Toni Morrison’s Sula is a story about how 2 girl’s differing beliefs affects their life. One of the 2 girls, Nel Wright, believes in living with order, and that one must do everything they are expected to do. Her friend, Sula Peace, prefers a freer lifestyle, and believes that one shouldn’t let society’s expectations of them weight them down. In this society, women who do as they are expected to, i.e. get married, have children, etc.., are seen as good, while women who strays from the norm are seen as evil. Nel tries her best to stay ‘good’ in other people’s eyes, this resulted in her living a very false life. She loses her individuality when she marries Jude. At the end of the book, Sula and Nel’s grandmother, Eva, causes her to face the truth and accept that she is in fact not as good as she think she is. Nel thinks that if others see her as …show more content…
She forces Nel to confront her guilt and involvement in Chicken Little's death. For years, Nel has enveloped herself in doing what she believes is good and has done all the right things; it was Sula who was bad and let Chicken Little’s hand slip, causing him to drown. But Eva insists that there is no difference between Nel and Sula. Eva draws a vivid parallel as she makes Nel realize that her watching Chicken Little drown, and feeling good as she witnessed the tragedy, parallels Sula's interest while watching Hannah burn. After this meeting with Eva, Nel goes on to question “why didn’t I feel bad when it happened” and “how come it felt so good to see him fall?”(170). Because of Sula and Eva’s words, Nel begins to question her own goodness. It was only when she remembers the riverbank situation when she was near the graves that Nel finally accepted her role in the little boy’s death and how she has been denying it. She admits to herself that she was partly guilty for Chicken Little’s death and that she is in fact no more good then Sula
...nal play—he then goes on to tell Desi’s father that Odin was forcing himself on Desi. Next he started a fight with Michael at a party, which lead to Michael getting benched and Odin getting mad at Michael, causing strain between the two. Hugo suggest to Michael that he become close with Desi to get back in with Odin. Then it starts; Hugo’s master plan has been set into action. He plants lies into Odin’s head about Desi and Michel that he ends up believing, because he lets jealousy cloud his judgment.
...nce when his grandmother suggests a psychic reading, hoping Noi would hear good news that would put his life back on track. The psychic tells Noi that he has death in his future and Noi gets upset and leaves. He descends into his bastion of safety, the basement, and soon after experiences an avalanche. When he is rescued from his refuge, he finds out that the psychic had accuracy to her words: Noi’s father, grandmother, the bookshop owner and Iris were all killed in the avalanche.
In the book Sula by Toni Morrison, Morrison’s ambiguous link between good, evil, and guilt, she is able to show that these terms are relative to each other and often occur mutually. In her comparison of good and evil, Sula states that "Being good to somebody is just like being mean to somebody. Risky. You don't get nothing for it" (145). Good and evil are being compared as if they are equal and that is how the book is structured. For instance, Eva's burning of Plum is a complex conjunction of motherly love and practicality and cannot be described as simply being a good act or a bad one. The killing of Chicken Little is a similarly ambiguous situation from which Sula and Nel's feelings are unclear. Lastly Sula, upon her death bed, questions what it means to be good and suggests that it what may be considered bad could in reality be good. Both in the syncopated style of Morrison's writing and the morally ambiguous portrayal of characters, cause the reader to question morals and think about them on a larger scale.
Toni Morrison’s novel Sula is rich with paradox and contradiction from the name of a community on top of a hill called "Bottom" to a family full of discord named "Peace." There are no clear distinctions in the novel, and this is most apparent in the meaning of the relationship between the two main characters, Sula and Nel. Although they are characterized differently, they also have many similarities. Literary critics have interpreted the girls in several different ways: as lesbians (Smith 8), as the two halves of a single person (Coleman 145), and as representations of the dichotomy between good and evil (Bergenholtz 4 of 9). The ambiguity of these two characters allows for infinite speculation, but regardless of how the reader interprets the relationship their bond is undeniable. The most striking example of their connection occurs right before the accidental death of Chicken Little. In the passage preceding his death, Nel and Sula conduct an almost ceremonial commitment to one another that is sealed permanently when "the water darkened and closed quickly over the place where Chicken Little sank" (Morrison 61):
Compromising her individuality, her emotional stability, and her dreams mark Nel's banal and unfulfilling life.Early in Nel's life during a trip to New Orleans, she watches as her mother is humiliated by a train's white, racist conductor; she watches the indignity of her mother's having to squat in an open field to urinate while white train passengers gaze; and she watches her mother's shame at her own Creole mother's libidinous lifestyle. Her mother's submissiveness and humiliation evokes a fear, an anger, and an energy in Nel. Her emotions intensify as she makes a declaration to never be her mother, to never compromise her individuality, "I'm me. I'm not their daughter. I'm not Nel. I'm me.
In the novel Sula, there were other important characters besides Sula. The character in this book I would like to focus on most is Eva Peace. Eva is a woman who has a disability but remains strong, and this will be the focus of this paper since it wasn’t focused on so much in the book.
