Dear Students,
I hope you are enjoying Sula so far. Your blog post is due at 10 p.m. by Sunday evening. I sincerely apologize but I don't have the guiding questions at home with me. If you are responding to a guiding question, please write it at the beginning of your post so that others can see it as well.
Thanks and happy reading and writing!
Ms. Delman
Guiding Question #4:
ReplyDeleteDeath and adulthood are often linked. Growing up puts one closer to death and also means the death of childhood and innocence. The child must die in order for the adult to emerge and mature, so in that sense, death is a good, or at least necessary, thing. In Sula, Morrison uses the death of Chicken Little to show Nel and Sula's journeys into adulthood. There are many signs that the girls are growing up, their maturing bodies, the attention they now get from men, and how they are able to defend themselves against the Irish boys. All of this culminates in Sula killing Chicken, a boy younger than them, and then the two of them having to deal with the aftermath of his death. Chicken's death was accidental, but Nel and Sula do not confess what they did. They make their own decision what to do, which is what an adult would do. Although Nel feels guilty, Sula does not, and they are both able to keep their role in Chicken's death a secret.
I forgot to hit the reply button so my reply is somewhere down there. sorry
DeleteI totally agree with your idea that Death and Adulthood are linked. I also think that Sula not feeling bad about her action begins to show her evil that is mentioned in question #3. And with this presence of death the girls can no longer be they same children they were. Now seeing how sudden death is, the girls can no longer believe they are different in the case that they could pass away just as quickly and unknowingly as Chicken did.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete2. Examine the deficiencies of two male characters that suggest contrasting strengths in female characters.
ReplyDeleteThere are many men that contradict the view of men being more traditional. BoyBoy, for example, is abusive, an alcoholic, and unfaithful. This gives more meaning to Eva’s character since she was able to put up with his behavior for five years before he decided to leave her with three children. Yet, despite having no money and food, Eva was able to keep caring for her children using any means necessary without becoming a nuisance to others. This strengthens Eva’s character since she was able to care for not only herself, but also three children which suggests that women are stronger than men because it is implied that they aren’t that reliant on men to survive. BoyBoy’s characterization serves to emphasize Eva’s stronger points such that she is mentally stronger, caring, and resilient. Another male character that strengthens the female characters is Tar Baby. He is not very outspoken, which contrasts with the Peace women as they are rather outgoing and have eventful lives. Tar Baby on the other hand, just drinks himself to sleep quietly in the corner and does not attract attention to himself. In addition, Tar Baby just wanted a place where he could die and not be completely forgotten. Thus, the female characters seem to be stronger as characters because when compared to Tar Baby, they are not as unhappy or pusillanimous – lacking in determination.
I agree to your analysis. So far it seems the presence of distasteful men ,such as BoyBoy, is essentially used to highlight the positive Characteristics of women in this book. On top of this the presence of small/ sickly boys, such as Plum, give the women in this book a caregiver aspect thus empowering them once more.
DeleteYou know what? Before reading your post, I didn't pay much detail to the idea that BoyBoy and Tar Baby are two prime examples that contradict the strengths of female characters, but now, after taking everything in, I agree with most of your proposal; BoyBoy illuminates Eva's will, strength, and reason to fight and live, especially since ". . . it was hating him that kept her alive and happy" (Morrison 37). Hmm, can you direct me to the pages where I can find the second part of your argument? And why do you think Morrison does this (showing female strength at the expense of males)?
DeleteI definitely agree with your observations. Toni Morrison undoubtedly strips power away from BoyBoy and Tar Baby. This consequently gave power to a woman counterpart. It is shown here that the men are weak and give in easily while in the other hand, the women had shown more resilience and were in turn given more power. I believe that Toni Morrison celebrates women in this section of reading to emphasize their ability to not only endure, but to return even stronger than the last.
DeleteThis is basically what i talked about in my response. But your comparison of Eva to both characters really brings out just how strong she is. I basically agree to everything you said and especially the fact that women don't need to be dependent on men to survive which seems to be a relevant case when the women are compared to any of the men within the story.
DeleteI agree ^^. But I think that this just goes to show that it's not just Eva who can gather strength throughout motherhood, but all mothers as well. Helene being another example.
