Toni Morrison grew up in a time period when there was heavy racism, and times men frowned upon women who took up tasks that were usually given to males. For example, The Bluest Eyes had received “depressing…commentary” (Morrison xii) because rather than looking through the depths of her message, they looked at whether or not it was “faithful to…politics” (xii) or it represented their viewpoint of the situation. Sula is a work of art that brings up a series of questions to the reader such as the importance of certain characters and their actions. For example, the question that seems to occur multiple times in different ways is how do people determine whether or not someone is good or not? Morrison's situational irony and symbolism helps the
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For example, Eva’s first impression on the reader was that she is very brave, selfless, and caring for her children since she “free[d] [Plum’s] stools” (34) and gave up “one leg” (34) of hers in order to gain income for her family since BoyBoy left her for someone else. Putting one’s finger in someone’s buttocks in order to get the feces out of someone, and cutting one’s leg off for someone else’s sake takes true devotion because the acts itself disgusts and/or scares most people; therefore, makes Eva a “good” mother based on what society thinks a woman should do for her child. However, the readers’ viewpoint of her being a caring and wonderful mother changes when she drastically decides she will kill her only son, Plum. As a result, most people would focus on the fact Eva is a horrible, evil mother because she killed Plum. For that action alone, the readers forget at the moment all the sacrifices she made in order to not only save her children’s lives, but also what she did in order to have them. Not only she had to face “five years of …disgruntled marriage” (32) with BoyBoy, but she also had to leave “her people” (33) that she grew up with in order for her husband to be in area where his boss is located. Yet, the readers forget all what she has …show more content…
The event itself was unexpected because readers today are introduced to the idea that if one’s partner cheats on them with her friend, then the girl was never a true friend for intentionally breaking the couple apart. However, the readers can infer that Sula and Nel were the closes of friends because of how “intense” (53) their relationship was and the secrets they shared. For example, Sula scared off Nel’s bullies by cutting her finger in order to intimidate them that she will not hesitate to attack the next time since she was not even scared of hurting herself which is something many humans fear. Also, the burden of carrying on the secret that Sula killed Chicken Little proves Nel’s loyalty to her because she knew her best friend would get in trouble if the government ever found out. Through all what they went through together, the readers never expected the affair to involve Sula since they knew how much she wanted to protect Nel from getting hurt which ended up being the opposite of what she did in the end. Sula was scorned by the people of Medallion for being someone who stole a husband away and disposing him after their one night stand, especially her supposedly best friend’s. However, the readers are so focused on the drama that it is often forgotten how the affair and Sula’s past with Nel did
For example, Eva’s first impression on the reader was that she is very brave, selfless, and caring for her children since she “free[d] [Plum’s] stools” (34) and gave up “one leg” (34) of hers in order to gain income for her family since BoyBoy left her for someone else. Putting one’s finger in someone’s buttocks in order to get the feces out of someone, and cutting one’s leg off for someone else’s sake takes true devotion because the acts itself disgusts and/or scares most people; therefore, makes Eva a “good” mother based on what society thinks a woman should do for her child. However, the readers’ viewpoint of her being a caring and wonderful mother changes when she drastically decides she will kill her only son, Plum. As a result, most people would focus on the fact Eva is a horrible, evil mother because she killed Plum. For that action alone, the readers forget at the moment all the sacrifices she made in order to not only save her children’s lives, but also what she did in order to have them. Not only she had to face “five years of …disgruntled marriage” (32) with BoyBoy, but she also had to leave “her people” (33) that she grew up with in order for her husband to be in area where his boss is located. Yet, the readers forget all what she has …show more content…
The event itself was unexpected because readers today are introduced to the idea that if one’s partner cheats on them with her friend, then the girl was never a true friend for intentionally breaking the couple apart. However, the readers can infer that Sula and Nel were the closes of friends because of how “intense” (53) their relationship was and the secrets they shared. For example, Sula scared off Nel’s bullies by cutting her finger in order to intimidate them that she will not hesitate to attack the next time since she was not even scared of hurting herself which is something many humans fear. Also, the burden of carrying on the secret that Sula killed Chicken Little proves Nel’s loyalty to her because she knew her best friend would get in trouble if the government ever found out. Through all what they went through together, the readers never expected the affair to involve Sula since they knew how much she wanted to protect Nel from getting hurt which ended up being the opposite of what she did in the end. Sula was scorned by the people of Medallion for being someone who stole a husband away and disposing him after their one night stand, especially her supposedly best friend’s. However, the readers are so focused on the drama that it is often forgotten how the affair and Sula’s past with Nel did