Nettie Character Analysis

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Ceile is only but a young girl when she is constantly raped and twice impregnated by her “Pa”. She is then married off to Mr._____ and is ripped apart from her beloved sister, Nettie. While living with him, she is often raped and forced to work constantly. He then brings home the ill Shug Avery, who is a very famous singer and whom Ceile adores. Shug and her create a friendship and intimate relationship. Shug then starts to sing, perform and travel again. One night, Shug asks about her sister and Ceile thinks she is dead because she never wrote to her. Shug then uncovers the truth about the letters and how Mr.___ has been hiding them. The two find the letters and reads about Nettie’s life and experiences as a missionary in Africa and about …show more content…

Before Nettie’s letters, she only based her self worth on how others perceived her, such as “ugly”, “stupid”, and “Say I’m evil an always up to no good” (pg 3). Her relationships and view on her purpose in life is based on her past and the abuse she received, thus she never got a chance to know the good in the world and what is a healthy relationship between man and woman. Nettie writes about Samuel’s and Corrine’s adoptive children which, in reality, are Cecil’s children that were actually taken away from her when she gave birth to them and this gives her hope and a sense of her life is falling into place again. The truth about her biological father is written by Nettie saying “Pa is not our pa!” (pg 176)which influence her confidence to change her future and the way her life is because she has lived a lie. Throughout the novel you can see Cecil’s progress of being assertive and having genuine love for another person other than Nettie. Through Nettie’s struggles, love, and faith in her, she gathers enough strength to curse Mr.______ and leave him for good. This climax is so necessary because her outburst of anger and distrust that has been kept over the years is finally released through the night at supper when she proclaimed she was leaving with Shug to go to Tennessee starts her new view and purpose in life and shows her who she truly

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