It gave her otherwise plain face a broken excitement and blue- blade threat like the keloid scar of the razored man who sometimes played checkers with her grandmother." (52-53)
This birthmark is a mark of evil for some critics while others associate it with Sula's sensuality. But the fact remains that such a mark combined with a disturbingly defiant behavior turned Sula into a dark figure, not worthy of reader's compassion. It is felt that this inscription suggested that there was something menacing about her as Mae G. Henderson comments: "[Sula's birthmark] is a mark of nativity -- a biological rather than cultural inscription, appropriate in this instance because it functions to mark her as a 'naturally' inferior female within the black community" (27).
Where evil is concerned, Sula shares some traits with Cain. Cain was beaten as Genesis informs and he lived with a blackened face. There is some connection between this black face of Cain and Sula's black birthmark. Similarly when near the end, Sula is questioned by her friend as to why she slept with her husband, she replies: "Being good to somebody is just like being mean to somebody. Risky. You don't get nothing for it" (144-45). This is parallel to what Cain said when questioned in similar manner: "I am not my brother's keeper." Sula is not a typical black woman by any standard. She moves out of Bottom for ten long years and comes back armed with a degree. Sula seals her fate with such actions as others views her as an outcast. She further confirms her non-conformist behavior when she refuses to settle down and raise a family. Sula is not someone Bottom can identify with as she defiantly opposes all efforts by others to contain her rather outrageous behavior. She argues with the grandmother Eva when she speaks on behalf of the community:
don't want to make somebody else. I want to make myself."
Selfish. Ain't no woman got no business floatin' around without no man."
You did."
Not by choice."
Mamma did."
Not by choice, I said. It...
Morrison most probably wants to emphasize that Sula is stronger than Nel because she is in control of her life. The end of the book presents readers with Nel's acknowledgement that she enjoyed seeing Chicken Little's death. Morrison's Sula is meant to induce a state of rebellion in readers as they are influenced in believing that it is wrong for them to act in accordance with society's laws, considering that the system
Sula It is well-known that evil people exist in the world. These sociopaths have no values. They do not care who they harm or how. Fortunately, there are few individuals like this who have no conscience. Most people are instead shades of good and bad. They are not always good, nor are they always bad. At times their behavior is exceptional; other times they may say or do something wrong toward
Whereas the pristine manicured lawns of the course might seem to be a boon for Bottom, the encroachment of white culture onto African-American culture will prove devastating. The golf course signifies white control over newly-gained black property, the imposition of white culture on that of African-American culture, and also the reclamation and reformation of land, something that African-Americans had only recently been permitted to own. While it would seem
Sula] The audience (MARKET) for Sula includes women of all ethnic/racial backgrounds, young adult classrooms discussing black history and racism, and any other individuals who are interested in the history of blacks in the 20th century. ADVERTISING COPY FOR CAMPAIGN).Sula, by Toni Morrison, provides an excellent historical vision into the life of blacks living in the community of Bottom Ohio after World War I and into the 1960s. This sometimes personally disturbing
From girlhood," Sula shows a natural gift for daring, Lorie Watkins Fulton writes in African-American Review (Fulton, 2006). Sula in fact persuades Nel to join up with her in order to confront the bullies on Carpenter's Road; and when Sula shows the guts to pull her grandma's paring knife from her pocket and slice a piece of her finger off, the boys star "open-mouthed at the wound" (Morrison 54). If I
Life: The main character of the novel, Sula, has always been in search of true love. She tried to seek compassion and love from many different sources, but every time had to face disappointment and failure. She had relationships and contacts with many people but the outcome was always unpleasant. In her childhood she came close to Nel and eventually they both became best friends. The family background of both girls
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now