Sula and Nel: Identity and Rebellion in Postmodern Context

Sula And Nel Essay The postmodern era encourages defiance of the norm along with self discovery. During this era, many artist began experimenting with numerous ideas, as well as expanding the classification of the types of art. Since, postmodernist reject an absolute truth and an objective right or wrong, they allow the viewer of the art to speculate and generate their own significance. Hence, the drawing resembles postmodernism art, since, it portrays a search for one's identity, in the sense that the drawing consists of no face nor gender. Similarly, the drawing lacks meaning on its own, enabling a vast range for interpretation. For instance, the image has no conclusive horizontal orientation, enabling one to flip the image without altering the image itself. Immediately, the contrast between ...show more content... Both Sula and Nel embody polar opposite personal characteristics, which together assemble into a whole; hence, the two profile views of a person mold into one. Sula symbolizes the profile view colored with warm colors and curved lines. For the reason that, Sula embodies characteristics such as: bravery, adventurous, independance and unpredictably. Warm colors such as yellow and red represent Sula's audacious and passionate actions governed by emotion; yellow normally a loud and bold color, while red associated with destruction and passion. Red and yellow combine to form orange, thus resembles both characteristics. Although, Sula controls her identity, she lacks order– raised in a household filled with chaos. Hence, the curved lines represent the disarray in Sula's life and her rebellious nature to feel "no obligation to please anyone" but herself (118). On the contrary, Nel constantly struggles with her identity, in attempts to conform to her parents and the community of Medallion ideals and in the process loses herself. For instance, at an early age Nel seizes control of her identity by declaring "I'm me. Me."; however, as she Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Essay on Sula by Toni Morrison 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 ...show more content... She too sleeps with only the husbands of other women. Sula has never witnessed a healthy relationship between a man and a woman. This is regarded by the community as terrible. Sula uses the men she sleeps with for pleasure, taking no consideration as to how the men feel. She refuses to have such patriarchal relationships as Hannah did. Hannah may indeed have received pleasure from the men she slept with but she remained the submissive participant in her relations. "Hannah rubbed no edges, made no demands, made the man feel as though he were complete and wonderful just as he was– he didn't need fixing..." (p 2012). Sula, on the other hand, has a need to feel in control right down to the mechanics of her affairs. "And there was the utmost irony and outrage in lying under someone, in a position of surrender, feeling her own abiding strength and limitless power." (p2048). She not only took sex from men as pleasure, but sought out to claim power over them. "Sula was trying them out and discarding them without any excuse the men could swallow." (p2044). This made the women upset and furthered their hatred for Sula. Sula had power by sleeping with these very same men who held power over submissive wives. The town regards all of Sula's actions as evil. They called her a "roach" and a "bitch", but above that spread a nasty rumor that she slept with white men. "There was nothing lower she could do, nothing filthier." (p2043). Though it is mentioned in Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Essay on Sula Robert Allen English October 28, 2014 Throughout Toni Morrison's Sula, racism and sexism are recurring themes that are deeply explored and illuminated throughout the novel. The novels' two main characters Nell and Sula are not only women living in a patriarchal world, they are also African American , which further exposes them to mistreatment and pre–determined societal roles. African Americans during the 1920's were experiencing great social injustices and mistreatment, along with the likes of women who were also experiencing inequality to a lesser degree during this time as well. In her novel Sula, by addressing and shedding light on the many acts of racism and sexism that occurred during the 1920's, Toni Morrison shows how African ...show more content... While racism affects everyone in the African American community during this time, it is their roles as females that set Sula and Nell apart from the male figures in the novel. After World War 1 it became increasingly hard for women to find roles in the work place, as society was shifting drastically towards the traditional role of women, which was in the house and in the bedroom. For instance, In the United States in the 1920s, only about 15 percent of white, and 30 percent of black married women with wage–earning husbands held paying jobs (Moore). The reason for this is because once again, society found the role of women to be at home with a family. Because of this shift, women who went against these societal norms were often criticized and