In the story, “Recitatif,” Toni Morrison uses vague signs and traits to create Roberta and Twyla’s racial identity to show how the characters relationship is shaped by their racial difference. Morrison wants the reader’s to face their racial preconceptions and stereotypical assumptions. Racial identity in “Recitatif,” is most clear through the author’s use of traits that are linked to vague stereotypes, views on racial tension, intelligence, or ones physical appearance. Toni Morrison provides specific social and historical descriptions of the two girls to make readers question the way that stereotypes affect our understanding of a character. The uncertainties about racial identity of the characters causes the reader to become pre-occupied with assigning a race to a specific character based merely upon the associations and stereotypes that the reader creates based on the clues given by Morrison throughout the story. Morrison accomplishes this through the relationship between Twyla and Roberta, the role of Maggie, and questioning race and racial stereotypes of the characters. Throughout the story, Roberta and Twyla meet throughout five distinct moments that shapes their friendship by racial differences.
Conformity and defying social norms were a common theme this week. In Toni Morrison’s book Sula, Sula Peace actively opposes gender roles. She does this by doing what she would like to do without the burden of her town’s expectations. Sula enjoyed sex and disregarded all of the opinions of the townspeople around committing adultery. Eli commented that it was even more unacceptable in that time period, but Sula’s main priority is being authentic. Even though she urged men to cheat she was still a risk taker and lived spontaneously, which was even more forbidden for a black woman and like Lauren said, the men were also to blame, not just Sula. Not many people in the Bottom share that trait because they are afraid of social isolation. For example, Nel didn’t stray far from the status quo due to her upbringing. Nel’s mother taught her to be proper and follow the set of rules given to her. Her mother often reminded her to “pull her nose” (28) so Nel could have a more appealing nose. On the other hand, Sula lived in an unconventional household with a constant flow of different people coming and going out of the house. Since she was not exposed to a father figure, she was not tainted by patriarchal expectations of the genders. She didn’t witness
Eva is a single mother of three children. The father of these children left her to raise them by herself. This proves to be an extremely difficult task for her to complete. Eva is a very poor woman, and does not have much to provide for her children with. Her, “children needed her;
Where many novels focus on the men and how they are the dominant figure in the society, Sula has the entire focus on the women, with men coming in only as sexual objects. Throughout the novel, the two main girls did not have male figures in their lives. Nel had a father but he was often away on trips, leaving her mother to raise her. Sula did not even have a father. The men she saw in the house were often there to have sex with her mother, Hannah, or exchange in flirtatious conversation with her grandmother, Eva. The man in this story is not the type to stay with his wife or to be faithful. Sula’s grandfather left, her father died, Nel’s father is never around. Hannah often slept with recently married men, and Sula sleeps with Nel’s husband, Jude, causing him to leave
Sula and Nel’s friendship in their childhood was beneficial for both of them. Sula’s meeting of Nel was fortunate, because they find a soul mate within each other. They are both the daughters of “distant mothers and incomprehensible fathers” (Morrison, 50). Both girls lack affection in their relationships with their mothers. They can’t find this affection in their relationships with their fathers either, because Sula’s father is dead while Nel’s father is away at sea. They find the affection they need with each other. Their friendship was a way to mother each other. Since they can’ find the support they need from their families with their families they began to support each other and figure out what each other need in their life. The significance
The relationship between Eva and Hannah Peace effect the way how Hannah raises Sula Peace. Both Eva and Hannah do not like their children but they say that they love them. Eva Peace is a woman full of integrity, pride, and will do anything for her children. Her way of raising her children is far off from other mothers. When Eva’s children were young she left them for an entire year and came back out of nowhere. After Eva is abandoned by BoyBoy, she goes through drastic measures to ensure the survival of her three children and herself. Morrison tells the story of Eva who has to endure a miserable winter with three children an...
In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, the theme of the story is good versus evil. It’s embodied into the story in various forms to question what defines right and wrong. Good versus evil is presented in forms that are understood on the surface and beneath the surface which gives it multiple meanings. The relationship between Sula and Nel is the main expression of this theme, however, there are also many other contributors such as color schemes, gender and race differences, and life and death. This theme sheds light on the significance and interpretation of issues of everyday reality which includes controversies related to identity struggles, super natural forces, the impact and relevance of upbringing on development, family structure, and racism. Morrison demonstrates the importance of good versus evil with her writing in the way that she overlaps them and interprets them as products of one another. The friendship of Sula and Nel creates a presence of good and evil within their relationship to each other and their community.
There are many aspects of story that come together to create a complete narrative. A lot of the tools used by writers are intentional and serve the purpose of driving home certain aspects of the story or creating and engaging, and entertaining narrative. Toni Morrison—the author of Sula—is no different. Morrison employs many writing techniques and tools in her narrative Sula. It is important for the reader to be aware of and understand some of these narrative tools that the author uses because it allows the reader to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the narrative. In Sula a few narrative techniques that allow for the argument of women experiences to shine through are the use of a third person narrator, and gaps; throughout the story these tools allow the reader to become interested in and focus in on women experiences.
The setting of Toni Morrison’s Sula: A Black Woman’s Epic by Karen Stein takes place in a compacted Ohio town during the years 1919 to 1965. The author Karen Stein analyzes the providence of the women in two matriarchal households within the black community. The main characters are Nel Wright and Sula Peace. Their lives represent the diversion of choices possible for black women in present day America. The theme throughout Toni Morrison’s Sula: A Black Woman’s Epic is the narrative of the association between Nel Wright and Sula Peace.