Sula Individualism

Although located on the highest hill in the city of Medallion, Ohio, one neighborhood is nicknamed the Bottom. This is because the Bottom is more a people than a place. As an African American community in the early 1900’s, the residents are at the bottom of a social hierarchy meant to predetermine their worth in the world. They are subject to discrimination from white Valley community outside and oppressive social expectations inside. Through her novel Sula, Toni Morrison explores the intertwined lives of residents like Shadrack and Sula to bring to light a fresh perspective on what it means to be an individual in the face of societal pressure.
To understand the value of having an identity is to feel its absence when it is gone. The absence …show more content…
As the Bottom undergoes construction, the memories of “the feet in the long tan shoes” and “the man breathing music in and out of his harmonica” are demolished along with the buildings (Morrison 1). Through vibrant imagery Morrison highlights the people who are gone and the community that has fallen apart. Therefore, there is no community without the people to give it value. Unfortunately, the investors intend to improve the area by replacing the Bottom with a golf course. Contrasting the commercialism of the investors to the individualism of the Bottomites demonstrates the subjective nature of good and bad. To lose the history and soul of the Bottom is hardly depicted as the improvement the investors desire. Even though the Bottom has its issues, their struggle creates a realistic representation of humanity. To an outsider looking in, the Bottom seems full of laughter and music but little does the outsider know “laughter [is] part of the pain” (Morrison 4). Morrison does not gloss over the struggle of the Bottomites but rather weaves it into their day-to-day lives thus creating human characters who are fun-loving but hard-working. Overall, the intimate look into the charming neighborhood built from almost nothing is a reminder of where the residents come from, representing the …show more content…
To be independent is to sacrifice the acceptance of their community because the values of the era support the traditional domestic sphere for women. The stark contrast between Helene Wright and her mother, Rochelle, reveal the problem with overvaluing societal reputation. On the way to her grandmother’s wake, Helene attempts to charm the hateful conductor with a “foolish smile” despite his overt racism (Morrison 22). Her submissive and shallow behavior causes her to lose the respect of her daughter Nel and the passengers around her. In contrast, in the home of the late grandmother, Rochelle flies into the room wearing a “canary-yellow dress” and a “halo-like” hairdo, confidently and unapologetically inappropriate for a place of mourning (Morrison 25-26). As a prostitute, Rochelle is alienated by society as a person who lacks morals. The mother-daughter relationship is nonexistent as the two women are extreme opposites. Rather than prioritize family and understanding, Helene must always be “Wright,” blinding her judgment of her mother’s complexity. In “Mothering Violence” Amanda Putnam interprets that the differences in characterization “indicates [Helene’s] willingness to sacrifice strong qualities of creativity or intelligence for meek obedience” (Putnam). In Helene’s eyes her mother is merely a prostitute, but through the grand imagery of her presence the reader can gather Rochelle is a colorful