Hayley Watson

Due: December 15, 2015

Final Project: LBST 2102
The Color Purple
The Color Purple is relatable to the Warrior women and empathy sections covered in this
Global Connections course for many reasons. Throughout this course we covered many different
topics that were very interesting, however, these two topics were the ones that stood out the
most. This movie takes place in a controversial time where there were many submissive women
and not too many that had the courage to stand up for themselves. Women were treated as though
they were below men. This meant they were expected to obey men no matter if it was right or
wrong. The movie follows the life of a woman as she transforms from a submissive woman into
a warrior woman. Throughout the movie she encounters a few warrior women that help shape
her into the woman she becomes. She shows empathy to people she cares about, as well as,
receives empathy from people who see her situation. The women during this time stuck together
and helped each other when it came to mistreatment due to their sex or race.
The Color Purple is a movie about a young African American woman named Cellie and
her struggles with abuse for over forty years. Cellie has a stepfather that rapes her and sells the
babies that she has. She stays strong due to her close relationship with her sister. When her
stepfather marries her off to a man named Albert she is separated from her sister. Albert beats
Cellie and treats her like a slave. One day her sister, Nettie comes to visit because her stepfather
is trying to make moves on her so she comes to stay with Cellie. At first everything was fine,
Nettie even taught Cellie how to read and write. One day Nettie was on her way to school when
she was attacked by Albert. She fought Albert off but this angered him and she was thrown out of

the house and told she was never to see or speak to Cellie again. After losing touch with her
sister Cellie felt lonely and was very unhappy until one day when Albert brought his mistress to
stay at their house because she was sick. Cellie was so desperate for companionship that she
began to talk to her husbands mistress, Shug Avery. At first Shug talked down to Cellie but
eventually they became very close friends. Shug taught Cellie that she was beautiful and that she
should stand up for yourself. While Shug was at the house Albert was nice and never beat Cellie.
Shug had to leave to go back on tour and the beatings and mistreatments started all over again.
After Shug left, Cellie was lonely, but she held on to the hope of one day being reunited with
Nettie. During this time one of Alberts son married a woman named Sophia. She was a Strong
willed woman that stood up for herself. Sophia becomes one of the woman who gives Cellie
courage to stand up for herself. One day Shug came back and brought a husband. They stayed
with Cellie and Albert for a while. During their stay Shug finds out that Cellies sister had been
writing Cellie all these years. Shug shares this with Cellie and she begins reading all of the
letters. When everyone sat down for dinner one day, Shug announces that she and her husband
were leaving. She also said that Cellie was coming with her. Albert did not like the idea but
Cellie stood up to him and left anyway.
Warrior women are not women who fight in wars but women who stand up to the
stereotypical views of women and refuse to be ran over by man. They stand up for themselves
and what they believe in no matter the consequences. A women must portray certain
characteristics in order to be categorized as a warrior woman. There are ten different
characteristics that a warrior woman may display. The woman does not have to show all ten to be
considered a warrior woman. She only has to exhibit two to three of the characteristics. Some of
the characteristics of a warrior woman may include are: not being afraid to fight when required,

not a slave to a man, part of a sisterhood with her own sex, does not depend on a man, vengeance
is priority, and driven by a family member (Mainon). Warrior women changed society forever.
These women not only stood up for themselves but for women all over the world. Warrior
women change the world forever.
The Color Purple portrays four main warrior women. Three of the four women were
instantly noticed as warrior women. The fourth woman Cellie, the main character, became a
warrior woman due to the other three women, Shug, Sophia, and Nettie. All four women share
some similar characteristics of a warrior woman from the book Modern Amazon. Yet, they also
exhibit unique characteristics that differ. However, all four women, by the end of the movie,
demonstrate two similar characteristics; not being a mans slave and being involved in a
sisterhood. Nettie is the first woman warrior that the movie introduces. She is Cellies younger
sister. In the Color Purple, Nettie is an independent young woman who goes to school and
eventually ends up in Africa on mission trips. This is the first characteristics of a warrior woman
because she is not dependent on a man. She also demonstrated the ability to fight when required.
As previously mentioned, one day while on her way to school, Albert tried to attack and rape her.
Nettie begins to beat him with her books until she is free. While Nettie is in Africa and Cellie is
trapped in an abusive marriage, Cellie forms a sisterhood with two women. Shug ended up being
like a sister even though she was Alberts mistress. Sophia is the last one that is introduced and
she is Alberts sons wife. Sophia and Avery form a sisterhood because they were two lonely
women and they were married into the same family. Shug and Sophia are very similar. They both
stand up for themselves and carry themselves with confidence. They also demand respect. Sophia
beat up her husband Harpo when he tried to beat her. This demonstrates the characteristics of not
being afraid to fight when necessary. All three women, Shug, Nettie, and Sophia, helped Cellie

