Sula Analysis

Sula:
A novel by Toni Morrison

("National Suicide Day" excerpt from Toni Morrison's Sula, Read by Toni Morrison; Courtesy of Youtube.com)

 

“Sula stood in the middle of that little room and in her wonder forgot what she had come for until a sound at the door made her jump. He (Shadrack) was there in the doorway looking at her. She had not heard his coming and now he was looking at her.” This first real encounter between Sula Peace and Shadrack displays one of the more centralized relationships between men and women. In the novel Sula by Toni Morrison creatively exploits the standardized roles of gender in the early aspects of the 1900’s and examines how women slowly began to challenge these roles.

            In this story, Morrison begins by describing the women of the bottom (the colored town within the city of medallion) as being happy with being nothing more than an object of sex and family nurturer. However, at the same time she begins to develop Sula Peace. A little girl who never behaved in the manner of the traditional southern woman and did not come from a family that did. Her traits were devised through the actions of the most prominent women in her life. Her grandmother, Eva Peace, was left by her husband Boyboy to raise their children on her own and her mother who was never permanently linked to any man. Sula’s interpretation of these women being single with many male companions gave her the impression to regard men in the same manner as most did women.

Sula was a very modern and independent woman; a man could never tie her down. She challenged the role of women of the time and therefore was treated as common trash and a sign of evil within the community. Morrison takes the character of Sula and further develops her by giving her a “Who-cares” attitude, which links her personality to her name, which means, “little she bears”. By maintaining, this attitude kept her in consistent conflict with traditions.

Although the people of the bottom believed that she was marred by the devil himself to identify his seed, only Shadrack understood the marking over her eye as what it was. Morrison gives the illusion of Sula never being connected in any relationship; her birthmark really was a spiritual symbol that linked her to Shadrack, the two most misunderstood characters in the story. Upon researching the meaning of his name, the title of “oracle of the river God” connects him to Sula, the “Water creature”- tadpole (the correct interpretation of the marking above her eye). According to Babylonian myth the Oracle of the River God and the water creature were spiritual loves. Shadrack is meant to be the protector of the displaced African spirits according to his names meaning and Sula is the displaced.

Morrison develops the character of Shadrack as retaining “God-like” behaviors. Although the people of the bottom saw him as a manic, yet they feared him. Shadrack was thought to be crazy, but he behaved civil towards Sula. The interactions between these two symbolized the traditional encounters of men and women at the time; Morrison uses the two characters of the story that normally go against the traditional roles of men and women. Shadrack behaves lewdly in the company of women and Sula becomes estranged to the presence of everyone.

Sula did things that women of the bottom frowned upon. For instance, she sleeps with the husbands of the women once and then disregarded them. Morrison uses this act as a way to connect Sula to carefree Shadrack.  This action made the women feel worthless, as if there was nothing special about them because their husbands swooned over Sula, that is until rumors began to spread that she not only sleep with married black men but she also sleep with white men willingly. At the time, men saw this as rape of the black community as a whole. She left town in seek of education, which was not considered the role of a woman her role was to settle down with one man and have children and keep house.

            In the presence of anyone other the Sula, Shadrack is presented to be a man who goes against the norms of society at the time. He carries the image of being who he is; a rude carefree individual who believes the world needs his existence to balance life. The behaviors of these two character’s shows that gender-specific roles were beginning to change and Morrison continues this trend all the way through to the death of Sula and the guilt felt by Shadrack her spiritual protector. Sula never followed the norms of society; she even departed life in the same manner in which she lived it. Morrison even goes as far as allowing Sula to express her feelings towards dying after she is dead. This reinforced the thought and idea of Sula not really being human in the sense of norms, but the spiritual superior that she was the water creature. 

This novel defines life as being incomplete without conflict. Moreover, for the people of the bottom Sula and Shadrack were their conflict; they keep the lives of the people of the bottom alive. The story of Sula Peace takes an against the norm approach to gender relationships and the change of gender roles. Through, thoughtful and careful planning Toni Morrison takes a very controversial method towards presenting the transition of gender in relation to the time and setting of the story. The approach she chose is what gives this novel its merit, it makes it seem more relatable to the era being presented.

Resources

Campbell, M. (2008, August 1). Behind the name [finding name meanings]. Retrieved October 21, 2008, from http://www.behindthename.com/ 

Lewis, V. C., & Clark Atlanta University. (2008, May 11). Phylon (1960- ), Vol. 48, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1987), pp. 91-97. In African tradition in Toni Morrison's Sula [analysis]. Retrieved October 25, 2008, from Jstor database: http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/275004.pdf

Morrison, T. (1974). Sula. New York: Knopf. (Original work published 1973)

Morrison, T.  (2004). Tar Baby. New York: Knopf.  ( Original work published 1981)

 Dollar, C. M. & Reichard, G. W. (2002). American Issues: A Document Reader. New York: McGraw Hill.  Rupp, L.J. & Taylor, V.Feminism in Postwar America. P.442-443.