Some history of Sula

This story is about African Americans during the 1920s when they were considered as poor and particularly this book focuses on the lives of African American women. The book enters the story from a guy name Shadrack making a day call the National Suicide Day. Sula is a granddaughter of Eva's and that family is not normal. Eva's family is rich eventhough they are black; however, there is a little mystery about Eva that she is missing one of her leg. Through Eva's family's lives we can see all sorts of weird relationships of people. Mother and child's relationship, friendship, and relationship between lovers, these relationship appears quite awkward to us that it is confusing if its lack of love or possession. so that it could be seen not realistic that the actions are exaggerated and overdone, but on the other hand the emotions in the book is so real that we can feel the characters. Therefore it is not completely magical, actually it is very realistic. Toni Morrison did a great job on showing the mood of depressing era to the audience. As Sula grows, as she gets involved to the society which is the "real world" the changes of her emotion leads us to realize how hard it is to live pure. Toni Morrison really dug our feelings from our bottom and put them into words. It made me want to read other writings of hers.

characters

The characters are developed with such care and brutal honesty that they seem to be plucked from real life and as the author's pen directs the actions of these characters she does not shy away from the darker truths of human nature. This unforgiving style often leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable yet emotionally connected to the towns inhabitants. Their behavior can be hard to accept, whether it be a woman killing her own drug-addict son or a child watching her mother burn to death in silent satisfaction. Nevertheless, by participating in their suffering we not only learn about the character's lives but our own lives as well and what we're all truly capable of.

Lack of Remorse

What can kill a friendship? "Sula" explores this question deeply, following the lives of two very different girls, one who is happy to remain in her home town, marry, and live happily ever; the other who prefers to wander the earth far and wide. When Sula returns to her hometown, she is welcomed openly by her old friend, who painfully realizes that the social norms that she has taken for granted for so long will not be respected by Sula, who has internalized a new, very different set of acceptable behaviors. One example of Sula not carrying about sin is when she said, "I didn't take him from you - it's not like I killed him."

Is there any sin that cannot be forgiven, as long as no "lasting" damage is done? What qualifies as "lasting" damage - is it a physical loss only? What about emotional losses, do they not count because these losses cannot be seen or touched? Certainly, emotional losses can be experienced as deeply as physical ones. "Sula" explores this bewildering idea deeply, emerging with no real answers, but with much food for thought.

Cycles

The novel is a series of cycles and follows a circular structure, opening in 1965, as whites decide they want the Bottom land for golf courses and hilltop views and the blacks who have always lived there move to the valley with its more fertile land. The cyclical nature of life is also borne out in the lives of the characters, especially that of Sula, who escapes Bottom but returns inevitably to the community of her mother and grandmother. Racial segregation, accepted as a given, underlies all facets of the novel, but Morrison focuses on character here, avoiding polemics and creating a novel which manages to be tough but often darkly humorous, emotionally sensitive but often brutal, compassionate but realistic about human nature.

Choices

For me, "Sula" is a book about choices and the problems of living with those choices. It is about loving someone who chooses a very different path in life than we do and what is needed to keep that love alive...or even if it can be kept alive. Sula and Nel are both beautiful characters and both are vibrantly alive. Both want desperately to hold onto their love for each other, but fate and circumstances make it increasingly difficult. The story of Sula's and Nel's growth from child to adult to old age is the thread that ties the other stories in this book into one seamless whole.

Although "Sula" could be seen as an allegory or metaphor for the rediscovery of the core self of black America, I feel the characters, themselves are too rich, to fully-drawn, to alive, to call this book an allegory. Perhaps on some level, it is, but Morrison is a writer of literature, not genre fiction.

All of Toni Morrison's books are masterpieces and all can be read on many levels. "Sula" is no exception. It is a difficult book but one that is both beautiful and tragic and worth every second any reader spends with it. I really can't recommend "Sula," or any other Morrison book, highly enough.

