Celie has been a victim of female oppression her entire life, never believing in herself and living in fear of men. However, when Shug Avery enters her life, Celie's quality of life begins to improve overall, and her newfound self-confidence allows her to defy society's expectations. Their relationship is based on storytelling, an outlet for Celie to talk about her past struggles. Their constant communication is in contrast to Celie's previous silence and solitude. The sexual relationship between Celie and Shug is important as we see that Shug's arrival affects Celie a lot, Celie builds a challenge and a serious rebellion, and since Shug arrives, it is the climax where Celie stands up for herself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A good example of a small act of rebellion is when Celie spits into her father-in-law's water, “I drop little spit in Old Mr__ water”, this is a sign of disrespect in a world where it was supposed that women always respected men. Women were continually oppressed by men in the time between wars, and Celie was certainly a victim of this, however Celie admires Shug for being different and tries to follow in his footsteps, she begins with small steps, however it has a positive influence on Celie's self -belief. The relationship between Shug and Celie is responsible for Celie's sexual awakening, as this is the first loving relationship she has had. Celie tells Shug “no one has ever had me loved". This short and simple phrase sums everything up for Celie and suggests that she is looking for love and comfort after all her difficulties. The relationship is more about love for Celie, that's why some critics welcomed the lyrics thinking that the relationship was more maternal, Celie even says "we sleep like sisters me and Shug", this similarity shows that it is a more familial love, someone to protect Celie. However, one could argue that the phrase “Shug doesn't actually mean making love. She says fuck” tells us that Shug seeks sexual pleasure in the relationship as we see a great contrast between “making love” and “fucking” in terms of connotations. This shows that their relationship is important as it satisfies both needs. Interestingly, "Finding Our Mother's Garden" talks about how Celie would seek a loving and comforting relationship due to her loveless marriage, which is compared to prostitution, because she was, like many other women, used to bearing children and for male sexual pleasure. Along with her sexual awakening, her growing independence is a result of her relationship with Shug as she ends up leaving Mr.____ and moving to Memphis independently, and doesn't hold back when she tells Mr.____, she calls him a "dishonest dog", this derogatory insult shows how Celie's fear of men has disappeared due to her influence from Shug. Celie even threatens Mr__ saying "we will kick your ass together". The use of the first person plural pronoun "we" shows that Celie feels like she has a family and people who defend and help her, she finally feels part of something she didn't have before, and this confidence in herself and herself it's because Shug came into his life. The threat of violence by a black woman on a black man in the 1920s was unheard of, as black men had no power, but black women were at the bottom, as the only way black men could only exercise power about black women beating and raping, and Celie accepted it her whole life. Now he is rejecting the racial stereotype and trying to change it.