Book review
If you are interested in history and social matters and like the classics, I would highly recommend the following novel: Sula, written by Toni Morrison. This book depicts the trials of African Americans between 1919 and 1965, and it portrays women’s conditions in those days. In the same time, it tells the story of women’s revolt and an important part of American history. Toni Morrison is a gifted novelist who is able to write about very sensitive topics with straightforwardness and without any taboos. It sometimes leads to a very harsh vocabulary, which makes the spoken language hard to understand. For example, when she writes: “White men love you. They spend so much time worrying about your penis they forget their own. The only …show more content…
I will describe the main ones. During the story, we get acquainted with the families of Sula and Nel and their circle. Sula’s mother is Hannah Peace. She regularly takes pleasure with men but will always be respected by them, thanks to her generosity. Sula’s Grandmother, Eva Peace, is another very particular character of the book, missing a leg and with a mysterious past behind her. Many people live in this family house. There are Hannah’s siblings, the three Deweys, adopted by Eva. This woman also accommodates Tar Baby, who is white and alcoholic. Then, Nel is the daughter of Helene, whose mother was a prostitute. Last but not least, a man named Shadrack also plays an important role in the story by instituting the National Suicide Day.
The relevant themes are mainly race and gender issues in connection with history. The novel outlines the intertwinement between the latter and how it affects the actions of people and their relationship in love.
A passage struck me particularly for the way it highlights Sula’s courage while standing up to some boys. Sula and Nel are twelve years old. Nel changes her route home after school following an aggression by four young white boys. One day Sula decides they go home with the shortest way. When they meet the boys, she uses a knife to slash off the tip of her finger. Then she tells them: “If I can do that to myself, what you suppose I’ll do to you?” (Morrison
If you are interested in history and social matters and like the classics, I would highly recommend the following novel: Sula, written by Toni Morrison. This book depicts the trials of African Americans between 1919 and 1965, and it portrays women’s conditions in those days. In the same time, it tells the story of women’s revolt and an important part of American history. Toni Morrison is a gifted novelist who is able to write about very sensitive topics with straightforwardness and without any taboos. It sometimes leads to a very harsh vocabulary, which makes the spoken language hard to understand. For example, when she writes: “White men love you. They spend so much time worrying about your penis they forget their own. The only …show more content…
I will describe the main ones. During the story, we get acquainted with the families of Sula and Nel and their circle. Sula’s mother is Hannah Peace. She regularly takes pleasure with men but will always be respected by them, thanks to her generosity. Sula’s Grandmother, Eva Peace, is another very particular character of the book, missing a leg and with a mysterious past behind her. Many people live in this family house. There are Hannah’s siblings, the three Deweys, adopted by Eva. This woman also accommodates Tar Baby, who is white and alcoholic. Then, Nel is the daughter of Helene, whose mother was a prostitute. Last but not least, a man named Shadrack also plays an important role in the story by instituting the National Suicide Day.
The relevant themes are mainly race and gender issues in connection with history. The novel outlines the intertwinement between the latter and how it affects the actions of people and their relationship in love.
A passage struck me particularly for the way it highlights Sula’s courage while standing up to some boys. Sula and Nel are twelve years old. Nel changes her route home after school following an aggression by four young white boys. One day Sula decides they go home with the shortest way. When they meet the boys, she uses a knife to slash off the tip of her finger. Then she tells them: “If I can do that to myself, what you suppose I’ll do to you?” (Morrison