ridiculed for acting out. This grim reality that society places black females behind every other group is recognized by Nell and Sula at a very young age and seems to drive their life's paths. The narrator states, "because each had discovered years before that they were neither white nor male, and that all freedom and triumph was forbidden to them, they had set about creating something else to be" (Morrison's Sula, 1973). With this quote, the narrator shows how women in this time period were very limited in their freedoms to live a life they wanted because not only Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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`` Sula `` By Toni Morrison Sacrifice is a broad and well rounded motif, developed throughout the enlightening 1973 novel, 'Sula', by Toni Morrison. As an important motif, sacrifice can be a difficult concept for many people to do themselves and as shown in this novel, the audience is shown how the act of sacrifice has both good and bad consequences. How the act of sacrifice can be done through love and have a positive outcome, but more often than not and most common in 'Sula' there are either personal ramifications regarding sacrifice, or outcomes that do not have the expected reaction. As in Morrison's other works, sacrifice is an underlying motif that is developed throughout the course of the novel in a way that allows the reader to empathise with the sacrificial characters. Sacrifice is a motif that Morrison develops through the multidimensional experience of motherhood and in particular, in the character of Eva and how her motherly sacrifices effected both her and her children. Morrison also develops this motif through marriage, specifically though Nel and Jude's relationship and how marriage requires some sort of sacrifice for it to survive. In this case however, it may be the reason of its demise. As a motif that is at the very heart of the novel, the theme of sacrifice allows for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the novel. Motherhood is a complicated experience, and understandable at a deeper level for those who have gone through it, but Morrison has an inept perception of the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Sula By Toni Morrison Literary Analysis The 1970s is an era that will forever be documented in history as a "tumultuous time". As life stabilized after World War II and the Great Depression, suppressed groups decided that they would get the rights that they deserved and fight for equality. Various methods were used to make aware the glaring differences, and as Toni Morrison exemplifies, writing was a frequent approach. In her book, Sula, Morrison subtly highlights the extent of discrimination and frustration faced by the newly freed slaves at an earlier time. Placing the setting in an ironic location of unfertile land known as the Bottom in Ohio and expressing situations through seemingly hypocritical locations Morrison highlights the deep anguish and torment every African American ...show more content... The clarity of the situation shows the choices between right and wrong and what is picked. When Sula and Nel's friendship falls apart after this occurrence, Morrison shows how some instances have a clear–cut decision. Another occurrence involves the use of Shadrack's House. Shadrack is a character that was previously mentioned as the founder of Suicide Day and one who has been troubled by the horrors of war. When Sula accidently drowns Chicken Little as she loses his grasp and he gets thrown off into the river, she runs to his house to see if he was looking. What she doesn't realize is that her belt drops and Shadrack keeps it as a memento of someone who entered his home. From this occurrence, the reason that she had entered his house was because she had known that she had done something that was clearly wrong. She knows that she was wrong to play with him like that and not trying to get him out of the water and she wanted to make sure that no one else knew what she had done. On the side of Shadrack, for him to keep the belt for so many years and to look back on the moment he was able to get the belt, it shows the extent to which society has outcast him. Shadrack, while dealing with the effects of his wartime, was still fairly young when everyone had decided that he was not a normal part of society and that he was a drunk. His home, however, had been spotless according to Sula when she had ran in and shows how quick society is ready to discriminate and Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Essay on Toni Morrison's Sula The Character of Sula as a Rose Authors developed the canon in order to set a standard of literature that most people needed to have read or to have been familiar with. The works included in the canon used words such as beautiful, lovely, fair, and innocent to describe women. The canonical works also used conventional symbols to compare the women to flowers such as the rose and the lily. Thomas Campion depicts the typical description of women in his poem, "There is a Garden in Her Face." He describes the women by stating, "There is a garden in her face/ Where roses and white lilies grow,/ A heavenly paradise is that