DeleteThe fact that Chicken Little's death also caused the death of Nel and Sula's childhood and innocence make both of their characters even more open to the different changes that they could be discovering about themselves. Adding on to the idea that death is connected to their adulthood, it is safe to say that at this point in their lives, Nel and Sula are starting to see a change that for both characters isn't good. Nel feels calm but also guilty about Chicken's death, and Sula felt shocked but not guilty about it. The way they feel now can be a foreshadowing of what they will feel about other people's deaths. Chicken Little's death can be a turning point for both Nel and Sula's change in themselves.
ReplyDeleteREPLY TO LEAH'S RESPONSE
DeleteGuiding Question #4: Morrison portrays death as an event that purifies, renews, and brings freedom to the deceased and/ or their family and friends.Consider how this notion of death subverts more traditional depictions and why Morrison uses this strategy.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this "renewing" is in the murder of Plum by his mother Eva. This action is due to his addiction to drugs and how Eva cannot see him like that and believes that killing him will put him out of his pain experienced in WWI. The idea Morrison proposes here is that Love isn't always the kind of beautiful thing we often see, it can have darker results but those can stem from loving intentions. In Eva's case, she ultimately commits murder due to her love for her child and her not wanting to seem him continue with his addiction. Morrison also shows how love can consume someone. Again in Eva's case, she feels as if it were her duty to put Plum out of his misery and that he was incapable of dealing with it himself. Eva ultimately decides that Plum's only way out of addiction is through death, which Eva deemed herself the one to carry it out.
While love often drives people to do the unexpected, wouldn't the first approach to his addiction be to try and fix it, rather than deem him unable to be changed? I feel that if Eva at least attempted to correct her son's habits, then she would have been able to have some impact on his actions, though not fully rehabilitate.
DeleteWas Eva truly justified in her action? Was this act more selfish than selfless? Her actions were ,I think, out of line for anyone. No matter how much you love someone, no matter how much it "consumes" you there is no way that mirder is acceptable
DeleteGuiding Question #1: NAMES—(1921-1922)
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of 1919, we immediately encounter a supporting character: the deranged war veteran, Shadrack. He exposes the horrors and effects of war but, more importantly, upon his return to Medallion—as a result of what can be best described as post-traumatic stress disorder—causes restlessness in the Bottom and instills a holiday, National Suicide Day. This, although not entirely accurate, alludes to a biblical figure discussed in class: Shadrach, one of the devout Jews (the other two being Meshach and Abednego) who undoubtedly refused to praise a Babylonian idol. He too caused uneasiness in his city and instilled a belief that He is the one true God. These reasons aside—and the obvious fact that their names are variants of the other—it is important to note that, in each respective story, both figures do not parallel the behaviors and “normalcy”/beliefs of their neighbors, and established something that was originally thought inane but later accepted; they are related. Thus, it is reasonable to assert that maybe, in future chapters, the biblical tale and connection will be further elaborated on in “Sula” and enhance one of its important themes, whatever that may be.
Eva Peace is another name that alludes to a different biblical figure, Eve. Both names mean “Life, living, lively.” However, both are arguably and ironically anything but: Eve falling for the serpent’s deception practically brought evil and sin and death unto the world, and Eva took Plum’s life away by burning him. However, the latter did so because he was mentally unstable as a result of war—similar to Shadrack—and became a living corpse, an image Eva did not want him to embrace. Both women are mothers of troublesome children, and arguably influenced them and their descendants to “commit sin.” For example, Eve releasing sin is one reason why Cain murdered Abel, and Hannah constantly lusts and seeks the company of men.
Now, let’s talk about “Peace”—another paradox, another form of irony. Despite it being Sula’s family name, the protagonist and her brethren have anything but: BoyBoy’s existence plagues Eva while she must live with the notion that she had to burn Plum as a result of his instability, and Hannah is the target of gossip in the Bottom. However, Morrison doesn’t go into depth regarding their feelings about these topics, and it is as though they aren’t that big an issue. Sula, however, is clearly distressed, especially with the Chicken Little (another name connected to a tale we discussed in class) incident; she indirectly caused his drowning and, as a result, is insanely saddened and filled with guilt. Possibly, disorder and conflict is all that Sula will bring—which would connect to her “evil nature”—while peace is something she will try to achieve—her quest, if you will.
