In her second novel, Toni Morrison explores the lives of two young coming-to-age girls, Nel and Sula, who grew up in a small community called the Bottom in Ohio. Originally authored in 1974, this book sheds knowledge on the intricacies of friendship and how its dynamics shift through growth over time (Morrison). Alienation occurs several times in the book, affecting relationships as people grow and seek their paths. This essay explores how symbols used in this book help us understand the friendship between Nel and Sula, their alienation as they grew into adults, and the shame directed at anyone whose life did not fit the societal expectations of the community.
The novel is majorly set in the Bottom, a neighborhood that came into being when a former enslaver tricked their freed slave into thinking that the land was optimal for residence and farming (Morrison, 5). The Bottom, as a symbol, represents the ever-lasting effects of discrimination and poverty as a tool of alienation, as the Bottom stands in stark contrast to the Medallion, where resources are readily available. For example, Morrison introduces Shadrack, a World War I veteran who returns home without recognition (Morrison, 12). He is alienated from the soldiers he saw die during the war and more so when he returns with nothing. His short about in the hospital ends when he wakes up and, out of fright, pushes a nurse; he is offered money and sent on his way without consideration of his mental well-being. He struggles to find his way home, seeing as he no longer has one, and when he gets overwhelmed, he is arrested and spends the night in prison before being returned to Medallion the next day. Seeing as no help will be forthcoming, he comes up with a coping mechanism that would allow him to come to terms with the suddenness and unpredictability of death since “…everyone would get it out of the way and the rest of the year would be free and safe.”(Morrison,14). He referred to his holiday as National Suicide Day and, courtesy of the alienation, went on to celebrate it alone for a couple of years as people took him for a crazy man and not troubled or pained. The same struggles of oppression and poverty forced Sula to leave the Bottom, where she went on to explore various interracial relationships (Ahmed et al., 324). Her alienation continues as she gets older as she does not conform to societal expectations such as those of having romantic relationships with men of the same race as hers, as “she slept with white women” (Morrison, 112).
Morrison proposes mending the mother-daughter relationship to guide black women to make intentional and fulfilling connections with other women (Ahmed et al., 327). Friendships in black communities during the 20th century were crucial as they needed each other since the resources were insufficient. Morrison explores female friendship in the case of Sula and Nel as it shows how female bonds evolve as life unfolds. She also challenges the set norms by exploring Sula’s betrayal when she had an affair with Nel’s husband and ultimately explores how reconciliation affects a fractured relationship (Morrison, 105). This betrayal was culminated by just who, when walking out, said to Nel, “I’ll be back for my things.” (Morrison, 106). Shame is ingrained in the community so deeply that when Nel finds her husband having an affair with her friend, she is scared of Jude,” not knowing that your fly was open.” (Morrison, 106). She uses the Deweys, a set of three boys who share a singular consciousness, as a symbol to show how friends should be interconnected (Morrison, 39). This symbol serves as a representation of the romantic concept of what a fulfilling relationship would look like.
In communities, shame is a control tool to prod people back into societal expectations. Morrison explores shame as a birthmark on Sula’s face, treated as an imperfection. Oppression stripped black people of their dignity by attacking and reducing them to the bare minimum version of themselves (Koh and Kwak,4).In shame from being left by Jude, Nel wanted to feel the pain of shame, “but it did not come.” (Morrison, 108). Sula’s birthmark foreshadows her desire to be different (Koh and Kwak,5). Her birthmark symbolizes how imperfections create an unspoken bond between women of all ages condemned for trying to be different. For example, When she later goes missing for ten years and has multiple relations with white men, her community members judge her for trying to be different. Shame as a theme in this community came from the harsh expectations the society had placed on people; Nel was ashamed because the community expected her to stay in marriage and not divorce. This system was cruel and oppressive as it did not allow Nel’s hurt feelings to be consoled. Overcoming this systemic injustice would require an individual to come to terms with their differences and how unique their characters are about others.
Conclusively, these symbols, in their interconnectedness, explore how female friendship and alienation affected the lives of black women in the 20th century. Morrison brings forth the need for unity in communities facing poverty and oppression. These issues relate to the complex facets of society that support the intimacy of female relationships, such as the wedding “and the women at Little Chicken’s funeral.” (Morrison,107). In the greater scheme, such relationships can transform a society’s dynamics as they affect’ interactions within the community. Morrison’s Sula is a guide that prescribes steps to navigate the intricacies and intimacy of female relationships and their impact on societal interactions.
Works Cited
Ahmad, Shabbir, et al. “A Study of Alienation in Toni Morrison’s Sula: Passive Patriarchy, Marriage and Female Friendship.” Research Journal of Social Sciences & Economics Review, vol. 1, no. 4, Dec. 2020, pp. 322–28, https://doi.org/10.36902/rjsser-vol1-iss4-2020(322-328). Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.
Kaiser, Camille. “‘Female Friendship in Context: A Psychoanalytic-Deconstructive Reading of Female Friendship in Toni Morrison’s Sula.’” The Cupola 2020-2021 Volume 15, Christopher Newport University, 2020, pp. 137–49, sail.cnu.edu/omeka/files/original/3fc0e70fcc6c902f163843062ae70444.pdf#page=137. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.
Koh, Taejin, and Saera Kwak. “Community and Communitarianism in Toni Morrison: Restoring the Self and Relating with the Other.” Societies, vol. 11, no. 2, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, June 2021, pp. 57–57, https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11020057. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.
Morrison, Toni. Sula. 1974. First Vintage International Edition, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007, blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/evolution/files/2020/06/Morrison-Toni-Sula.pdf. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.
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