Essays on Sula

The Price of Friendship: Sex and Dependence in Toni Morrison’s Sula In the dedication of Sula, Toni Morrison writes: “It is sheer good fortune to miss somebody long before they leave you.” This statement resonates throughout the landscape of the novel, as Morrison utilizes two black female protagonists, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, to effeminately focalize the paradox inherent in missing somebody before they are gone. Although female characterization is typical in Morrison’s writing, Sula achieves a particular embodiment of…

Introduction Life in the Bottom in the 1920s was not the most conducive to the self-sufficiency of women. Most women around the world at this time were obedient to the stereotypical gender roles. Women were meant to stay silent and aid in the needs of the men in their lives. However, this was not always the case. At this time, some women decided to fight for their own independence which can definitely be seen in Toni Morrison's Sula. This essay…

The Gray Ball In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, the character Nel discovers her husband Jude having an adulterous affair with her closest friend, Sula. After Nel sees Jude and Sula, her husband leaves her and she leaves her friend. After the betrayal of Jude and Sula, Nel begins to see a “quiet, gray, dirty...ball of muddy string” (109) that hovered over her until it “broke and scattered” (174) at the end of the novel. This gray ball symbolizes Nel’s self…

Introduction Toni Morrison's second novel, Sula (1973), is set in a tense climate of racial segregation and complex community relationships from the years 1919 to 1965, and explores conformity of the individual and how it can differ depending on gender in particular, especially when Sula Peace, a woman who acts the near opposite of her peers, states how "[she] knows what every colored woman in this country is doing (p.143)". The Glass Menagerie (1944), Tennessee Williams's memory play set in…

Introduction Toni Morrison writes the book Sula with the intention of questioning the idea of good versus bad. The novel talks about good vs bad and compares them between two main characters. The author uses the characters Sula and Nel; their values and qualities to prove her point. The actions taken by these characters gives examples of good vs bad. Sula and Nel In this novel there are many characters; few characters are portrayed as good and few portrayed as…

Community in the World of Sula The novel Sula by Toni Morrison centers its focus on the community of Medallion, Ohio. Within this town located in the hills is a less wealthy and typically black population, this area is referred to as “The Bottom”. Even within The Bottom there is scrutiny and separation between groups of people due to lifestyle choices. With the strife involved between the townspeople it is clear to see that while there is the larger community…

Birthmark as a symbol of identity: The dialectic of individuality & community in Toni Morrison’s Sula Toni Morrison’s fiction occupies a very important role in Afro-American literary canon. Like many other Afro-American writers, her novels also depict the themes of identity, racism, freedom, slavery, gender bias etc . . . Writers follow different strategies to highlight their themes in their works. The art of using various techniques in the fiction makes a writer popular and attract the attention of many…

Introduction Welcome to the captivating world of Toni Morrison's literary masterpiece, "Sula." This novel, written by the renowned author Toni Morrison, stands as a testament to her narrative prowess and her ability to delve deep into the human experience. In this literary analysis, we embark on a journey into the heart of "Sula," unraveling its intricate themes, characters, and the profound impact it has had on the landscape of American literature. Toni Morrison, a Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist,…

Toni Morrison’s Sula is a complex book with many layers and addresses many issues in its few pages about the place called The Bottom. Toni Morrison uses the duality of Sula and Nel to critique how society determines people’s nature ultimately criticizing the human tendency to conclude nature-based merely on social reputation. Nel and Sula's duality throughout the book highlights their social perception to criticize how humans judge people’s nature. The perception of Sula in the book due to the…

Toni Morrison’s Sula uses the evolving duality of men and women to comment on the unjust gender roles that define men and women when a woman doesn’t uphold societies’ expectations of what is feminine there are consequences. In the book, there are many instances where women and men do stereotypical things like how they love, talk and act. These gender roles are set in stone from when they were born. It is also important to note that when a man…

In Morrison’s novel Sula, she tells the fragmented story of two black women, Sula and Nel, starting with their childhood in 1919, and ending fifteen years after the death of Sula in 1965, sporadically visiting other years in between. The two girls come from very different backgrounds, Sula’s house is full of disorder with “dirty dishes left for hours at a time in the sink” (29, Morrison), while in Nel’s house there is an “oppressive neatness” (29). Despite their differences…

In the novel Sula by Toni Morrison, she chooses to set the story in a predominantly black small town called Medallion where she writes about the story of two friends named Nel and Sula, from their youth through their adulthood. The book addresses issues of family, murder, betrayal, and racism. But in this paper, I will be addressing the issues placed in this novel surrounding the betrayal of a friend, a father, family and a mother towards its child through…

What is the significance or what does the action of Sula going back into a fetal position and sucking on her thumb symbolize? “She might draw her legs up to her chest, close her eyes, put her thumb in her mouth” (Morrison 149). By reading this, you can understand that Sula has gone into a fetal position, which people would see as when a person would clench up and pull legs towards chest and hug themselves. Most people would see…

Toni Morrison, author of Sula is an American novelist, essayist, and editor that writes books that unravel bigger issues. During this book, she shows the betrayal between families and friends. Toni Morrison’s novel Sula uses the developing duality of sex and death to demonstrate that in patriarchal societies women find it hard to come together and will easily betray each other. First, it is important to understand the different paths women took to fight for their own rights. In society,…

Characters that influence or contributed to the good and the bad interactions in the book was Eva, who killed her son plum by burning him up in a fire, leaving her kids, and being unable to save her daughter, Hannah from a fire. Also, another important character in the book is Sula, who is the daughter of Hannah and the granddaughter of Eva. Sula contributing to the death of Chicken Little, watching her mom die, sleeping with people’s husband and…

However, it was not supported in the first half of the twentieth century at all. In Toni Morrison’s, Sula, she tells the life story and experiences of Sula Peace, and uses her character to describe how individualism and community work together. Sula perfectly fits into the character of a free-spirited woman who doesn’t at all care about what people think of her, which is why she is shunned by her community of The Bottom, in Ohio. Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula,…

Toni Morrison novel, Sula, has been hailed by several critics as a remarkable expression of the feminist ideology. To accurately understand this novel, it is necessary to focus on symbols used throughout. While many of the symbols used throughout, whether flowers, fire, water or the mysterious repeating of the number "4", Life and culture in the "Bottom". Sula is set in the Bottom, and most of the story takes place in the first half of the twentieth century. The Bottom…

This paper will demonstrate the ways in which the theme of War and Peace is used by the author within the text, especially in the context of characterization. In Toni Morrison’s Sula, the theme of war and peace is prevalent from the off. Not only is this theme demonstrated within the era, but also within the portrayal of its characters. The main protagonists of the work, Sula and Nell, demonstrate both moments of war and peace throughout their lives and…

Sisterhood holds a profound significance in the lives of black women, transcending the transient nature of friendships. In Toni Morrison's novel, "Sula," the characters Sula and Nel embody a sisterhood that goes beyond mere camaraderie. Their connection, rooted in shared experiences and mutual support, becomes a testament to the enduring power of sisterhood. The Genesis of Sisterhood Sula and Nel's sisterhood begins in childhood, an intense and sudden friendship that sets the stage for a lifelong bond. Morrison aptly captures…

Miley Cyrus has always been an important figure to me and to my identity. I begun my teenage years watching Hannah Montana every night before going to bed, listening to her songs as both, Miley and Hannah and I even used to learn the lyrics to every song that eventually helped me a lot to improve my english speaking skills. I also had Hannah Montana room appliances, posters and even my bedding was from the famous show. As I see…