-Christine Abella.
Guiding Question #4
ReplyDeleteIt is no secret that Death is a common occurrence in Sula. The first occurrence is one with Shadrack and the idea of National Suicide Day. The existence of National Suicide Day itself is a sign that Death is a common occurrence.The most recent occurrence of Death is that of Chicken Little in 1923. He dies while playing with Sula losing his grip and falling into a river. After the death of Chicken Little it is stated that the life and death of a black child is almost like nothing. The main part of Chicken Little’s death is how he died. He dies, as previously stated, by falling into a river. Typically ,in literature, a river represents life and vitality. The fact that he falls in a river is symbolically making his death a positive occurrence. This is because the authorities previously said the life/ death of a black child does not matter. The fact Chicken Little falls into a river makes his death more valuable than his life, because he no longer has to live a “matter-less” life in turn giving his death a positive meaning. This is a similar symbol to National Suicide Day gives. National Suicide Day is so one would no longer have to worry about death in their lives, but in contrast, Chicken Little’s death is death so one he does not have to worry about life.
I don't agree that the existence of National Suicide Day is a sign that death is a common occurrence, since I believe it was created by Shadrach to commemorate deaths and let people choose when they want to die rather than wait for death to come to them. I like how you connected the river to vitality and making death appear more positive.
DeleteGuiding Question #2
ReplyDeleteIn Sula, Morrison adds in male characters who are not as strong as they are stereo typically labeled, especially when compared to the women within the novel. BoyBoy, Eva's husband, would be considered as a not so strong character. He only did "whatever he could that he like" and he never wanted to deal with conflicts, unlike Eva who deals with conflicts everyday and at least tries to find a solution to them, making Eva more powerful than BoyBoy when an opposition occurs (Morrison 32). After BoyBoy left Eva and his three children, Eva proved her strength by rekindling her family's lives together again and completing everything she could for her children to stay alive and healthy. This shows that when things didn't go the way BoyBoy wanted, he abandoned his own family so that he could do what he wanted to do, while Eva showed her fortitude by dedicating her life to her family. Another example of an deficiency in a male character is with the youngest child of Eva, Plum. Once Plum returned to Medallion after war, he was greatly affected by the warfare and slowly deteriorates. He starts to lose himself due to drugs which displays his weakness, while his mother has to stay strong and do what she thinks is the right thing to do. Therefore, Morrison uses these characters to strategically take away the power that men are thought of to be in possession of.
I agree with and appreciate your point of view. To build off the idea of Plum, I believe that Morrison wrote for Eva to kill him to even further instill the idea that women are the main characters in this story, but also to emphasize that the use of women is not just to shed them in a good light, but also a controversial one. I think that what she did to him was criminal and unforgivable, but Morrison uses a woman character to make it divisive, because she is also a mother character, and that makes it questionable as to whether she did it for Plum's own good.
DeleteI also agree with your response and used the two same male characters to explain their deficiencies. With Eva story of why boy boy I agree that she has evolved into a different person and has grown stronger.As for plum, I also think it is important to question if Eva's actions were reasonable in the way that it could havebenefited plum himself or Eva.
DeleteQuestion 4: Death as a common motif
ReplyDeleteDuring WWI Plum is sent of to fight and de turns a damaged man plagued with demons of war he turns to heroine to make his life livable. He soon devolps an addiction that impacts him and his family. Soon Eva realizes this and makes and interesting choice. Her choice is to kill him in an act of both selflessness and selfishness. While entering his room in guise of songwriting him she covers him in karosene before lighting him on fire and letting him die. It was he love that made her kill him, to relieve him of his suffering and addiction. Was it right? Even though she is "saving" him is it really her choice to make such a big decision? The motif of death in this novel is common with characters dying all over. Is it renwal or is it awful? The author seems to think of death as an act of renewal and purification. So perhaps she was truly justified in her actions with those ideal in mind. The was death is treated in this novel is almost casual in mention. The way it is shown is not very common in most stories and provides a fresh contrast.
