Letter 37:
Sometime later, Squeak asks Celie why Harpo is so sad. Celie tells Squeak that Sofia has been put in jail, which is why Harpo is upset. Before Celie continues, she tells Squeak to make Harpo call her by her real name, Mary Agnes, because it will make Harpo respect her more.
Here is what happened: Sofia, Buster, and Sofia’s children were walking downtown when they met the mayor and his wife. The mayor’s wife praised Sofia’s children for their pretty faces and nice teeth. She asked Sofia if she would like to work as a maid for the mayor because she thought Sofia did a great job with her own kids.
Sofia said “hell no” to the job offer. When the mayor asked her to repeat herself, she did, and the mayor slapped her for being rude. Sofia fought back and knocked the mayor down. Buster wanted to help Sofia, but he didn’t because he was afraid that the police would shoot him if he did. Soon, the police arrived to stop the fight and protect the mayor and his wife.
Mr. ____ is friends with the white sheriff, so he convinces the sheriff to let him visit Sofia in jail. Later, Mr. ____ also manages to get permission for Celie to visit Sofia. When Celie visits, she combs Sofia’s hair and is shocked to see how badly beaten Sofia is. Sofia is so hurt that she is almost unrecognizable.
Letter 38:
When Celie and Mr. ____ visit Sofia in jail, they see that Sofia is working in the basement, doing laundry. She has to breathe in the strong smells from cleaning chemicals and works almost all the time, every day.
During the visit, Mr. ____ suggests that maybe Sofia could get her twelve-year sentence shortened if she behaves well. But Sofia says she wouldn’t be able to beg the prison officials to let her go early.
Letter 39:
At dinner, Mr. ____, Celie, Shug, Odessa, Buster, and the rest of the family talk about how to help Sofia get out of prison sooner. They are worried that Sofia will be too exhausted from her hard work and might even die before her sentence ends.
They find out that Squeak is related to the prison warden. The warden’s family has kept a secret that they have some African-American heritage. Mr. ____ tells Squeak that she should go to the warden, who is her uncle, and ask him to help Sofia.
Letter 40:
Shug, Mr. ____, and Celie help Squeak look like a white woman by putting on a lot of makeup to make her skin lighter. They plan for Squeak to visit the warden and tell him that Sofia doesn’t mind being punished, but she would hate to be a maid for a white woman. They hope that by saying this, the warden will decide to let Sofia go, but only if she works as a maid for a white family. Shug and Mr. ____ think this trick will save Sofia’s life.
Buster says this plan sounds like “Uncle Tomming,” which means acting in a way to please white people. But Shug jokes that it’s okay because the warden is actually Squeak’s uncle anyway.
Letter 41:
When Squeak comes back home from meeting the warden, she is hurt and her dress is torn. She tells Harpo and the others that the warden made her do something terrible—he forced her to have sex with him.
Squeak explains that the warden first asked her about her family and then told her to take off her clothes. He was very upset when she mentioned that he was her uncle, saying he didn’t want to be related to a Black woman. He told Squeak that since he wasn’t her uncle, it wasn’t wrong for them to be together.
After Squeak tells her story, she feels very upset and asks Harpo if he really loves her or if he just likes her because of her lighter skin. Harpo says that he really loves her. Squeak then says that if Harpo truly loves her, he should call her by her real name, Mary Agnes, to show that he respects her.
Letter 42:
Six months later, Squeak starts singing around the house. Her voice is different and not very trained, but everyone, including Celie, starts to like it. Harpo is surprised but lets Squeak keep singing. One of her songs is about her “yellow” skin.
It turns out that Sofia is now taking care of the mayor’s children. Even though Squeak had a hard time with the warden, her efforts helped Sofia get a job as a maid and servant for the mayor’s family.
Letter 43:
A few months later, Celie visits Sofia while Sofia is taking care of the mayor’s children at the mayor’s house, which is close to town. Sofia jokingly wonders if black people should try to fight back against white people who are mean to them. Celie says that wouldn’t work because there would always be more white people coming to fight back.
While Sofia and Celie are sitting, one of the mayor’s children, a boy named Billy, tries to kick Sofia playfully but ends up kicking a rusty nail and hurting his foot. Miss Millie, the mayor’s wife, comes over and asks Eleanor Jane, the little girl Sofia is also watching, if Sofia caused the injury. Eleanor Jane honestly says that Billy hurt himself.
Letter 44:
Sofia talks to Celie about how she thinks white people don’t seem to know much and often have bad luck. She tells Celie a story about the mayor and Miss Millie. The mayor bought Miss Millie a car but didn’t teach her how to drive. Miss Millie asked Sofia to teach her how to drive, and Sofia agreed.
Sofia showed Miss Millie how to drive, and Miss Millie practiced until she felt confident. One day, Miss Millie offered to drive Sofia home to visit her family, which Sofia was excited about because she hadn’t seen her family in five years since the fight with the mayor.
However, Miss Millie told Sofia that she had to sit in the back of the car because in the South, a black woman can’t sit in the front seat with a white woman, even though Sofia had been teaching Millie from the front seat.
When Miss Millie drove Sofia to Celie and Mr. ____’s home, Sofia’s children hardly recognized her because it had been so long. But Sofia’s visit was cut short because Miss Millie got stuck in front of the house—she couldn’t figure out how to reverse the car. Sofia tried to help, but Miss Millie refused and ended up breaking the car.
Sofia suggested that Odessa’s husband, Jack, drive Miss Millie into town to get help, but Miss Millie didn’t want to ride with him because he was a “strange black man.” So, Sofia had to ride with Jack to get a mechanic, fix the car, and then drive Miss Millie’s car back home. This meant Sofia only had fifteen minutes with her family. Afterward, Miss Millie was upset with Sofia for not thanking her for the short visit.
Letter 45:
One day, Shug writes a letter to Mr. ____ saying she is coming back to visit and has a special gift for him and Celie. Shug had left after Sofia went to work for the mayor’s family, but now she wants to return.
When Shug arrives at Mr. ____’s house, she brings a man named Grady with her. Shug introduces Grady as her new husband. Celie immediately feels that she doesn’t like Grady, and Mr. ____ is disappointed because he was hoping Shug’s gift would be a car for him, but instead, she has brought a new boyfriend.
Shug has bought a car for herself and Grady. Although she doesn’t have a car for Mr. ____, she offers to show him how to drive the car that she and Grady have. Even though Celie and Mr. ____ try to be polite, they are both unhappy that Shug has come back with a new love and no car for Mr. ____.