War and Sula

Sula has easily visible divisions between war and peace, good and evil. At the novel's end, for example, Nel visits "the colored part of the cemetery," which contains tombstones bearing the name/word Peace, Sula's family name. "Together they read like a chant: PEACE 1895-1921… (170-71). Morrison foregrounds a number of ideas in this passage. Peace is the absence of war and, in the context of a cemetery, the absence of life (a person is said to "be at peace" when dead). But the absence of war allows for the manifestation of positive forces of growth and life, and the PEACE on the tombstones here does not signify the end of the lives of the individuals named, but the continuing cycle of life and death, of history and spirit, connected ironically and with great complexity to peace. In addition, the passage encodes an African worldview which sees a continuum, rather than a strict boundary, between the living and the dead. Here and throughout her work, Morrison does not propose a way of dividing up the world, but envisions a complex cultural universe which always already requires dismissal of a dualistic philosophical framework.

Sula and Friendship

When it comes down to it: Sula is about friendship. This includes what makes us stronger and those things which complicate it. Having secret’s, knows, stealing your best friend's man, getting angry and losing touch – they're all in here.

Most of us have had to deal with friends hurting or disappointing us. While our problems might not have been as monumental as those between Nel and Sula, they may have seemed so at the time. Sula shows the depths of friendship and devotion that two women are capable of, and that's encouraging. It's true that they go through a lot of heartbreak, but each continues to care deeply for the other, overcoming fights and anger and feelings of betrayal.

But it also cautions us about waiting too long to deal with these issues. People move, go off to college, and get new jobs, and we could find ourselves left behind with the same unresolved feelings that Nel has at the end of the novel. Sula comments on the things we all deal with when it comes to the people in our lives; it challenges misconceptions about female friendship and makes us think twice about holding onto anger

Morrison and politics

Sula has a lot of political aspects. One of the main things I noticed was Sula’s fight for socioeconomic status. As reade’s we must accept the corruption of moral absolutes within the novel. If you want Sula to be polarized into a common binary, you are out of luck. People want to have black and white, good and evil, or even pretty and ugly—Morrison wants us to journey beyond these kind of Christianized binaries. Although we are able to see that the death of the boy affected Sula and Nel greatly, Sula seems to be the one who carries the weight of guilt her entire life. Only at the end does Nel realized that she had polarized Sula into that category once the boy had died. Nel took no responsibility for what occurred because immediately she was the good friend and Sula the bad. As the story progresses, Sula fell into this role.

Identity in Sula

With Sula, we see a woman who had to fight her entire life to get the things that she needed to survive. She eventually even became a prostitute. Sula seems to be searching for herself the entire novel. In the beginning of the book she loses her home. This can be symbolic for an identification with family or traditional values. This is very different from the concept of identity in The Color Purple, because Celie just needed people to help bring out her voice so she could stand up for herself. She had more of a psychological change. Sula has to deal with black politica, social and moral conscience. All these things play a toll on her life. Even when she tries to go back home later in the novel she ends up having relations with Nel’s husband. Nel who merely wanted that life she always dreamed of blames Sula, but at the same time I wonder why Nel’s husband was not able to resist or even to hesitate really before commited adultery.

When Sula Comes Marching Home

"Sula" means peace, but this is definitely not what she brings to "The Bottom" when she returns home. Immediately things begin to spontaneously digress. For example, upon her arrival the plague of robins invaded Medallion. This same chapter alludes to the importance of Sula's paradoxical character, "They did not believe death was accidental- life might be, but death was deliberate. The purpose of evil was to survive it and they determined to survive floods, white people, tuberculosis, famine, and ignorance" (p. 90). They wanted peace at Medallion, but it was unachievable. In the end they all die without peace. Everything they strove to survive against overpowered them, "It was Nel who finally called the hospital...So the white people took over" (p. 172).

The book ended oddly. There was no traditional closer. I cannot say I was surprised that it ended with everyone dying, but I would've at least expected a little bit more explanation to satisfy my understanding!

