The Role Of Racism In Toni Morrison's Sula

776 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racism in literature

From the early 1900’s racism has been a huge issue in the United States. In the novel Sula, Toni Morrison connects racism to many different factors, one being frienship. Friendship gets people through the most difficult times in someone’s life and also celebrates the good times in someone’s life. However, there are negatives along with the positives in friendship. Friendship is an essential part in the novel Sula by Toni Morrison. Sula is about two colored girls, Sula and Nel,who were really close as young children. They shared everything with one another. They went through many things together, some good and some bad. The two characters, Nel and Sula, relate to each other many times in the novel due to racism. In the novel, we see how Sula and Nel connect as children and as adults. The two individuals became friends due to racism, and they always supported one another and learned to trust one another. Sula and Nel grew up in the Bottom, which was where all the colored people lived. In the 1900’s racism was a big issue. Sula and Nel were both the only child in their
Sula slept with many different men and some of them being white men, which people in the Bottom did not like. Although people of the Bottom kept away from Sula, Nel still went to visit Sula. When Sula got sick, Nel was the only one to go see her and see if she needed any help. Since the people of the Bottom found out Sula had slept with white men, they disliked her for that. The people of the town also did not bother to come visit Sula because she slept with their enemy, who treats colored people not as humans. As it states in the novel, “The death of Sula Peace was the best news folks up in the Bottom had had since the promise of work at the tunnel....some had come just to verify she had been put away.” (151). Even when Sula died people did not come to see her, no one felt grief. Everyone was happy that Sula was dead, only Nel was the one who felt

Show More
Related

  • Comparison Of Twyla And Roberta In Recitatif By Toni Morrison

    491 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “Recitatif,” by Toni Morrison, racial divides are implemented throughout the story due to circumstance and place. The setting or other characters involved in the story or the actions they take often closely relate to how the two girls feel towards one another. Throughout their lives, Twyla and Roberta vary on whether or not they should be friends with one another due to racial divides, although it is not ever explicitly stated.

    Read More

  • Toni Morrison's Sula - Unhealthy Relationship of Sula and Nel

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    The symbiotic nature between Sula and Nel began during their adolescent years.  Sula depended upon Nel for sturdiness and comfort, while Nel preferred the unpredictable nature of her counterpart.  They used the other's lifestyle to compensate for their shortcomings by placing themselves in the other's surroundings.  When Sula visited Nel's home, "Nel, who regarded the oppressive neatness with dread, felt comfortable in it, with Sula" (Morrison 29).  In the same way, Sula found comfort within the walls of the Wright home.  They took solace in each other's presence.  Each one finds comfort i...

    Read More

  • Toni Morrison's Sula

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book Sula by Toni Morrison, Morrison’s ambiguous link between good, evil, and guilt, she is able to show that these terms are relative to each other and often occur mutually. In her comparison of good and evil, Sula states that "Being good to somebody is just like being mean to somebody. Risky. You don't get nothing for it" (145). Good and evil are being compared as if they are equal and that is how the book is structured. For instance, Eva's burning of Plum is a complex conjunction of motherly love and practicality and cannot be described as simply being a good act or a bad one. The killing of Chicken Little is a similarly ambiguous situation from which Sula and Nel's feelings are unclear. Lastly Sula, upon her death bed, questions what it means to be good and suggests that it what may be considered bad could in reality be good. Both in the syncopated style of Morrison's writing and the morally ambiguous portrayal of characters, cause the reader to question morals and think about them on a larger scale.

    Read More

  • Racial Differences In Recitatif, By Toni Morrison

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    The difference of color is seen through the eyes, but the formulation of racial judgement and discrimination is developed in the subconscious mind. Toni Morrison’s short story “Recitatif (1983)” explores the racial difference and challenges that both Twyla and Roberta experience. Morrison’s novels such as “Beloved”, “The Bluest Eye”, and her short story “Recitatif” are all centered around the issues and hardships of racism. The first time that Twyla and Roberta met Twyla makes a racial remake or stereotype about the texture and smell of Roberta’s hair. Although they both were in the orphanage because of similar situations, Twyla instantly finds a racial difference. The racial differences between Twyla and Roberta affects their friendship, personal views of each other, and relationship with their husbands.

