The definition of loyalty is devotion and faithfulness to a cause, country, group, person, or people. Loyalty can be seen between friends, between a mom and child, between the same race, between two women, between a husband and wife, and countless other types of relationships. However, the listed relationships all occur in the novel Sula. Sula is written by Toni Morrison, a black feminist, who makes it a point to discuss various relationships that have loyalty or suffer from the lack of it. There are numerous themes throughout Sula but one theme does not make the cut.
Good versus evil, death, friendship, racism, sex, identity, and sexuality are the common themes critics correlate with Sula. Loyalty, and the lack of it, is a crucial theme throughout …show more content…
Some readers may think she takes her devotion to an extreme level, but she is trying to do what she thinks is best for her children. Several scholars weigh in on the relationship between Eva and Hannah. Amanda Putnam mentions in her article, “Mothering Violence: Ferocious Female Resistance In Toni Morrison 's The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, And A Mercy,” that Hannah never felt loved by her mother, Eva, and Eva admitted to not loving her like Hannah wanted to be loved. Putnam goes on to explain because of the Eva’s verbal violence, Hannah experienced emotional trauma which then led to Hannah emotionally abusing her own daughter, Sula, by never showing love toward her either (33-34). I do agree with what Putnam is voicing about emotional abuse between mother and daughter, but she fails to recognize that Eva did love her daughter but in an unorthodox …show more content…
Sula threw away her friendship by sleeping with her best friend’s husband. She thought it was okay because it was not personal and they used to share everything when they were younger, including boys. Jude threw away his marriage with Nel because Sula happened to be more interesting than his wife. Both characters show a lack of loyalty in their relationships which tells readers they do not value relationship or consider them significant. Readers blame Sula for the affair and judge her character, yet they let Jude off the hook. Both characters suffered and lost something due to their lack of devotion to their relationships. Loyalty is a crucial factor in a relationship, yet the theme has yet to be related to this
Good versus evil, death, friendship, racism, sex, identity, and sexuality are the common themes critics correlate with Sula. Loyalty, and the lack of it, is a crucial theme throughout …show more content…
Some readers may think she takes her devotion to an extreme level, but she is trying to do what she thinks is best for her children. Several scholars weigh in on the relationship between Eva and Hannah. Amanda Putnam mentions in her article, “Mothering Violence: Ferocious Female Resistance In Toni Morrison 's The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, And A Mercy,” that Hannah never felt loved by her mother, Eva, and Eva admitted to not loving her like Hannah wanted to be loved. Putnam goes on to explain because of the Eva’s verbal violence, Hannah experienced emotional trauma which then led to Hannah emotionally abusing her own daughter, Sula, by never showing love toward her either (33-34). I do agree with what Putnam is voicing about emotional abuse between mother and daughter, but she fails to recognize that Eva did love her daughter but in an unorthodox …show more content…
Sula threw away her friendship by sleeping with her best friend’s husband. She thought it was okay because it was not personal and they used to share everything when they were younger, including boys. Jude threw away his marriage with Nel because Sula happened to be more interesting than his wife. Both characters show a lack of loyalty in their relationships which tells readers they do not value relationship or consider them significant. Readers blame Sula for the affair and judge her character, yet they let Jude off the hook. Both characters suffered and lost something due to their lack of devotion to their relationships. Loyalty is a crucial factor in a relationship, yet the theme has yet to be related to this