Identity 2

Another ideentity explored in Part I of the novel was Hannah. Hannah was considered an exotic woman who pleasured any man she could and enjoyed pleasing him. Morrison described her as inviting the men into her private, intimate relationships without entering a brothel. In other words, Hannah was a whore. But Morrision puts these in "gentler" terms. Instead of saying she was pleasing to the eyes of men she would describe her exoticly, "Hannah was carrying a coal scuttle up from the basement, she handled it in such a way that is became a gesture of love. He made no move to help her with it simply because he wanted to see how her thighs looked when she bent to put it down, knowing that she wanted him to see them too," (pg. 43). Hannah is a girl who needs the attention of man to find her own identity. African American women are percieved as exotic creatures who entice men only for intimate pleasures. Morrison's depiction of Hannah verifies this belief. In addition, as Morrison unfolds the truth behind Eva's one leg, she explains that it was a man who unraveled her identity. Men were known to determine the identiy of wome. After all, they are the superior race, right?

Search for Identity

Sula in Part I talks about identity and the importance of it. In between the story line, there are parts where the character that is being discussed is complaining or reflecting on a certain identity or lack of identity connected with him or her. For instance, after Nel's long train ride she sat looking at herself in the mirror in the home they came to stay in. As she reminisced on the terrible train ride and the segregation she experienced and the brutatility of her mother's words, she came to the conclusion that she was she and no one could tell her otherwise. Nel, after realizing her identity as her, she prayed to God to make her wonderful. In 1920 women in general had very little advantages than men had, but black women had it even worse. They did not have the opportunity to even be heard or respected. Nel wanted to defeat this, to end this common trend and become someone known. Someone that God could use, "I want... I want to be...wonderful, oh, Jesus, make me wonderful" (pg. 29)

Adult Content

After reading Sula, I have come to the conclusion that this book should not be read by young individuals. Toni Morrison used many foul words, images, and descriptions. This aided in the shocking factor of the novel. Without the use of powerful or rather strong language, Sula would have lost its impact on the reader. Furthermore, Sula discusses a lot of sexual relations with men, death of individuals, and the horridness of life. Readers should be aware that Sula is not a light reading both for content and themes. Be prepared to witness the horridness of life as it relates to the blacks in the 20th century.

Also, Toni Morrison's characterization is a tad confusing. I found myself repeatedly becoming lost because she introduced so many new characters. I wish she had embellished more on her characters and allowed the readers to form a relationship and understanding with her characters, particularly Shadrack.

Eva Peace

I was the most intrigued with Eva Peace and her character. When her husband, BoyBoy, left her I saw that she wanted him back and was excited to see him once again. Just like any woman, she was happy to have him back into her life and she did not know what to really expect. My heart went out to her when he came to her house and made her feel like a low life. The scene where she watched him laugh about her to his girlfriend tore her heart up. It was then that I believe she truly learned how to live on hatred and to have a hardened heart. Her emotions were shut down and bottled up. When she was later asked if she loved the kids or not, I believe that the pain BoyBoy brought on her is what caused her to not know how to truly express herself.

My thoughts on her burning Plum up in his bedroom showed me that she actually DID love him, but that was just her way of showing it. He came back from the war, but his demeanor and character was destroyed. I believe he was doing drugs which caused him to be completely childish and she felt like she was out of control in helping him. Any mother wants their child to not be surrounded by misery and her actions of burning him up is what justifies it all.

I found it very interesting to see that she put her leg across the railroad tracks and lost her led in order to collect money. She was a satisfied woman with a certain level of a satisfactory life. Why would she do that? I believe that even though that was a crazy thing to do, it was HER way of showing that she loves and cares for those in her house. She needed ways to help take care of everyone and did what she thought she needed to do.

Sula's Death

How in the world did Sula die? I am thinking that it is most likely from AIDS because she was sleeping around with so many men. However, it seemed as if smoke were surrounding her or that she was burning while she was dying. Did Nel set the house on fire???