    Read More

  • Toni Morrison's Sula - The Fire Within Sula

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sula by Toni Morrison is a compelling novel about a unique, self-confident woman.  As in many other books, each secondary character in the story serves as a vehicle to explain the main character.  Hannah, Sula's mother, is dominated by the element of air; she is free spirited, frivolous and child-like.  On the other hand, the element of fire is prevalent in Sula, who is impulsive, hot-tempered and passionate.  Despite the differences between the two, Hannah's lifestyle intrigues and influences her daughter.  The effect Hannah has on Sula is reflected in many of her daughter's perspectives and actions.  As a result of the ubiquitous presence of fire within her, in contrast to her mother's blithe spirit, Sula carries all of Hannah's immorality and actions to a more extreme level.  Both women have promiscuous tendencies, do not have close friendships with women, and become easily irritated by Eva.  The difference is that Sula's fiery character leads her to act more cruelly than her mother.

    Read More

  • Mother-Daughter Relationships In Toni Morrison's Sula And Nel Wright

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    The lack of support and affection protagonists, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, causes them to construct their lives on their own without a motherly figure. Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, displays the development of Sula and Nel through childhood into adulthood. Before Sula and Nel enter the story, Morrison describes the history of the Peace and Wright family. The Peace family live abnormally to their town of Medallion, Ohio. Whereas the Wrights have a conventional life style, living up to society’s expectations.The importance of a healthy mother-daughter relationship is shown through the interactions of Eva and Hannah Peace, Hannah and Sula, and between Helene Wright and Nel. When Sula and Nel become friends they realize the improper parenting they

    Read More

  • Close Reading of the Two Holes Passage of Toni Morrison's Sula

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    Toni Morrison’s novel Sula is rich with paradox and contradiction from the name of a community on top of a hill called "Bottom" to a family full of discord named "Peace." There are no clear distinctions in the novel, and this is most apparent in the meaning of the relationship between the two main characters, Sula and Nel. Although they are characterized differently, they also have many similarities. Literary critics have interpreted the girls in several different ways: as lesbians (Smith 8), as the two halves of a single person (Coleman 145), and as representations of the dichotomy between good and evil (Bergenholtz 4 of 9). The ambiguity of these two characters allows for infinite speculation, but regardless of how the reader interprets the relationship their bond is undeniable. The most striking example of their connection occurs right before the accidental death of Chicken Little. In the passage preceding his death, Nel and Sula conduct an almost ceremonial commitment to one another that is sealed permanently when "the water darkened and closed quickly over the place where Chicken Little sank" (Morrison 61):

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Recitatif Toni Morrison

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...al stereotypes to allow the readers to make their own assumptions based on their personal thoughts and beliefs. Many of the stereotypes that Morrison chose to use portray more of a socioeconomic class and not discriminating by race. As the setting or environment changed, it will be seen as a symbol of transformation of both Roberta and Twyla friendship. Each circumstance that they went through was distinctive. It tested the strength of their relationship with one another and exemplified their struggles they were facing in society. They had to adjust their beliefs to match the changing phases in the United States as many blacks and whites today still face problems in society about racial stereotypes and segregation. Toni Morrison portrayed racial identity not by black and white, but as irrelevant to relationships but rather by means of distinguishing between people.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Motherhood In Sula

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the negative experiences that she has had with motherhood, Sula does not want to become a mother. She sees Hannah’s sadness and frustration with Eva and recognizes her poor relationship with Hannah and does not want to repeat it. Sula’s insufficient relationship with her mother is exposed when Sula watched her mother burn and die. Sula does not attempt to help her mother, she only stands silently and watches her mother die. Eva notices this but, “remained convinced that Sula had watched Hannah burn not because she was paralyzed, but because she was interested” (78). This shows her lack of care for motherhood. She does not have kids and dies without having any. But during her life, she ends up in a similar situation as her mother She focuses only on men and people begin to hate her for this. She begins to take friends’ and neighbors’ husbands the same way Hannah did. Sula even turned on her only friend, Nel, and took her husband too. She is the reason that Nel’s husband left her. Sula adopted the same principles as her mother, and Hannah was shaped by Eva.

    Read More

  • Relationship Between Nel And Sula in Toni Morrison's Sula

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    The relationship between Nel and Sula begins during their adolescent years. Though they are complete opposites, they seem to work well with each other, depending on one another for comfort and support. The two spend almost all of their time together, learning from one another and growing as a result. They take solace in the presence of one another, finding comfort in what the other finds bothersome and using the lifestyle of the one another to compensate for their shortcomings. When Sula first visits Nel's home, "Nel, who regarded the oppressive neatness of her home with dread, felt comf...