place,/ Wherein all pleasant fruits do flow" (1044–5). The roses and lilies are used to portray beautiful, frail ...show more content... Unlike all the other women in the story, Sula is tough and does not let others interfere with her. She lives her life by her own rules and standards. The people in the town notice that "except for a funny– shaped finger and that evil birthmark, she was free of any normal signs of vulnerability" (115). Again, the rose symbolized Sula's growth and carefree way of life. However, the stemmed rose is more than just a mark that changes shades. First of all, the rose represents a part of the whole that has been cut off from the original bush. Hence, Sula does not fit in with the people from the Bottom, and she knows that she leads a different way of life. Sula explains that the women of the Bottom will die "like a stump, [while she will go down] like one of those redwoods" (143). Everyone of the Bottom is alike and united in their hatred and fear of Sula. Because Sula is promiscuous and improper by the Bottom's standards, the women of the town believed they were leading better lives because of they did not live like Sula. In reality, however, the women were denying reality and used Sula to get over their guilt. Sula feels she is on a different level entirely her own, and "she never competed; she simply helped others to define themselves" (95). Society needs her in order to unite against her. Sula cuts herself from the bush of the Bottom because she does not go along with the crowd, represented by the bush. Next, it is ironic that the rose Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula: Character Analysis Of Nel Essay The novel Sula, is a work which contrasts the lives of its two main characters Nel and Sula. They appear, on the surface, to be the epidemy of binary opposites but this is in actuality their underlying bond. The differences in their personalities complement one another in a way that forges an almost unbreakable alliance. Sula is compulsive and uncontrollable while her counterpart, Nel, is sensible and principled. To prove Nel human by subscribing to the theory that a human is one who possess both good and bad traits , one must only look at how she interacts with Sula, here both negative and positive traits are evident.Nel's "good" traits obviously come to the forefront when looking at her character. One might say this is a result ...show more content... Nel's mother Helene played a large role in establishing her positive attitude and calm demeanor. "Under Helene's hand the girl became obedient and polite. Any enthusiasms that little Nel showed were calmed by the mother until she drove her daughter's imagination underground." (Page 18) Although this would seem lead to an extremely sad existence, it was exactly this kind of environment that lead to Nel's calm and reasonable disposition .Nel's "bad" traits are as well hidden as her "good traits are evident. If there were one action in particular that might blemish the otherwise flawless character of Nel it would be her selfish behavior. This behavior is seen when Nel attempts to recreate the relationship that she and Sula share with someone else, instead of maintaining her relationship with Sula. Now instead of Nel and Sula joined to make one person, Nel and Jude "together would make one Jude." (Page 83) Another of Nel's negative qualities was how dependent she was on what other thought of her. The only reason Nel ended her relationship with Sula was because she felt she needed to be "needed by someone who saw her singly." (Page 84). Initially this statement appears to state that Nel wishes to become more of an individual, when in actuality it is only further proof that she is completely dependent on what others think of her.Nel's want to be an individual while still Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Masculinity In Sula Misses Ajax Sula misses Ajax and his absence is unbearable for her, like for the rest of the women in the novel who experienced men's departure. After Ajax leaves, there is nothing left but emptiness. Sula has the impression that there is nothing new waiting for her in the world and that she has already seen everything there is to see: "There aren't any more new songs and I have sung all the ones there are" (Sula 137). Sula's life becomes discontented once she was willing to submit to a man and she starts to spend more time at her house, just like her grandmother did when her husband BoyBoy left her and consequently falls seriously ill. Sula is viewed as an outcast in her community because she does not honor the laws of the community. Another reason why people in the ...show more content... Discrimination of African Americans is still strong which is clearly visible in the denial of job opportunities for African American inhabitants of Medallion. The Bottom men's fears of emasculation and their attempts to win respect of the dominant society result in the men's frustrations which they consequently project in their personal relationships with African American women and with their children. The major problem of the novel's characters is their acceptance of the dominant society's ideas of masculinity and femininity and their