Nel's Family Tree

Cecile Sabat and unnamed husband had
        - Rochelle Sabat (Creole prostitute) and unknown lover had
              - Helene [Sabat] Wright and Wiley Wright, husband, (grandnephew of Aunt Cecile Sabat) had
                  -Nel (Wright)Greene and Jude Greene, husband, had
                     -two boys and one girl (so far unnamed). 

What's in a name?

What was the reason why Morrison chose the names she did?
Was there a reason why she chose Helene and Hannah? They are similar in structure, but have stronger connotations. One requires more effort to pronounce correctly. The other is almost a mutter between the lips. 
What is the significance between "Nel" and "Sula"? What is the heritage in the names?


I will research this, but if anyone can answer, please help me out. 






-Stephanie Schroepfer

Symbolism in Sula

What does the "hand" mean for Shadrack?
Why did it look bigger?
Aren't big hands good?
Why was he so freaked out over it?
Does it come up again in the end?
What does it mean?

Denial never works in your favor..

I'm in the middle of the book, when an old Shaggy song from my childhood pops in my head! 
"Honey came in and she caught me red-handed, creeping with the girl next door. Picture this, we were both butt naked, bangin' on the bathroom floor. I had tried to keep her from what she was about to see. Why would she believe me when I told her it wasn't me?"
Toni Morrison makes no pretenses in her novel. She shows each character with their flaws. Sula is a dangerous woman. Not because she is violent, or psychotic, but because she is inclined to feed her sexual appetite no matter where it leads. Nel is volatile. "Her parents had succeeded in rubbing down to a dull glow any sparkle or splutter she had" (83). She is about to erupt at any moment. She never does what she wants to do. She only does what she is expected to do. Only with her best friend can she take leadership, be aggressive, and more fully express herself. 
Each character has MANY flaws. Morison has no shame in telling each story. She shows the flaws and the features. Each character has a story. I will elaborate in later posts. 


-StephanieSchroepfer

PTSD- Shadrack

My heart broke for Shadrack. He was only twenty-two years old and had been faced with a situation that would haunt his poor life forever. When Morrison described the horrific scene of a man in World War II getting his head blown off and still running around with brain oozing from the side of his neck, I couldn't help but think that anyone at any age would have quite the difficult time witnessing that scene. Yet, when Shadrack was in the hospital the nurses and doctors seemed annoyed with him. He had just finished fighting for their country, but because he was a black man they did not give him any time of day. They did not realize or even understand the effect war had on young men at that time. The medical professionals greatly underestimated the stress the men and women at war were under once they returned back to normalcy. I would diagnose Shadrack with PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder. When he was discharged from the hospital and returned to the Bottom, his neighbors and family should have paid more attention to him and his chartered, "National Suicide Day." Obviously, Shadrack has issues with death. His neighbors only participated in National Suicide Day in the sense that they organized their calendars around the day ensuring that nothing important or dear to their lives was scheduled on the day that Shadrack rang the cowbell announcing that death could not be a surprise on "this day." I would be foolish to expect Shadrack to have a happy life after his desperate attempt to understand why death hovers over his shoulder.

Welcome to the Bottom

The hills above Medallion was called the Bottom. The irony in the name is evident as the author discusses how the Negro people were tricked into living in the Bottom by the white men. Even though the Negro was a free man, the white man still treated him as an ignorant slave and tricked him into excepting wasted land that he promised was the thumbprint of God. That moment on marked the beginning of the painful Bottom history, "...the laughter was part of the pain," (pg 4). Recounting the history behind the Bottom helps the readers understand what type of story the reader is about to dive into. By the title, "Sula," I believed that Sula would be quickly introduced in the story and explained in detail, but that is not so. Instead, she does not appear until a quarter of the way into the book. I am still learning about her role, and who she is, but the description of the Bottom from the beginning has helped me visualize the setting, the area, and the people that inhabit the Bottom before it was going through it's urbanized changes. It's amazing that even the smallest town could house such great accounts of personal life histories. The Bottom is only the beginning. The Bottom is where we begin, it is where I begin, and I am sure it is inevitably where I will end.