I really like how you talk about forcing someone to make the decision of killing you. I feel like death is more of a decision that can both take place by choice or by incident. Death can be like something that can be sometimes controlled and sometimes not.
DeleteQuestion #1: What is the significance of names and naming in the novel?
ReplyDeleteIn Sula, names are incredibly important in characterizing the characters and mirroring their personalities in one form or another. For example, Sula has the last name Peace, which is quite ironic considering that she brings anything but peace to the people around her. Another example of this would be Nel's last name: "Wright." Wright is incredibly close to "right," and if you observe Nel's actions throughout the novel, she always seems to do what's right, and what's expected of her. Morrison most likely uses these naming conventions in order to add more depth to the story, and to allow readers to subconsciously apply subjective personalities to the characters based on their names, which in turn adds more realism and engagement in the novel. I personally think that it is an incredibly useful tool and I believe that Morrison utilizes it incredibly well and efficiently with the naming conventions used throughout the novel.
I also agree and never actually produced an interpretation such as this. Furthermore, I would also add "Plum" more formally known as Ralph; and Chicken Little to Morrison's list of efficiently named conventions as well. My reasons being "Plum" according to many dictionaries, is defined as a well achieved goal; which in Ralph's case is WWI. Although because Morrison's intentions are to celebrate women and strip men of their traditional power; Eva must act on what men lack as she performs the necessity of ending Ralph's suffering through death. In terms of Chicken Little, it seems to be more obvious throughout his name and fate, as the correlation can be made that the actual character Chicken Little is an introvert who because of his passing personality leads him to a deceptive fate.
Deletei completely agree and i especially liked how you referred to Nel's last name being similar to "right". I would have never thought of that, i simply thought of Wright as another common last name. Rereading a few scenes in the book, i now understand her character a little better knowing this, for example, with her trying to obtain a "perfect nose."
Delete2. Although Sula contains several male characters, the book is, in many ways, a novel that celebrates women. Sula looms so large in the reader's mind because Morrison strips away the power of traditionally given to men. Examine the deficiencies of two male characters that suggest contrasting strengths in female characters.
ReplyDeleteBoyboy and Helene’s character differ in their responsibility to their family and ability to stay faithful to their marriage. Boyboy was “preoccupied with other women and not home much” (35) during his marriage with Eva, while Helene “cooked a smoked ham, left a note for her lake-bound husband, in case he docked early” (23). Boyboy’s indifference to Eva and his children highlights Helene’s care for her husband. Unsatisfied with his marriage, Boyboy leaves after five years, while Helene’s marriage is still ongoing after nine. This shows Helene’s strong loyalty and love to her husband, who finds a stronger bond to her family with the birth of Nell. This also emphasizes Boyboy’s lack of family-orientation since he seeks his happiness in other women instead of his own family.
The Deweys’ and Nel contrast because of the way they define themselves. The Deweys’ are three boys that were brought in by Eva into her home and were named Dewey. These three boys accepted their identity and acted as “Dewey”, a single identity, when they are three separate individuals. They molded themselves to become the one person created to Miss Eva’s taste, gradually making them indistinguishable from the other. Nel accepts herself as she is, rather than the Nel her mother wants to be. Nel doesn’t mold herself to someone else’s expectations like the Deweys’ do.
I totally agree! The way the male characters act in comparison to the actions of the females is a way that Morrison uses to show that men aren't always as strong or as powerful as they should be. The example of the Deweys for instance, showed that they built their character on what Eva thought about them and not by what they thought of themselves, ultimately making them very similar to one another. Nel on the other hand, didn't believe that her mother could create her character and she wanted to have her own unique identity that she created, not by anybody or any of their opinions. Therefore, Nel had a stronger mentality than the Deweys had on who she wanted to be, she didn't want to be anybody but herself, while the Deweys just accepted that the way that Eva thought about them was who they should become.
Delete4. Death is a dominant motif in Sula. Consider how this notion of death subverts more traditional depictions and why Morrison uses this strategy.