submission to the dominant society's views of marriage and social roles. Most male characters in the novel are looking for a submissive woman who would help them feel better about their own masculinity. The only male character who is not interested in proving anything to the mainstream society and who does not accept the defined notions of masculinity and femininity is Ajax, who leads a more contended and satisfactory life than the rest of the men in the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Literary Analysis Of Sula By Toni Morrison Lorden Russell Professor Delcourt English 265 20 November 2017 Literary Analysis: Sula Toni Morrison is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels and a professor at Princeton University. In 1998, she became the first African–American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, and then, in 1993, received the Nobel Prize in literature. In 2012, at the age of 81, Toni Morrison received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Toni Morrison was born February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. In 1953, she graduated from Howard University, earning her undergraduate degree. She then went to Cornell, where she completed her master's degree. Eventually, Toni became an editor at the publishing group Random House, where she began writing her first novels. Sula , her second novel, deals with themes of race, gender (specifically women), good versus evil, and individuality, and how all four aspects play into life and all of its complexity. Black writers, especially an African American woman are known to have more difficulty when it comes to publication and recognition, and therefore desperately have to please a white audience in order to achieve success. Morrison decided that she wanted to enforce positive work associated with black literature. Morrison successfully achieved that goal by discussing and implementing controversial universal themes that exist in the world. Sula is a story that tackles the ideas of "good" and "evil", and how nothing is easily determined as one or the Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula Character Analysis The phrase opposites attract is proven true by the characters Sula and Nel in the novel Sula by Toni Morrison. When an individual desires to be complete, they seek this completion through things other than themselves. This is exactly what Sula and Nel, the main characters in Sula, do. These two characters are formed through their families, and the level of structure their families have given them. They are initially attracted to each other at the age of twelve out of disparity. Nel is seeking to understand the unstructured, comfortless, disorderly life Sula lives. Sula is intrigued by the structured, comforting, orderly life Nel's upbringing provided her with. The personalities of these two individual characters contribute to the overall ...show more content... Nel, on the other hand, grew up with a proper, strict mother. Her name was Helene, and she was a woman of strict order, who made the expectations for her daughter high and clear. Nel grew up under this parenting heavily influencing her everyday behaviors. Due to this difference in family life, they were attracted together as friends, fulfilling the statement, "Opposites attract". There was also a personality difference between the two girls. Sula had always been the rougher, tougher one, as opposed to the quieter Nel. Nel, although quieter, as an adult was married and never cheated on her husband, Jude. Nel breaks the promise she made to herself to develop her own identity, by choosing to marry young just as her mother had. Her husbands idea of a happy life is him working an inferior man's job, however his marriage contradicts that. Nel fulfills Helene's expectations of marriage, letting go of her goal to be independent and live on her own terms. A bond that holds the two friends so closely together is the good and bad between the two, in the particular case of the death of Chicken Little. Nel is just as guilty for not doing anything about the death as Sula is for committing the crime, however this strays from her perfect reputation she hold in the Bottom. Both Sula and Nel played important roles in the society and community of the Bottom. Although Sula didn't have a very reputable Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

Essay Sula It all began in and around the year 1919. Sula Peace, the daughter of Rekus who died when she was 3years old and Hannah, was a young and lonely girl of wild dreams. Sula was born in the same year as Nel, 1910. Sula was a heavy brown color and had large eyes with a birthmark that resembled a stemmed rose to some and many varied things to others. Nel Wright, the daughter of Helene and Wiley, was and unimaginative girl living in a very strict and manipulated life. Nel was lighter in color than Sula and could have passed for white if she had been a few shades lighter she. A trip to visit her dying great–grandmother in the south had a profound effect on Nel's life. In many ways the trip made her realize her selfness and look at things ...show more content... The accidental death of Chicken Little at the hands of Sula had a