Writing Prompt

             Celie's letters to God say many things about her beliefs. For one thing, she never asks God for advice by saying "What should I do?" or How should I...", so maybe she lacks certainty about God and whether he exists or not. She might just feel like she needs someone to talk to. Kind of like how people have private journals and or private diaries. Maybe she doesn't believe in God that much, and she just uses his name in place of Diary or Journal or something like that.  If she wants to believe in him, then maybe Celie thinks that she will start believing him by saying "Dear God". She never says for (so far anyway) that she prays for a better life or that she prays to see Nettie or her child, or anything like that.

"Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me." (p. 1)

            Celie asks God for a sign to know what's happening to her. She might have asked for a sign for a different reason in her letter. Possibly the real reason she asked for God to give her a sign is to find out if he is real or not. She might want to believe, but might just be having a hard time believing. Though maybe writing things down like this is her way of praying and she writes better than she speaks.
           Or, my last theory on why she writes  her "Dear God" letters is because she wants someone to find them. Possible people are her sister Nettie, her husband Mr. ______, her father, or maybe someone else that turns up in the story that abused her, made her life hard, or played some sort of significance in her life. If one of these people found them, then they would feel remorse and if Celie had a child that she loved, then everyone else would take care of him or her to pay their respects to Celie. Whatever it is, she probably doesn't believe in God, however much she wants to. She probably believes in him at the end of the story, or believes in something because the dedication page is "To the Spirit".