Toni Morrison's Sula
America has always been regarded as the nation of liberty and freedom. Our founding forefathers have shaped the values of our country according to their strong beliefs of free will and independence. To this day, those values still prevail and often inspire our individualistic ways of thinking. In Toni Morrison's novel Sula, two friends must make the imperative decision in life to follow their boundless dreams or to hold onto their roots in their community of the Bottom. Each faces obstacles, joys, as well as consequences for their decisions. Nel Wright, a woman in search of strength and stability, commits to her role as a member of her community. She follows the valued belief of marriage and becomes the loyal and devoted wife to her husband Jude and a loving mother to her three children. However, Nel's best friend Sula possesses a complete different outlook on life and frees herself from the constricting beliefs of the community. She leaves town in search of the life she desires but most importantly, in search of herself. Their opposing values and judgments eventually tear apart what was once a tightly knitted friendship between the two. The value of freedom versus commitment is portrayed through the choices Sula and Nel mak
Like her mother, Nel feels righteous and takes pride in knowing that her loyalty and devotion to her family will win the acceptance of the community. However, Jude's marriage proposal to Nel ignites the family value in her and for the first time in her life, she feels wanted and needed. "They f[ind] relief in each other's personality" (53) and look to each other for strength and comfort. e and Morrison leaves us with the question: which of these two women survives in the end? The environment and upbringing of a child builds the foundation for her values and beliefs. Upon the birth of Nel, Helene "rose grandly to the occasion of motherhood"(18) and like a piece of fresh clay, she begins to mold Nel into her desired shape. Morrison's novel focuses on several different values and depicts how each character weighs them through their actions. She is a woman "who w[ins] all social battles with presence and a conviction of the legitimacy of her authority"(18). Nel's first trip outside of the Bottom allows her to look at herself differently for the first time. Sula holds onto this ideology even closer when she overhears Hannah confessing to her friends that her love for her daughter was no more than that of the kind of love that a mother develops for her daughter simply because of the mother and daughter connection they share (57). Her mother Hannah is a woman who indulges in casual sex for mere pleasure and entertainment. Being with Sula allows Nel to shine and "only with Sula d[oes] that quality have free reign"(83). Nel finds comfort and stability knowing that she is in control during a state of crisis because it takes focus off of her own dilemmas. The trip gives her a new found "strength to cultivate a friend in spite of her mother"(29) and this sense of "me-ness" (29) sparks the beginning of a wonderful friendship with Sula Peace. Sula's concept of self-reliance is acquired through the lack of structure in her family and the absence of nurturance and love from her mother.
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