In the novel Sula, by Toni Morrison, the main character, Sula Peace, has a birthmark over her eye that each character she meets interprets differently. The way these characters see Sula’s birthmark highlights their individual relationships with her, as well as some of their own character traits. Jude Greene, the husband of Nel, who is one of Sula’s childhood friends, sees her birthmark as a copperhead snake the first time he meets Sula. Jude’s perception of Sula’s birthmark as a copperhead represents the darker side of humanity usually associated with snakes, things like temptation, evil, and sin, all stemming back to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jude eventually gives into these temptations and holds true to the fact that
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Wanting to have control over some aspect of his life is one of the main reasons Jude marries Nel, “So it was rage, rage and a determination to take on a man’s role anyhow that made him press Nel about settling down. He needed some of his appetites filled, some posture of adulthood recognized, but mostly he wanted someone to care about his hurt, to care very deeply,” (Morrison 82). Revealed in this quote, are the motives behind Jude’s marriage to Nel, his desires to be “recognized” as a man who deserves respect, and that the marriage was to fill part of his life and that it was not out of his love for Nel. Jude is also characterized as wanting someone to care about him, emphases that he wants more of a mother figure, someone to pity him and all of his hardships, rather than someone to be in a relationship with. Jude thinks that by marrying Nel he will have one aspect of his life that he can actually have control over, something dependable and predictable, quite the opposite of what Sula is. This description of Jude gives insight to his character, especially in the fact that he is marrying Nel in an attempt to assert his dominance in society and not out of love, …show more content…
When Jude arrives after a day at work, he starts complaining to Nel about how bad his day was. He expects someone to comfort him, but instead Sula says she does not understand what all the complaining is about and that it sounds like a pretty good life to her. This infuriates Jude, used to being comforted by Nel whenever he wants, just like a child. Jude responds to Sula with, “‘Say What?’ Jude’s temper flared just a bit as this friend of his wife’s, this slight woman, not exactly plain, but not fine either, with a copperhead over her eye. As far as he could tell, she looked like a woman roaming the country trying to find some man to burden down with a lot of lip and a lot of mouths” (Morrison 103). The first thing Jude notices about her is her appearance, and that she does not fit into general categories like “plain” or “fine”, that she is something different altogether. This description and the fact that Jude cannot seem to categorize Sula reveals that he has never encountered someone like her before, and that she represents something new, mysterious, and intriguing for him. Trying to categorize Sula before he even gets to know her further shows Jude’s desire for power and control, as he feels he needs to be able to label someone in order to feel more secure about himself. Because Jude sees her birthmark as a
Wanting to have control over some aspect of his life is one of the main reasons Jude marries Nel, “So it was rage, rage and a determination to take on a man’s role anyhow that made him press Nel about settling down. He needed some of his appetites filled, some posture of adulthood recognized, but mostly he wanted someone to care about his hurt, to care very deeply,” (Morrison 82). Revealed in this quote, are the motives behind Jude’s marriage to Nel, his desires to be “recognized” as a man who deserves respect, and that the marriage was to fill part of his life and that it was not out of his love for Nel. Jude is also characterized as wanting someone to care about him, emphases that he wants more of a mother figure, someone to pity him and all of his hardships, rather than someone to be in a relationship with. Jude thinks that by marrying Nel he will have one aspect of his life that he can actually have control over, something dependable and predictable, quite the opposite of what Sula is. This description of Jude gives insight to his character, especially in the fact that he is marrying Nel in an attempt to assert his dominance in society and not out of love, …show more content…
When Jude arrives after a day at work, he starts complaining to Nel about how bad his day was. He expects someone to comfort him, but instead Sula says she does not understand what all the complaining is about and that it sounds like a pretty good life to her. This infuriates Jude, used to being comforted by Nel whenever he wants, just like a child. Jude responds to Sula with, “‘Say What?’ Jude’s temper flared just a bit as this friend of his wife’s, this slight woman, not exactly plain, but not fine either, with a copperhead over her eye. As far as he could tell, she looked like a woman roaming the country trying to find some man to burden down with a lot of lip and a lot of mouths” (Morrison 103). The first thing Jude notices about her is her appearance, and that she does not fit into general categories like “plain” or “fine”, that she is something different altogether. This description and the fact that Jude cannot seem to categorize Sula reveals that he has never encountered someone like her before, and that she represents something new, mysterious, and intriguing for him. Trying to categorize Sula before he even gets to know her further shows Jude’s desire for power and control, as he feels he needs to be able to label someone in order to feel more secure about himself. Because Jude sees her birthmark as a