profound effect on the friendship. Sula had not meant to kill Chicken and Nel knew this, and therefore made the unspoken pact of silence with her. The incident only exemplified the bonds that made two disparate people appear as one. While Sula delved in anguish and Nel in logical thought, they both failed to grieve or feel sorry for the deed that had been committed. Sula was tougher that Nel in a physical way, but what Nel lacked in physical prowess she made up with sensible cool–headed thinking. When Sula realized that Chicken was drowning her immediate reaction was not to try to save him, but to check her surroundings to glean if anyone had seen what had transpired. The callousness of that act and the fact that even though Nel acted calm about the situation, she did not try to save him also, further demonstrates the effect that each one had on the other. Sula was a mean in many ways because she believed no one loved her except for Nel. When she overheard her mother say that she liked her, but did not love her it struck a part of her psyche that she was not able to comprehend even though she could feel the hurt and the pain. When her mother committed suicide by self–emollition the emotions that she felt, like the incident with Chicken Little, had nothing to do with grief or loss, but with the experiencing of the event that was transpiring. In all honesty, she may not have loved her mother and she may even Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Often in nature organisms rely on one another to survive. Relationships in which each partner gives equally are called symbiotic. The two partners live harmoniously along side one another depending on each other but still have the ability to stand and act alone should they need to. However, these perfect relationships do not always exist. Sometimes, certain organisms take more than they give and as a result the other organism suffers. Those that do this are called parasites. In Toni Morrison's novel, Sula, Sula Peace and Nel Wright demonstrate a symbiotic relationship gone awry. The two start off learning from each other and giving to each other equally, but as they spend more time together Sula seems to thrive and Nel seems to ...show more content... Sula dislikes her disheveled house, and wishes that she could live in a household as clean as that of Nel. Sula?s positive view of Nel?s home challenges Nel to see it in a new light, teaching her to appreciate. This concept stays current throughout the early years of their relationship, each opening the other?s eyes to new idea and ways of living and as they do their friendship grows stronger. The two become practically inseparable, living completely symbiotically and depending on each other for everything. However, this relationship is destined to change. The relationship first starts to take a turn for the worst when Sula accidentally kills a local boy named Chicken Little, by throwing him into the river. The town never finds out who is responsible for his death, mostly due to the girls silence. Though Nel played no roll in Chicken Little?s death, she stands by Sula and tells no one about what she saw that day at the river. At his funeral, ?[the two] held hands and knew that only the held hands and knew that only the coffin would lie in the earth, the bubbly laughter and the press of fingers in the palm would stay aboveground forever? (Morrison 66). Nel?s silence in support of Sula is the first instance when Sula takes advantage of Nel, relying on her in order to survive. It becomes more evident that the relationship between the two is turning form one that is symbiotic to one that is parasitic when Sula returns Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Toni Morrison's Sula Essay example Sula Toni Morrison's Sula is a novel that has a theme about the nature of evil. The story follows the lives of two black female friends who present differing views on evil. On one hand, we have society's conventional view of evil represented by the character of Nel and also seen in the Bottom's disapproval of Sula . The other view of evil is seen through the character of Sula and through her actions, which conflict with traditional society. The friendship of Sula and Nel is how the author conveys her message about evil in the relationship. In the relationship the two different conceptions of evil mix and create an essentially neutral mixture. By looking at Nel's and Sula's friendship and the two different views of evil that they ...show more content... Absorbed in this conception of evil her whole life, it is Nel who becomes the embodiment of the town's moral code when she gets married and is "one of them" (120), meaning a member of mainstream society. Instantly, her views become the same with those of the town and she "belonged to the town and all of its ways" (120). She is especially offended by Sula's behavior, because Sula sleeps with her husband. While Nel has used the town's moral code, Sula is in open defiance of it, and Sula is caught off guard by Nel's "possessiveness" (119), not really knowing that "marriage...had changed all that" (119), referring to their earlier tendency to "share the affection of other people" (119). Nel's outrage at Sula's actions