ReplyDeleteIn the society that we live in, death is often a gloomy or regretful thing to occur, and when someone dies, the people who loved that person typically become unhappy. However, Morrison depicts death in a contrasting way, using it to describe the people who are alive and witnessing that death rather than making the scene depressing. When Helene’s mother dies, Helene is not morose. She seems to be a bit ashamed to admit that the dead woman lying in front of her even was her mother, and her daughter Nel reacts to the tone in a confused fashion, simply saying, “But she looks so young.” (Morrison 25). Because of their reactions to this event, death can be classified as slightly uncomfortable, if noticeable at all. This same emotion was shown during Suicide Day, when this day is used as a landmark to remember when things occurred, such as, “ ‘How long was you in labour?’ And the friend answered, ‘ ‘Bout three days. The pains started on Suicide Day and kept up till the following Sunday.’ “ (Morrison 15), rather than a dark holiday with gloomy meaning to it. The concept of death is portrayed as a normal, yet slightly dreary topic that people acknowledge but don’t really give too much attention too.
I agree on your statement of the tone during death scenes being slightly "awkward". While it was shown in the dialogue during the death of Helene's mother, I noticed that this awkward tone was shown in Eva's actions during Plum's death. Whilst reading this part, her actions made me think of the emotions and tones set during the other death scenes. Although she was known for saving Plum's life, she was the one who ultimately ended it.
DeleteGuiding Question #4: Morrison portrays death as an event that purifies, renews, and brings freedom to the deceased and/ or their family and friends.Consider how this notion of death subverts more traditional depictions and why Morrison uses this strategy.
ReplyDeleteSuffering as a World War I veteran, Plum turns to heroin. Plum shortly becomes addicted to the drug affecting both him and his family. Realizing the harm done to the family, Eva decides to kill Plum. One night, Eva helps put Plum to sleep and afterwards drenches him in kerosene. Eva then lights Plum on fire and lets him die. Although it was a tough decision, Eva wanted to do what was best for the family and also end Plum's suffering. Plum's death brings an action of "renewal" to their family. While love and care for one's family is normally shown as a good thing, Morrison depicts this love and care with a dark side but similar intentions.
I agree, I think this is sort of like a similar yet extreme case of "tough love" for ones family.
DeleteI agree with your opinion on Plum's death, Eva just wanted what she believes was best for him. Although this act of not having his consent of dying is selfish on Eva's part, it's not like Eva wanted to murder her son with evil intentions. All in all I agree!
DeleteResponse to Guiding Question 2:
ReplyDeleteSo far in the novel Sula, two male characters that have a weak portrayal are Plum and BoyBoy. Not only do both names convey a childish tone but their mentalities give them a pitiful outlook, such as BoyBoy. He leaves Helene with their children, after giving her a cruel marriage but later on she becomes a stronger and successful woman and this allows herself to hate BoyBoy even more. After this transformation, Eva learns from this and only flirts with other men. Plum was born with a deficiency of an impacted bowel and later his life he becomes addicted to drugs after experiencing trauma in WWI. Because of this his life looks grim and his mother Eva sets him to flames. Although Plum's death signified a tragic loss, Eva displays her deepest love and sympathy towards him and chooses to kill him herself rather than let him succumb to addictions and his experiences in war.
I agree, for many male characters, Morrison, makes them to be very weak or just with ugly personalities. Even in Nel's life, the white conductor is a blatant racist and Helene's husband is barely around. While the females are strong, resilent, but with their own faults, especially regarding sexuality and the way they perceive promiscuous women (thank you patriarchal society). I find it really odd that Morrison does not consider herself a feminist. She believes that men and women should coexist equally. But nonetheless, I love how she describes men and women and differentiates them based off of their experiences and personalities.
DeleteQUESTION #2
ReplyDeleteBoyBoy's character is nothing like his name. He in a maturity sense is like a boy but he's also an abusive unfaithful alcoholic and those characteristics bring out and add more meaning to Eva's character. Eva's ability to take care of not just herself but her children as well shows her true strength and ability to care for those who are close to her. Being able to deal with an abusive alcoholic for five years is no easy task. Then theres tar baby who's similar to BoyBoy in the fact he likes to drink. Unlike BoyBoy tar baby keeps to himself almost wishing the world would pass by him and nobody would notice. When comparing the women in Sula, specifically Eva, to the men like Tar baby and BoyBoy, Eva is significantly stronger. She's strong enough to take care of three children and herself while dealing with an alcoholic and abusive man. And when compared directly to tar baby she's happier and she's able to get back up and deal with the negative instead of sitting and drinking in a dark corner.