    Read More

  • Community and Survival in Sula

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sula by Toni Morrison is a very complex novel with many underlying themes. Some of the themes that exist are good and evil, friendship and love, survival and community, and death. In Marie Nigro's article, "In Search of Self: Frustration and Denial in Toni Morrison's Sula" Nigro deals with the themes of survival and community. According to Nigro, "Sula celebrates many lives: It is the story of the friendship of two African-American women; it is the story of growing up black and female; but most of all, it is the story of a community" (1). Sula contains so many important themes that it is hard to say which one is the most important. I agree with Marie Nigro when she says that Sula is a story about community. I believe that community and how the community of Bottom survives is an important theme of the story. But I do not believe that it is a central theme of the story. When I think back on the novel Sula in twenty years, I will remember the relationship and friendship between Nel and Sula. I will not remember the dynamics of the community.

    Read More

  • The Significance Of Friendship In Sulla And Nel's Friendship

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    They began to lose touch with each other. Nel got married and Sula left because she claimed there was nothing left for her in the Bottom, since Nel is a devoted mother and wife. Sula felt as if Nel was putting her on the sidetrack instead of the main road, which hurt her a little. According to society every woman’s main desire should be toward creating life and building a family. This is a true statement in many cases; however, when it comes to Sula it is far from it. Nel is the definition of the ideal woman while Sula is not. Sula doesn’t desire to have children or get married, her main concern is her and Nel’s friendship. When Sula loses her relationship with Nel because Nel builds a symbiotic relationship with someone else Sula is now willing to leave and find a new life somewhere else. Ten years later she returns to the Bottom because she didn’t find what she was looking for. Sula comes back a little upset to find out that her best friend is just as boring as all the other women in town. She is now doing the same exact thing as everyone, she “had given herself over to them” (Morrison, 118). Nel’s promise she made when she was child was broken the day she married Jude Green. She promised that she was going to become herself. He is the exact same as Wiley Wright, Nel’s father, both of them are more concerned with economic success rather than family

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Good Vs. Evil In Toni Morrison's Sula

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, the theme of the story is good versus evil. It’s embodied into the story in various forms to question what defines right and wrong. Good versus evil is presented in forms that are understood on the surface and beneath the surface which gives it multiple meanings. The relationship between Sula and Nel is the main expression of this theme, however, there are also many other contributors such as color schemes, gender and race differences, and life and death. This theme sheds light on the significance and interpretation of issues of everyday reality which includes controversies related to identity struggles, super natural forces, the impact and relevance of upbringing on development, family structure, and racism. Morrison demonstrates the importance of good versus evil with her writing in the way that she overlaps them and interprets them as products of one another. The friendship of Sula and Nel creates a presence of good and evil within their relationship to each other and their community.

    Read More

  • Racism and Sexism in Toni Morrison's Sula

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racism and sexism are both themes that are developed throughout the novel Sula, by Toni Morrison. The book is based around the black community of "The Bottom," which itself was established on a racist act. Later the characters in this town become racist as well. This internalized racism that develops may well be a survival tactic developed by the people over years, which still exists even at the end of the novel. The two main characters of this novel are Nel Wright and Sula Peace. They are both female characters and are often disadvantaged due to their gender. Nel and Sula are depicted as complete opposites that come together to almost complete one another through their once balanced friendship. Nel is shown to be a good character because she plays a socially acceptable role as a woman, submissive wife and mother, while Sula conforms to no social stereotypes and lets almost nothing hold her back, thus she is viewed as evil by the people in her community. Both women are judged by how well they fit into the preconceived social conventions and stereotypes that exist in "the Bottom."

    Read More

  • Writing Techniques in Sula by Toni Morrison

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many aspects of story that come together to create a complete narrative. A lot of the tools used by writers are intentional and serve the purpose of driving home certain aspects of the story or creating and engaging, and entertaining narrative. Toni Morrison—the author of Sula—is no different. Morrison employs many writing techniques and tools in her narrative Sula. It is important for the reader to be aware of and understand some of these narrative tools that the author uses because it allows the reader to gain a better understanding and appreciation for the narrative. In Sula a few narrative techniques that allow for the argument of women experiences to shine through are the use of a third person narrator, and gaps; throughout the story these tools allow the reader to become interested in and focus in on women experiences.

    Read More

More about The Role Of Racism In Toni Morrison's Sula

Open Document