
of Eleanor Jane’s parents. Toward the end of the novel,
Eleanor Jane finally begins to understand the injustices
Sofia and other blacks have suffered. She attempts to atone for her part in the
unjust treatment of Sofia by caring for Sofia’s daughter Henrietta. After she is grown, she does baking and odd
jobs for Sofia.
Kate is one of Mr.
______’s sisters who come to "inspect" Celie and her
housekeeping. Kate urges Celie to stand up for herself and
defy Mr. ______’s abuses.
Germaine is Shug’s nineteen-year-old lover. He’s sort
of like Shug’s last youthful fling lover. The relationship doesn’t last long. He is a blues flute player.
Celie's Mother loses her mind after
her husband is lynched, mutilated, and burned. After she marries Alphonso, she
is constantly pregnant and ill.
Annie Julia is Albert's wife who is killed by her boyfriend while coming
home from church.
Carrie is one of Albert's sister who
come to "inspect" Celie and her housekeeping.
Bub is Albert's son who is in and
out of jail frequently.
Albert's
Daddy A carping, prejudiced man. He dislikes Albert's
relationship with Shug Avery.
Tobias is Albert's toadying brother;
he is fascinated by Shug.
Odessa is Sofia's sister. She, Shug,
and Squeak get Sofia out of prison.
Jack is Odessa's husband.
Swain is Harpo's musician friend who
helps Harpo build the juke joint.
Henry ("Buster")
Broadax is Sofia's boyfriend; he is
tall and stocky, built like a prizefighter.
The Mayor is portrayed as an arrogant,
power-wielding white man. He is responsible for putting Sofia in prison.
Bubber Hodges is the
prison warden and is Squeak's uncle who rapes her.
Miss Beasley is Nettie’s and Celie's
teacher.
Joseph is the short, fat spokesman for the Olinka village; he
meets Nettie's ship.
Billy is Miss Millie's little boy; he
steps on a rusty nail.
May Ellen is
the woman whom Alphonso marries after Celie's mother dies.
Daisy is
the woman Alphonso marries after May Ellen leaves him.
Jimmy
Hodges is Bubber's brother; Squeak's
father.
Suzie Q
(Jolentha) is Squeak’s and Harpo's little
girl.
Henrietta is Sofia's youngest child,
probably fathered by Henry Broadnax; ironically, Harpo's favorite.
Jerene
and Darlene are the two women who sew for Celie's Folks pants,
Unlimited.
Doris Baines ("Jared
Hunt") is an elderly white missionary, whom Nettie and Samuel
meet on their sojourn to England. She is accompanied by her
"grandchild," Harold, a small black child.
Stanley Earl is Eleanor Jane's husband.
James is Shug's son; a schoolteacher
who lives on an Indian reservation; he is married to Cora Mae, and they have
two children, Davis and Cantrell.
WORKS
CITED
1.
Shmoop
Editorial Team. "The Color Purple." Shmoop.com.
Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 29 Aug. 2014.
2.
"The Colour Purple." Sparknotes.
Web. 29 August 2014.
3.
"The
Colour Purple." CliffsNotes.
Web. 29 August 2014.
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