Good point, Tarbaby is an interesting character who I look forward to seeing in the future and hopefully won't be randomly killed off for some deeper meaning.
DeleteQ #4
ReplyDeleteBla bla bla death is bad and everybody hates it. Not strictly true but fo a majority of western civilization this statement is accurate and since we are looking at this from a relatively western standpoint it suits the average reader very nicely. Morrison attempts to play on the notion and introduce death as an end, a natural end, but an end nonetheless. It isn't bad, it isn't good, but sometimes it is necessary. Plum returns from the war, but he is so internally destroyed that it is as if he should have died in battle. This is Morrison's attempt to show the destruction of war and its effect on people as I'm sure a good chunk of this book is about. Plum's mother, Eva, decides that she is the only one who realizes this and in her infinite wisdom burns her son alive. Morrison describes this scene as something deep and noteworthy but it's about the author's opinion on war and how she manipulated Plum's own mother to kill him just to make a point. It's blown out of proportion on purpose because it's so obvious that that's the point she's trying make. And it's done very well, very inspiring, if my son ever comes back from a war alive I might kill him in his sleep too just to pay homage to that wonderful scene. There is another death, the death of Chicken Little. Who died in the name of fun because of Sula's ignorance. This death is not as heavy handed in my opinion and actually requires some interpretation. His name for one, is an indicator of his role, the innocent baby. Sula is portrayed earlier as tough and inquisitive, but Chicken is a completely submissive and gullible individual who displays the idea that innocence does not last in a world such as Medallion. Death is being used as a tool by Morrison to show the reader exactly what kind of world her characters are in and exactly what NOT to do in life. It seems a bit heavy handed, sudden as it is. Perhaps Morrison didn't feel like developing those characters much more than she had, or thought that once they'd lived out their purpose that there was no use keeping them around. That they were simply made to be a point in main idea. And that might be true, it's not a bad thing, but I believe death in this book only represents what Morrison wants to show the reader and that the deaths themselves have no actual meaning.
QUESTION 4:
ReplyDeleteIn Morrison's "Sula", death plays a large role but of little impact to the novel. It has been an occurrence almost too frequent for comfort which is why it is one of the reasons it is dealt with lightly in Morrison's perspective. Another factor of this inverted notion of death is because of the time period. For instance, when the body of Chicken Little was discovered, the white sheriff contemplated on why the body of a young African American was even picked up in the first place emphasizing how of less value an African Americans dead body was than one of a white's. Morrison uses this connection of social value as a way to show how common death occurred in the African community at the time and how it was dealt with. Morrison also believes that death is something that one should feel optimistic towards about seeing as it is a purification of one's life. This is shown when Eva kills her son as a way to end his suffering and his addiction to heroin. Another is Chicken Little's death where Sula and Nel describe his "bubbly laughter" (Morrison 61) as he was drowning as if his crossing over was something he enjoyed. Death has always been a loss in some factor, In this case, death was taken lightly because of how frequent it was in the community and Morrison's belief of how it was a purification into a new life.
-Kunsang Sharzur
I think that I disagree that death was taken lightly in this book. Yes, there are two deaths, but they both reveal something about the themes of the book. Chicken's death in particular was impactful to the novel, because it signified the end of childhood. But I completely agree that the reactions of the white people to the death of an African American boy were very important and not something to be looked over. Their actions were horrific and unjustifiable. Morrison's point was very clear that the treatment of blacks at that time was awful.
DeleteGuiding Question #5: Sexuality
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between mother and daughter in regards to sexuality is evident between Eva and Hannah in a sense that it can be inherited but can manifest in different ways. For Eva, similar to biblical character Eve, she is almost a man's equal and companion. They see her as a worthy foe. Although she never pursues a sexual relationship with the men, much like Eve and Adam did, there is still a sense of love and care between Eva and her partners. Hannah saw this type of relationship growing up and with the behavior regarding sexuality she saw among her peers, came to the conclusion that sex is nothing really to be scared about. At times it is casual and almost natural to her, other times she can be very particular about it in where she wants it to be done. The need for male attention is passed down from Eva because she constantly made no effort to hide her numerous partners from her daughter. Hannah sees men and wants to be around them, almost to complete them. Her sexuality regards helping men feel like a whole. She's just a tool for them, and she's okay with that. However, she wants to keep it a secret from others because at the same time, she hates whores. So she tries her hardest to hide this from her daughter, Sula
Question #2: Contrast between male and female characters.