is similar to the town's anger at Sula and we see the personal hurt that Sula's inconsiderate actions have caused. While society's view of evil is really based on the disapproval of anything that would break down way society works, Sula's view of evil is based on a different goal and she acts according to a different set of standards. In other words, "Sula was distinctly different" (118). Sula "had been looking all along for a friend" (122) and that is the goal she is really trying to reach. In sleeping with many men, she is sort of looking for a release for her "misery and...deep sorrow" (122). She is trying to find a friend who she can Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula Character Analysis In the novel "Sula", the two main characters are used by the author to show that appearances don't tell the full story and we have more in common than it may seem. One character is Nel Wright. She is a lighter skinned black girl who grew up in a strict, religious household. She is more calculated in her thoughts. The other character is Sula Peace. She is a darker skin girl who grew up in a boarding house with many different types of people. Sula is more instinctual with her actions and she doesn't want to follow traditional societal norms. In many ways these characters appear to be opposites of each other yet they also complete each other. They both serve as half of one well adjusted "ideal "person. I believe the author uses the element of character to illustrate the theme of good vs evil and how it's not always that simple. Throughout the novel, Nel is seen as the "good" person while Sula is seen as the "bad" person. There is a good vs evil dynamic that is stressed throughout the book with these two characters but they realize that they are practically the same towards the end. I believe that Nel's wedding was a great scene that showcased the fundamental differences between Nel and Sula. At a young age, Nel vowed to be herself when she saw the way her submissive, traditional mother was viewed. She told herself that she would never get to that level. She ended up sticking to what she knows when she married a man named Jude who only wanted to be in a relationship so he could be viewed as "the man ". Nel ended up being just like her mother because she gave into the societal norms of marriage and accepted the submissive role. This behavior is a stark contrast to Sula who wanted no part of what society expects. "It would be ten years before they saw each other again, and their meeting would be thick with birds. "(85)I think this shows the disconnect that developed between the two girls. I believe that the very free– spirited Sula was disappointed in Nel for accepting this passive role and Sula decided to leave town because of it. Sula lives a more independent lifestyle which she believes is the correct way to live. While Nel's wedding served as a distinct contrast between the two, there was a moment where Sula Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula Essay 1. How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? The year of 1919 through the year of 1965 was not an easy period in Medallion, Ohio. There was a little town called The Bottom and it is described by the author of Sula, Toni Morrison. Morrison provides information about the community and its people through Sula. The author does not only provide information about the town but also describes the ambience of the area and how the public was treated during this time. In the novel, the women of The Bottom are not described in a desirable way due to racism, segregation and the fact that men were thought of as superior to any women. Morrison establishes this message throughout the novel successfully. Readers later realize the different ...show more content... During the years of 1919 through 1965 when the story of Sula takes place, the only job that is believed to be correct for women is being a maid, and their husbands are the ones in charge of bringing money back to the house. Women not only had to tolerate working as maids, but they also had to suffer with their husbands betraying them and being unfaithful. Nel is perfect example of a black African American woman in Sula who is only allowed to work as a maid, while she has to bear with Jude (her husband) leaving her alone with their children after betraying her with Sula. When the author describes what Nel went through, she states: "Because Jude's leaving was so complete, the full responsibility of the household was Nel's ..... So she took to cleaning rather than fret away ...... And just this past year she got a better job working as a chambermaid in the same hotel Jude had worked in. The tips were only fair .... " (138–139). Nel is just an example, out of all the women from The Bottom who had to work as maids in order to maintain their families. For several families in Sula, women depended on their husbands and their husbands were in charge of taking the money home. Afterwards, their husbands betrayed them and they had to work only as maids and get money in order to maintain the family . An example of this is how Nel had to work to maintain her children after Jude betrayed Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula Identity Essay The novel Sula by the Author Toni Morrison, depicts the story of a character name Sula who embarks in an adventure in her town. She faces many endeavors throughout the story but it's her struggles which define the way she views life. Nether the less an interesting character in the novel, is her close friend "Nel." Sula and Nel are viewed like one mind , because of that it's sometimes difficult for them to separate each other thoughts. The town often tells them they are the same person because of that reason Nel's uniqueness is overshadowed and she struggles to figure out her own identity. With this in mind she meets a guy, Jude, who in the process allows her to find an identity. The different aspects of identity that Jude expresses to Nel allow her to be viewed as a singular person compared to the town which viewed her like one mind with Sula. There are several aspects which can ...show more content... Nel's childhood allowed Jude to easily marry her but in the process give her an identity. By understanding Nel's childhood compared to Sula's one can understand how easy it was for Jude to manipulate her into getting married. Her conformity to her mother's standard allows Jude to use that for his advantage. Nonetheless Jude generates an identity for Nel by viewing her like a singular person compared to a part of Sula. He is also able to make a distinction between the two by analyzing how they interact when presented with a man. This allows the reader to understand the novel as a whole because it contributes to the theme of conformity. The idea of how Sula defies society and doesn't conform to the standards set by society, the idea of marriage etc. In the other hand Nel does conform to society and especially to her mother Helen, when she decides to get married. In addition Jude's idea of taking advantage of Nel but in the process giving her an identity brings into questioning the another theme in the novel about good versus Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula Novel Study – Sula Sula by Toni Morrison highlights the themes and expectations that we have been discussing throughout the course. This story illustrates the community expectations for women. A strong basis for a thesis statement for the book Sula could be betrayal. Betrayal in the novel Sula is the central theme that changes the course of life for all characters involved. One example of betrayal happens when Sula sleeps with Nel's husband. Another basis for a thesis statement could be a mother's love. In Sula, Morrison revitalizes a theme that is explored in much of her writing : the nature and limits of a mother's love. When you consider the character of Eva, she is an example of what a mother's love is and the lengths a mother ...show more content... Sula wanted nothing to do with a husband that would betray her and cheat on her and come home and just be horribly mean to her. I think the biggest emotional obstacle Sula endured was watching her mother burn to death. Sula went through an obstacle course of emotions and relationships. Poor choices were made, which led to her ultimate demise, however, her demise was her own choice. It was pretty ironic how the dislike for Sula brought the community together. With their dislike for Sula they forgot about the problems they had with each other. The climax of the story is when Nel finally confronts Sula. Each girl carried demons, guilt, and frustration over their lives and their choices. Nel finally vents her anger and pain and asks for an explanation from Sula. Nel's " thighs were truly empty and dead too, and it was Sula who had taken the life from them" (Morrison pg. 110–111). After leaving Eva at the home, Nel is so upset that she heads to Sula's grave. She sadly thinks about how none of the townspeople mourned her death. Nel calls out for Sula and it is then she finally forgives her for cheating with Jude. She starts crying, for the first time in years. Nel finally finds peace by grieving for Sula. When reading that part I think it was then that she realized it was Sula who she was missing & not Jude. When reading the story I couldn't help but feel mixed emotions for Sula. It was a combination of sadness for all Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Theme Of Sula By Toni Morrison Nick Duque ENC 1939 Professor Potter 5 September 2017 Paper 1 In Toni Morrison's novel "Sula", identity is a theme that is made evident through the struggles and experiences of certain characters. In chapter 1919, Morrison tells the story of World War II veteran Shadrack, through an omniscient narrator point of view. In doing so, the reader is able to clearly see how Shadrack himself processes what is going on around him, and how his identity is being shaped. Morrison introduces the character as the founder of National Suicide Day, which takes place every January 3rd (Sula 7). This introduction alone demonstrates that Shadrack himself, must have been through a series of traumatic events in his life in order to establish such a dark, ...show more content... As the hospital staff tried to calm him down, he was not sure why they called him "Private", making him believe he was being called a secret and not knowing why. This