become a warrior woman. At first Cellie took all the mistreatment she received in her life. First
from her stepfather and then from her husband, Albert. After Shug and Sophia came into her life
she realized that she does not have to live like that and how happy she could be if she was not
enslaved to a man. She had all this vengeance built up towards Albert because he separated her
from her sister Nettie. Cellie almost killed him by cutting him while shaving him. Also she
almost stabbed him at the dinner table but both times Shug stopped her. This demonstrates the
characteristic of vengeance because of a family member. Due to her sisterhood that formed
throughout the movie Cellie became a warrior woman by demonstrating a lot of the
characteristics. She gained confidence and self-esteem. She learned her self-worth and refused to
let a man control her life. Even though the Color Purple took place in the early 1900s, there is
still a since of inequality among the sexes in modern times. Women in Islam are going through
similar struggles. They are looked down on upon men as well as being forced to marry men they
do not want to (Allen). Groups of Islamic women are coming together to refuse marriage and to
stand up for themselves (Allen). Coming together as one and fighting for what they believe in
will slowly change the society.
Empathy is the ability to feel what others are going through. Empathy is greatly portrayed
throughout this movie. Empathetic people often portray six main habits (Krznaric). The six main
habits are they show are interest in strangers life stories, protest prejudices and discovering
common ground, puts themselves in other peoples shoes , listens and opens up, inspires social
change, and develop zealous imaginations (Krznaric). Empathy makes this world a better place.
It allows a person to feel how other people feel in both good and bad situations. In this movie
most of the empathy happens as a result of a bad situation. People who are empathetic do not
have to portray all of these habits but they tend to be involved with some of them. Empathetic

people tend to be curious and curiosity helps cure the loneliness that one in three Americans feel
(Krznaraic). Empathetic people have the ability to help change the world.
Empathy is shown greatly in the Color Purple. The four main women empathize with
each other for different reasons throughout the movie. Nettie exhibited empathy habits because
she places herself in other peoples shoes, listens, and opens up. She empathized with Cellie
quite often. It started when Cellie gave birth to her baby and their stepfather took her to sell.
Nettie was there to comfort her and cry with her. A little later in the movie Nettie goes to
Cellies house. At this point in the movie, Cellie is living with Albert. Nettie begins to empathize
with Cellie because she cannot read or write. So Nettie decides to secretly teach her because she
knows that one day Albert will separate them. The day that the sisters were separated Cellie
empathized with Nettie not only because she was being kicked out of the only place she had to
go but also because she had to fight Albert off. Once Nettie left, after putting up a good fight,
Cellie was very upset and lonely. However, she was hopeful because Nettie promised to write.
While Cellie waited to hear from her sister she met Shug Avery and Sophia. Cellie exhibits
empathy habits of showing interest in strangers life stories, puts herself in other peoples shoes,
listens and opens up. Cellie empathized with Sophia after she got beat by her husband and again
when she was beat by white men and made to be a maid to the mayors wife. The empathy
displayed from Cellie was not a one way street. Sophia empathized greatly with Cellie. She did
so because Cellie let Albert beat her and treat her horribly. Sophia demonstrated habits of
empathy by showing interest of strangers life stories, protest prejudices and discover common
ground, listens and opens up, and inspires social change. Shug Avery and Cellie have a unique
relationship. Shug is Alberts mistress that came to live with him and Cellie while she was very
sick. At first Cellie empathized with Shug because she was so sick but once they became friends

Shug empathized greatly for Cellie. Shug hated how Albert treated Cellie and how she allowed it
to happen. Shug demonstrated habits of empathy by showing interest in strangers life stories,
protest prejudices and discover common ground, listens and opens up, and inspires social
change. Cellie felt empathy for all of these women but she also felt empathy for her stepchildren.
Even though they treated her horribly, she still felt bad for them because of their abusive father
and their home life. When Cellie first got to Alberts house, one of the children peaked into the
kitchen as Cellie was cleaning and smiled at her. It was not a sarcastic smile but a smile of
empathy. This goes to show that regardless of age, where you come from, or how you behave
you have the ability to be empathetic.
The Color Purple shows how empathy and warrior women change the world forever. It
took a group of women sticking together and standing up for what was right to change a society.
These type of women paved the way for todays women to do many things that are taken for
granted. Women today are allowed to hold jobs and be more independent. If it wasnt for strong
women, like those displayed in the Color Purple, women today would still be stuck in the
shadow of man.