ReplyDeleteThroughout history, men are stereotypically known as the strong and powerful people, and that children and women are obliged to be obedient to the men. However, Morrison puts women in a much more strengthening role by pinpointing the mens' weaknesses and expanding upon them, as well as doing the same with women but describing their resilience instead. Men like the veteran Shadrack as well as Eva's husband BoyBoy are prime examples of the weaknesses Morrison wishes to convey. Shadrack is a veteran driven to insanity from his war experiences. Although his misfortune is understandable, he then resorts to practically drinking himself to death, rather than attempting to deal with his mental issues head on. BoyBoy on the other hand, is essentially an adulterer and has chosen to neglect his wife and children when they were part of his responsibility to begin with. Choosing to ignore one's own responsibilities is a sure sign of weakness. The women however, such as Helene and Eva, are both hard working mothers who are left with the sole responsibility of raising a family after their husbands are gone. They must take care of their children, houses, work for a living, as well as provide for themselves. Faced with all of these challenges, it is remarkable that the women do not falter and always stick to their duty, rather than resorting to the temporary relief of such things as alcohol after a stressful situation (to put it mildly). The women have resilience and also live for their children and what they see best in life, whereas the men are portrayed as weak and often give in to many "sinful" actions. And this is often the reality.
2. Morrison's celebration of women
ReplyDeleteIn Sula, a common feeling sensed by the reader is the resilience women have when facing adversity at the hands of men. Helene Wright and Eva Peace both are married to men that are not around much, for work or for other reasons. Peace is even abused by her husband frequently. Instead of focusing their stories around the men who hurt them, Morrison takes a different approach-- telling their lives to share the impact they have in their respective neighborhoods. For example, Helene "established the practice of seasoned altar flowers", among other things, and all in all, fell asleep "thinking that she had indeed come far enough away from the Sundown House" (Morrison 18). Eva too, tried her best to strive despite having her husband leave her and ended up being known for being a prominent owner of a house that is rentable to the public. By focusing on accomplishments that the women achieve, instead of the negativity that only shapes them, Morrison is enabling the empowerment of women readers by celebrating women.
q4-death
ReplyDeleteIn Sula, Morrison uses the deaths of Plum and Chicken to express that death isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, after Plum fought in WWI, he suffered the effects of it and also got addicted to heroine. Because of this his mother Eva decided to burn him in his room to relieve him of his suffering. Another example of this is when Sula unintentionally drowns Chicken. Even though Chicken was a good boy and died, he doesn’t have to face the racism in his world, like when the sailor said that blacks are “fit for nothing but substitutes for mules”. Not only that, this death taught Sula and Nel about making choices, because Sula made the choice to go to Shadrack to see if he saw what happened. Also, at Chicken’s funeral Sula and Nel decided to keep what happened a secret. In both of these situations, they remember something where Eva remembers Plum’s childhood and the two girls remember how fun Chicken was. What Morrison is trying to say here is not to forget death but to remember the lost one, and to learn from their loss.
Guiding question #1
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Sula, names play a significant role in characterization and personalities. In the instance of Hannah, her name contains several meanings, one of them being grace. After her breakup with her husband, Hannah is characterized as loving, passionate, friendly, and very eager for love. The name of hannah is usually characterized by a girl with class, poise, and elegance, several traits that Eva's daughter contains.
Another name that stood out in the book was Eva. Being similarly named to the biblical reference "Eve," Eva has been around an atmosphere of burden, hate, and sorrow. As we know, Eve in the biblical reference fell to the serpent and eventually brought sin and death to the world. In Sula's case, Eva perhaps fell to Plum, who was slowly decaying to health problems. Inevitably, Eva brought death into her world by killing her love Plum and faking it.
Edit: by faking it, Eva also brought sin into her world.
Delete