Sula And Everyday Use Character Analysis

Sula and Everyday Use characters presents a struggle with identity. In each of the stories, the individual characters have trouble discovering themselves, and so sets out to discover their identity while causing some form of disruption along the way with the other characters. In Sula, Sula disruption was when she slept with Nel’s husband this event put a strain on Nel’s and Sula’s relationship. It also had a big impact on the chain of events that follows. In Everyday Use, Dee is the cause of disruption. Dee is supposed to embody an educated woman but her lack of knowledge about her heritage dissuades the readers, and so this marks her journey of self-discovery. These two stories are derived from the creative minds of Morrison and Walker. The

Hannah husband died and so she allows herself to be use as a sex object by other men. “Sula came home from school and found her mother in bed curled spoon in the arm of a man.” pg.44 Sula had no male figure in her life so she turned to Nel who gave her the closeness she been searching for. Sula shape her identity in that she was determine to prove her point when put in a situation that questioned her character. “She slashed off only the tip of her finger. The four boys stared open mouthed at the at the wounded and the scrap of flesh, like a button mushroom, curling in the cherry blood that ran into the corners of the slate." Pg. 54 Sula choose the path of exploration when she left the Bottom after Nel’s wedding, her experience was of trying to discover herself. Sula’s return to medallion brought about hatred towards her by the town people because Sula had changed. She would sleep with the men in the town and discard them. She also put Eva in a nursing home because she said Eva was mean to her and that she was scared of Eva burning her like she did Plum. The town people despised Sula for her action. They even when as for as accusing her of pushing Teapot down the steps when in truth he fell down the steps and Sula was only trying to help. She didn’t care what they say about her because she didn’t have conversations with the town people with the exception of Nel upon till their

The quilts hold a special meaning to mama because they were made out of the clothes of her past family. The using of the quilt demonstrate that mama has inherited the understanding of her heritage. Dee adopted the African culture, the name change from Dee to Wangero and the description of her when she first met mama and Maggie suggest that Dee symbolize the Black Power Movement, which becomes her identity in the story. Also apart of Dee identity was that she held herself in high esteem. “She wrote me once that no matter where we “choose” to live, she will manage to come see us, but she will never bring her friend.” Pg This shows that Dee see herself belonging to a high intellectual and social class than Mama and Maggie. Maggie scars symbolizes the hardship of African Americans unlike Maggi, Dee doesn’t have any scars which also tell the readers that Dee live a life of privilege. Dee lack of knowledge about her newly adopted African culture is equivalent to the lack of knowledge of her American culture. Walker argues the responsibility of who should define the African American culture. The responsibility shouldn’t be left to someone who possess no true identity or who is unclear about the meaning of her identity. African American must own all aspect of their heritage which includes the painful and unpleasant parts. The mother refuse to call Dee (Wangero)