Exploring the Novel Sula By Toni Morrison
In the novel Sula, by Toni Morrison we follow the life of Sula Peace through out her childhood in the twenties until her death in 1941. The novel surrounds the black community in Medallion, specifically "the bottom". By reading the story of Sula's life, and the life of the community in the bottom, Morrison shows us the important ways in which families and communities can shape a child's identity. Sula not only portrays the way children are shaped, but also the way that a community receives an adult who challenges the very environment that molded them. Sula's actions and much of her personality is a direct result of her childhood in the bottom. Sula's identity contains many elements of a strong, independent feminist character. However, the people in Medallion do not see Sula in a positive light. When she returns to Medallion as an adult Sula is seen as evil and regarded with much fear. The reason Sula outcast from the community is specifically due to the fact that she is a woman who refuses to contain herself in the social norms set up for the town. She refuses to marry and frequently sleeps
Free from the social norms of a patriarchal community who sees a woman solely in relationship to a man. "Seeing her step so easily into the pantry and emerge looking precisely as she did when she entered, only happier. This was thought of as gross, but was accepted. This affects directly the relationships Sula has with men in her adult life. Though it is mentioned in the story that it was perfectly acceptable for black men to lay in the beds of white women. The short union between Ajax and Sula is based on equality between them. Sula took care of herself and because she had all her teeth, had had no childhood diseases and looked younger than her age the town acknowledged that as a conformation that she was indeed evil. Sula uses the men she sleeps with for pleasure, taking no consideration as to how the men feel. Where he marched through the town giving people one day to pile all their thoughts of death together, in an attempt to make sense of it. The characters that exist around Sula serve as a point to compare the different ways the community treats those who are different.
Common topics in this essay:
Sula Sula,
Suicide Day,
Ajax Sula,
Hannah Hannah,
Sula Peace,
Nel Sula's,
Shadrack Shadrack,
Hannah Sula's,
Medallion Sula,
Hannah Sula,
outcast community,
social norms,
shadrack hannah,
roach bitch,
reason sula,
viewed evil,
seen evil,
people medallion,
community bottom,
sula's actions,
|
Acceptance Essays
