I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY AP LIT FINAL PROJECT! And I think I did really well! I had Kreinbring check each of my works individually and I critiqued them, resulting in Kreinbring’s approval. I hope to possibly receive an A, which I truly believe I can, but I’d be satisfied with a B as well. Truthfully I am just so glad I’m done with the project and am ready to do other things now that I actually have time! Thank goodness it is finally over, and truthfully it was not incredibly bad. 

I talked to Kreinbring about my criticisms on Monday to make sure I would not do all the work and not be allowed to use it due to “bad criticisms”. Out of the three he really liked one, said maybe to another, and no for the last one. The one he said yes to has several critical essays on The Color Purple, so I am just using my criticisms from that book. He made fun of me because he said I am so far behind so I told him I was going to work on it everyday day after school and do really well. He did not believe me, like usual, and continued to make fun of me. I still do not think he believes me, but I am getting the work done. I have done three abstracts and two background sources. I hope to finish the three annotations this weekend. Kreinbring also continues to make it uncomfortable and talk about the lesbian scene in my book. Also, when a new kid was brought into his AC room he introduced me as a mean, aggressive, loud, obnoxious, hitting girl. This was my first impression to this kid and I tried to clarify, but it was not worth it. I still got Kreinbring to check two of my abstracts and two of my background sources, which were both approved. I think I am going to prove him wrong and do well on this! Now back to my annotations. 

I went to the Oakland University Library Thursday over Spring Break. I went with Momin Samad and Vaseem. I did not really know what I was doing, but that it what we brought Vaseem for I presume. We say Takyiah and Kerri there, along with Nihan and Piper. Takyiah helped me look up my information. Once i found books I liked on the computer, which all turned out not to be available on line (of course), I asked one of the librarians for help. He told me what to write down and told me to bring it to the reference desk where they will lead me to the book. I went to the reference place and only one out of the three were legitimate. She told me where it would be on the third floor, so me and Kerri looked in this huge library. We were lost, but we finally found the area we needed. Momin and Vaseem came and found me, and I could not find the exact one I had written down, but I found three others. Ginny was late for her Physical Therapy so we thanked the librarian, Vaseem rented my books (he has a library card there…. smarty pants) and left. Momin dropped me and ginny off at home, like the gentleman he is, and we rushed to the Physical Therapist where Ginny was a half hour late and I got all the blame and yelled at. I would say overall it was a successful day. 

Shug became goody-goody with Mr. ______ making Celie mad and jelious like they were dating, which once again kind of creeps me out. However, Shug was trying to find out information and find letters for Celie, which she did. They writing has now turned into Nettie’s letters and Celie writing to Nettie. The reader is now provided a new story about a new character. Instead of just hearing Celie’s voice, Alice Walker provides a new story and new voice, whose passages are longer and better written. Nettie expresses the great opportunities she is provided with, but also the negatives and the disappointments she experiences. 

The opening of the entries now begin with “Dear Celie” or “Dear Nettie”. The “love” motiph continues throughout the letters and passages Alice Walker presents. Symbolism is expressed in the letters as well: “The roofleaf became the thing they worship. … We know a roofleaf is not Jesus Christ, but inits own humble way, is it not God?” (p. 154). This represents their hope and faith in God. 

The letters also provide connections between Celie and Nettie that the reader did not know about, like how the family Nettie is with Corrine and Samuel, whose child is Olivia, Celie’s daughter. Also how Nettie saw the Mayor’s maid, Sophia, and she died; Celie and the reader were not aware of her death because there were not much of a mention of Sophia after she left. The reader learns about outside sources other than Celie and her experiences. They learn about sexism in Africa and other places around the world, along with other problems Nettie has to face. 

Celie is becoming stronger and more confident. She is able to stand up for herself and have her own opinion. Shug is helping her and a main reason for her being her own person. Shug and Celie have become good friends not, even though Shug was a brat when they first met. It was nice at first when they were friends and became closer, but it has gotten really weird. Shug has become very open and detailed. She is comfortable and now confides in Celie. Shug goes into depth and does not leave anything out when talking to Celie. It is nice, but also very uncomfortable. They talk about everything, even sexual things. She talks about female parts and Celie appears to be more and more in love Shug. I somewhat expected Celie to be kind of gay and it not going anywhere, but then the unexpected happened and Shug sparked a kiss… WHATTTTT! They then slept together as their husband’s were out and that was the first time Celie felt like she actually had sex. It was good that Celie finally had a friend and it was Shug, but this was an unexpected twist. 

This clip makes me think of what Shug was like when she got healthy, became kinder, started to sing again, and began to rebuild herself.

Another theme (also mentioned earlier in the book that I forgot about) is the discrimination and hatred between the whites and African Americans. Even though Mr. ______ is black and cruel, they still blame and get mad at white people. “They have the nerve to try to make us think slavery fell through because of us, say Sophia. Like us didn’t have sense enough to handle it. … They backward, she say. Clumsy, and unlucky” (102). This is an example of the blacks complaining about the whites and how they discriminate. 

A motiph I am catching onto starting late in the book is the use of the word “love”. It started with an upsetting story about Celie’s childhood, yet she uses the word “love” to express her passion and then says: “Nobody ever love me, I say. She [Shug] say, I love you, Miss Celie” (p. 113). Throughout the rest of the book “love” continues to appear. 

Further into the book Celie’s obsession is becoming more and more creepy. She seems more in love with Shug than with anyone else and she has not even met her. She makes her self appear gay and in love with her husband’s mistress. 

On the other hand, the theme of the women doing all the work for the men and are only good to help men continues. Celie only works for Mr. ______, yet he still beats her. Another common theme is the idea of fighting for oneself. Nettie, Celie’s sister, told her before she left that she needed to fight for herself. Sophia, a strong female character, told Celie she had to stand up for herself and fight as well. Sophia was mad about Celie telling Harpo to beat her, yet she explained she had to fight and be a strong women, like she is. “Fight” is repeatedly used in her entries. 

Alice Walker uses metaphors throughout Celie’s entries to provide comparisons of Celie’s life for a better understanding of her stories. They are consistently used in the writing, like when she states: “It feel like heaven is what it feel like, not like sleeping with Mr. _______ at all” (p.114). This also demonstrates Celie’s struggling in her writing or Alice Walker’s diction in the book.