indicates a certain level of memory loss or confusion, as he is unable to recall his rank as a soldier. Furthermore, Morrison goes on to explain how Shadrack is thrown back into the real world outside of the war, and how he interacts with society. He leaves the hospital, and finds himself overwhelmed with the world outside of him, and with no sense of direction. As he hit the road, he is in a weak state physically, and as he walks down the road he stumbles around drawing attention to himself from people driving by. From the outside Shadrack appeared to be drunk, however in reality, he was just struggling with himself. In the mix of the madness, Shadrack begins to cry, and Morrison describes a point of realization. Shadrack realizes that he was: "Twenty–two years old, weak, hot, frightened, not daring to acknowledge the fact that he didn't even know who or what he was..."(Sula 12). This breaking point reveals Shadrack and his loss of identity. All his experiences drove him to the point to not even remember who he was, what he fought for, or where he came from. Afterwards, he was arrested and taken to jail for "vagrancy and intoxication" (Sula 13). In his jail cell, an eager feeling of wanting to see his own face overtook him, and as he looked at his reflection in the toilet water, he could not believe Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Sula Essay In their life, at one point or another, people deny to themselves and others what they really feel and what really happened. Some people go on living their entire lives denying their true emotions. In Toni Morrison's novel Sula, characters constantly denied their feelings and their actions. Sula Peace, her best friend Nel Wright, and Nel's mother do not listen to their feelings and hide from their true emotions. Sula Peace is one of the protagonists of the novel. She is born to a very unstable family and is from that moment treated differently in "the Bottom", the black section of Medallion, Ohio. From the time that she was very young, right up until her death, Sula denied her true emotions. She refuted her need for love and did not ...show more content... Sula could not bring herself to help her mother and because of the pain she felt, she also could not help her grandmother. As Sula became older she continued to run from her emotions and from her problems. When Nel married Jude Greene in 1927, Sula ran away after the wedding. She ran for ten years because she thought that her and Nel's friendship would not say the same and that Jude would replace her in Nel's life. When Sula returned to Medallion, she came back the same person as the one who left. She was still running from her problems and her past. Sula put Eva into a nursing home because Eva brought back memories of how Sula watched her own mother die. Once again Sula ran away fro her past trying to change the future. A little after, when Nel asked Sula why Eva was put in a nursing home, Sula lied to Nel saying: "I'm scared Nellie. That's why..."(100) She once again turned her face away from her past and lied to herself and her best friend about what really happened. Sula's best friend and the other protagonist of Sula was Nel Wright. Nel was the exact opposite of Sula. Nel had a light skin color, almost like the color of sand; in contrast, Sula's skin was dark like the rich earth. Nel was the picture of innocence and purity; Sula had a birthmark in the shape of a rose over one of her eyes, giving an impression of something mysterious. Nel was a calm Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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Analysis Of Toni Morrison 's ' Sula ' Essay Opposite and Similarity Attract in Sula Most of people find themselves attracted to someone very unlike them, a phenomenon called "opposites attract". People are usually drawn to those whose personality, characteristics or habits are opposite to them because they are fascinated by the differences and are curious of exploring what they have never experienced before. Throughout history, many writers attempt to explore and investigate the cause of this absorbing human trait by analyzing their characters' psychological development in their books; so does Toni Morrison . Morrison makes further observations and reflects her ideas of the essence of opposites attract in her novel Sula, where two girls Nel and Sula who are drawn closer to each other because of their differences. The friendship between Nel and Sula becomes more complicated because of their different personalities; however, while they seem to be different and opposite in nature, they are actually more alike in many ways that consolidates their friendship. Nel and Sula seem to be different in many ways because of their opposite background; their living environments affect their growth profoundly by exercising formative influences on their characters. Nel, a girl raised by her conservative mother Helene, is a product of a strict upbringing. Helene is an orderly and proper woman who "enjoyed manipulating her daughter and husband" and "[driving] her daughter's imagination underground" (Morrison 18). Like mother like Get more content on StudyHub.Vip

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