Study Questions

1. How come Celie still calls Alphonso “Pa”?

2. What does Alphonso leave Daisy?

3. How many children is Daisy left with?

4. What fortune does Celie read from her fortune cookie?

5. What did Shug feel about Grady?

6. What has happened to Grady and Mary Agnes?

7. Why does Shug talk about Cuba?

8. Name a recipe that Mr.____ devises to hide the taste of yams.

9. Why does the thought of getting pregnant make Celie want to cry?

10. What supposedly happens to Nettie’s ship?

Answers

1. Celie says that it is “too late to call him Alphonso.”

2. Daisy is left all of Alphonso’s money, along with the clothes and the car. She also takes all of the furniture from the house, saying that Alphonso bought it for her anyway.

3. Daisy has two children from Alphonso and is pregnant with a third.

4. Celie’s fortune says “Because you are who you are, the future looks happy and bright.”

5. Even though Grady was Shug’s husband, all he seemed to think about was “women and reefer.” Celie had noticed that Grady “never brought a sparkle to” Shug’s eyes.

6. Grady and Mary Agnes now own a marijuana farm in Panama. Mary Agnes still sings, but they both smoke marijuana excessively. She cannot remember all the words to the songs.

7. Shug talks about having an exciting time in Cuba with Celie in order to distract her from the news that she has fallen in love with Germaine.

8. Mr.____ has the idea of mixing yams with peanut butter to hide the taste.

9. Celie is so unhappy with life because she is all alone following Shug’s departure. Furthermore, she had just told Mr.____ that “men look like frogs.” She is disillusioned with marriage and love between men and women, and pregnancy is a symbol of that love to her.

10. Nettie’s ship was allegedly sunk by German mines.