LITERATURE ANALYSIS #4

Sula by Toni Morrison

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

Exposition: At the very beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to the setting of the story. The author explains The Bottom as a neighborhood in the hills of Ohio where black people live after an ex-slave was tricked into thinking that it was good land. The author also introduces a poor, mentally damaged resident of The Bottom named Shadrack who created National Suicide Day within the community.

Rising Action: At this point in the novel we meet Nel and Sula and learn about their contrasting lives. Nel is from a stricter, upstanding family whereas Sula lives with her mother and grandmother and her mother is known for being promiscuous. The two girls become friends despite their different backgrounds. They spend a lot of time together but begin to grow apart especially after Sula’s mother, Hannah, dies.

Climax: Nel and Sula go their separate ways as they grow into adults. Nel gets married and lives a traditional life in The Bottom. Sula moves and disappears for 10 years having different affairs and what not. Sula comes back and has an affair with Nel’s husband, Jude. This ends their friendship.

Falling Action/Resolution: Sula dies a few years later and the two reach some sort of a reconciliation. One day, Nel visits Eva (Sula’s grandmother) in a nursing home. They talk about the death of a little boy that had drowned because of Nel and Sula when they were young girls. Eva tells Nel that she has unfairly judged Sula all of these years and Nel feels remorse. She goes to Sula’s grave and cries.

The author’s purpose was to show that issues in life are not clear. In reality, things are messy and complicated and there is no right or wrong answer most of the time. The complicated issues and trials that the characters face in this novel show that.

2.   Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

A major theme in Sula is friendship and human relationships. The novel traces the relationship between Sula and Nel and the events that occur throughout the novel define their friendship. Friendship is complicated and difficult, as is life. It also shows how keeping an adult friendship is much harder and more complicated than keeping the friendship as a child.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

The tone of the novel is wise. The narrator tells the story in a way really analyzes the characters and their actions. "I done everything I could to make him leave me an go on and live and be a man but he wouldn't and I had to keep him out so I just thought of a way he could die like a man not all scrunched up inside my womb, but like a man." (page 48). The author writes about the characters in a way that shows how they realize their life mistakes. “The children needed her; she needed money, and needed to get on with her life. But the demands of feeding her children were so acute she had to postpone her anger for two years until she had both the time and the energy for it.”  (page 31). The author uses a wise tone to show how the Medallion community reacts to situations. “But they let it run its course, fulfill itself, and invented ways either to alter it, to annihilate it or to prevent its happening again. So also were they with people.” (pages 89/90).

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

Irony: The story takes place in an area called The Bottom but The Bottom is really located atop the hills. Even when the African American community thought they were getting good land when establishing this community they were still being unfairly oppressed by the white citizens. “A good white farmer promised freedom and a piece of bottom land to his slave if he would perform some very difficult chores. When the slave completed the work, he asked the farmer to keep his end of the bargain. Freedom was easy - the farmer had no objection to that. But he didn’t want to give up any land. So he told the slave that he was very sorry that he had to give him valley land.” Page 5

Symbolism: In the novel, birds symbolize flight. They are often associated with Sula and Sula flew from Medallion once she got the chance and lived a very free lifestyle. “Accompanied by a plague of robins, Sula came back to Medallion. The little yam-breasted shuddering birds were everywhere,” Page 89

Third Person Omniscient Point of View: This point of view allows the readers to understand all of the characters objectively. “She thought also of returning to some of her people in Virginia, but to come home dragging three young ones would have to be a step one rung before death for Eva.” Page 33

Epigraph: The epigraph printed before the beginning of the novel is related to mothers and daughters and the novel traces a couple mother-daughter relationships so the epigraph serves as an introduction to a theme. "Nobody knew my rose of the world but me. . . . I had too much glory. They don't want glory like that in nobody's heart." Page: before part one

Bildungsroman: The novel traces Nel as she grows and learns. The events that happen throughout the novel shape her into the person she ultimately becomes. “It was a fine cry - loud and long - but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow.” Page 174. Eventually, Nel is able to find sorrow at the end of her journey.

Contrast: There is major contrast between Nel and Sula. Nel is strict and almost rigid whereas Sula is free spirited and wild. This contrast brings them together and forms their friendship and the basis of the novel. “They relaxed slowly until during the walk back home their fingers were laced in as gentle a clasp as that of any two young girlfriends trotting up the road on a summer day wondering what happened to the butterflies in winter.” Page 66.

Tragedy: Tragedy is a big tone setting in this novel. When Hannah, Sula’s mother, dies in the fire it changes the story and Sula’s outlook on life. “She lay there on the wooden sidewalk planks, twitching lightly among the smashed tomatoes, her face a mask of agony so intense that for years the people who gathered ‘round would shake their heads at the recollection of it.” Page 76

Colloquialism: The unique that they story is written is in the way that the characters speak. It sets the tone, place, and time period and allows the reader to get to know the characters more. “We don’t ‘low no mistakes on this train. Now git your butt on in there.” Page 21

Flashbacks: There are quite a few characters in the novel and flashbacks allow the reader to keep the characters straight and learn more about their pasts. “Just to keep his little heart beating and his little old lungs cleared…” page 71

Epiphany: Nel’s epiphany towards the end of the novel is important because it is the defining moment of her transformation and it ties all of the events from the story together. “All that time, all that time, I thought I was missing Jude.” And the loss pressed down on her chest and came into her throat.” Page 174

CHARACTERIZATION

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

An example of direct characterization is found on page 18. “Helene Wright was an impressive woman, at least in Medallion she was. Heavy hair in a bun, dark eyes arched in a perpetual query about other people’s manners.” This is a clear, introductory description of Nel’s mother. Another example is on page 42. Her flirting was sweet, low and guileless. Without ever a pat of the hair, a rush to change clothes or a quick application of paint, with no gesture whatsoever, she rippled with sex.” An example of indirect characterization is on page 144.  "I was good to you, Sula, why don't that matter?" Nel says this to Sula and you can tell that Sula is hurt and felt entitled to more respect. Another example of indirect characterization is on page 55. “When Mrs. Wright reminded Nel to pull her nose, she would do it enthusiastically but without the least hope in the world.” The reader can infer from this that Nel’s mother was very occupied with social conventions and how other people viewed her and her family. The author uses both approaches so that the reader can form their own opinions about the characters but still be somewhat guided. I feel like I have a good understanding of each character because of this. I get a straight description but also information and actions that allow me to make my own inferences about the characters.

2.  Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?

The diction actually does not change when the author focuses on character. She uses the same colloquial speech throughout the novel. The same goes for syntax. The consistency establishes the setting and is evident throughout all parts of the novel.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.

The protagonist, who in my opinion is Nel , is a very dynamic character. She goes from very much following social conventions to broadening her mind and having compassion and understanding for others. She is able to get away from her mother’s influence and after years finally live her own life. She learns to forgive and understand. Nel is also a round character. Events that happen throughout the novel change her. Her friendship with Sula changes her and Sula’s death ultimately changes her and her outlook on life.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
I did feel like I knew Sula personally after I read the novel. “When she had come back ho

me, social conversation was impossible for her because she could not lie” (page 131) I was able to relate to Sula. She does things that she knows are wrong but she accepts the lifestyle. After awhile, normal conversations become difficult for her because the lies become too much and people don’t like to hear the truth. The author illustrated that point well and since it was relatable I felt more connected.