The Walking Dead’s Tyreese Channels Miss Celie from The Color Purple

Tyreese was a survivor. In the end he got to turn off the abuse just like Miss Celie in The Color Purple, even looking like her as he told off The Governor.

Survivor is a word often used when describing characters in The Walking Dead. Strong and weak are also used. Those terms can get murky when describing sensitive people or victims of abuse. Was Carol weak in the early seasons when she behaved differently? Or was she strong to have made it through her years with Ed and have a beautiful daughter like Sophia?

Tyreese didn’t experience physical abuse in the traditional sense like Carol or Miss Celie from The Color Purple, but he experienced emotional abuse from life and the world. He witnessed Lizzie taking the life of her sister and almost taking Judith’s life. He lost the woman he loved at the hands of the woman who helped him save Lizzie from herself and his friends from Terminus, which allowed him to deliver Judith back to her family. He forgave. Forgiveness takes strength. Martin taunted Tyreese with the idea of dominoes. Those right there are some heavy dominoes.

After he finally reunited with his sister and his friends, he witnessed his sister participate in a brutal slaughter of evil cannibals and the deaths of Bob and Beth. Weak? Even Carol wasn’t there for the slaughter. Tyreese went through the lion’s share of horror from the time the flu hit until he died.

Tyreese was abused by the world even before it went to the dead because for him paying the cost of living and facing the news and the world on the radio cost more than it did for other people. A sensitive soul pays a higher price. Does that make him weak? Some might say so. I say his strengths are just different. Was Miss Celie weak for staying with Mister all those years. Or was she a survivor of a different sort to be able to withstand that kind of abuse with the skills she had?

In the end, both Miss Celie and Tyreese stood up to their abusers and with similar strength radiating through their fingers let Mister and The Governor know they weren’t worthy. Their taunting was meaningless. Tyreese and Miss Celie knew who they were and they were in control.  Celie was able to say she was poor, Black and maybe even ugly but dear God she’s here. And Tyreese was able to say “turn it off”.

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