Sula Close Anaylsis

Perception

"Don't judge a book by its cover", a clique most people have grown up hearing. Yet it is human nature to judge anything and everything that is slightly different from ourselves . A perception is not truth, it is simply how one person views the world. In Toni Morrison's novel, Sula, Morrison reveals that there is a fine line between perception and truth. The main character Sula has a birthmark over her eye that is perceived differently from different characters in the novel. Some characters see it as a rose or tadpole, marking Sula with beauty and friendship. Others see it as a sign of evil, a mark of the devil.

For Jude, Sula's birthmark reminds him of a snake. Morrison writes, "[Sula] not exactly plain, but not fine either, with a copperhead over her eye"(103). Jude perceives the birthmark to represent a snake, which in turn represents temptation. The snake has been portrayed as evil, sly, and tricky. In the story of Adam and Eve, it was a snake who tempted Eve to take the apple that got them thrown out of paradise. Throughout literature the snake has represented the darker side of human behavior and emotions. Sula caught Jude's attention, she wasn't gorgeous but there was something almost sly about her that drew him in. In the end Jude betrays Nel and sleeps with Sula. He gives into temptation, he gives into the perception of the snake.

The townspeople living in the Bottom held a much harsher judgement against Sula. They believed her birthmark represented Hannah's ashes, a mark of evil. Morrison writes, "[the birthmark] was not a stemmed rose, or a snake, it was Hannah's ashes marking her from the very beginning"(114). The people of the Bottom perceived Sula as a wild, untamed, evil being. Morrison states, "She came to their church suppers without underwear...they believed that she was laughing at their God...she would lay their husbands once and no more"(115). Based off of her actions, the way Sula carried herself with a freedom they were jealous of caused them to cast her off as an outsider. She was someone not wanted in their community, with a mark of evil above her eye.

"Yeh, so how come [Shadrack] tip his hat to Sula? How come he don't cuss at her?""Two devils."(117). The townspeople think that Sula and Shadrack are one in the same. They are considered outsiders, devils. Yet to Shadrack, Sula's birthmark is not a sign of evil or temptation but simply a sign of friendship. Shadrack recalls, "She had a tadpole over her eye (that is how he knew she was a friend-she had the mark of the fish he loved)"(156). Shadrack saw Sula in a completely different light than that of Jude or the townspeople. Sula's mark was a mark of friendship, companionship. The one accidental visit from Sula changed Shadrack's life.

Nel and Sula were best friends and nearly inseparable. Sula knew and understood Nel perhaps better then Nel did. Nel's perception of Sula was as a companion, a friend that would last forever. Which explains why Sula's birthmark takes the shape of a rose in Nel's mind. A rose is a sign of beauty and love. Morrison writes, "The birthmark over her eye was getting darker and looked more and more like a stem and rose"(74). For Nel, Sula represented passion, love, laughter and happiness. Although roses also have thorns. Sula sleeps with Nel's husband, which truly hurts Nel. She learns towards the end of the novel that it is part of Sula, part of her passion. She was to take the good with the bad, the rose with the thorns.

"How you know...about who was good. How you know it was you...I mean maybe it wasn't you. Maybe it was me"(146). When Sula becomes ill Nel goes to visit her after three years of not talking, Morrison takes perception and twists it around. Nel is perceived as the good one, Sula the wild child or evil one. But how do you know that is true. When asking what if I was the good one Sula is pushing Nel to look past the perceptions surrounding them. This causes Nel to take a look inside herself at her own judgments and perceptions. Sula looks at herself not as evil but free. Everything she does is for her own pleasure. She never loses her identity or gives into society's perception of the perfect wife. Which may mean she is the good one for never giving into something that would weaken her sense of self.

Perception is simply a judgment of ones character from past experiences. Perceptions are not always true and differ from person to person. Through Sula, Morrison shows how judging someone can be damaging not only to the other person but yourself as well.

The Yellow Wallpaper Reader Response

(This entry was posted on my first blog account, but it would not allow me to log in, I created a new account and this is a repost of the my reader response for The Yellow Wallpaper)

I have read The Yellow Wallpaper before and each time I find it more and more interesting. The first thoughts that come to mind are, this book is very creepy and hard to follow. But the more I read it, the more things I begin to notice. The Yellow Wallpaper is a good book that I think gets overlooked.

One of the first things I picked up on is the narrator is never given a name. We know a lot about her and the bool is her personal journal but she is never given a name. I think the author did this on purpose. By not giving the narrrator a name it means she could be anyone. She could be any woman anywhere in teh world, facing these same conditions. Since the author wrote this novel with a strong feminist tone teh anrrator takes on teh role of all women who are suffereing from teh unfair gender laws of that time period.

From teh beginning of the book we can see that hte narrator loves to write, on page 19 she mentions how she must write, but is told she can not for it is bad for her health. The narrator states, "John hates me to write a word"(13). Writing seems to be a form of escape, an outlet for the narrator. She says, "I did write for a while in spite of the; but it does exhaust me a good deal-habing to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition"(10). Writing allowed her to make sense, in her mind at least, of the confusing world she was livein in. JOhn did not like her writing because to him it was a threat. He has to control her, and as a woman her thoughts were not important. Writing gave the narrator a smal sense of control or power. It allowed her to express ehrself and her thoughts, which John was uncomfortable wiht.

I did not care for John throughout the novel. It seemed in teh beginning he was a loving, caring husband who only wanted the best for his wife but the more you read teh more you realize he treats her with little respect. She is like a pet or a child to him, not a wife or an equal. He is very controlling and never takes teh time to actually listen to her even when it comes to her own illness. The narrator writes, "John doesn't know how much I really suffer"(14). He calls her pet names like "little goose" or "little girl" which are very degrading and make the narrator seem childlike. The narrator also states in the beginning how John laughs at her but that is what you expect in marraige. Which doesn;t seem like an equal marriage at all. The narratoor mentions how she believes she needs social engaements and work to get better but is todl by John thats not right. Everything the narrator does ahs to be controleld by John. The narrator thinks that is why she doesnt get better.

The wallpaper brings two different themes to the book. First just by reading it, the descriptions give you a creepy feeling. The narrator offers distant detail of what the wallpaper looks like. She talks about the color and how hideous it is, how the patterjets off in to sucidal turns. Slowly she becomes obseesed wiht the paper. Trying to follow the patterns through the sharp dips and turns. Slowly she begins to see a woman take shape behind the wallpaper, and eventually becomes completely engrossed by the paper. The narrator states, "That is why I watch it always"(26). Besides just offering a creepy storyling, the wallpaper serves as sybolism for women and they way they ere treated. The woman behind the bars, wanting to get out represented the women of that time period. Men were barring them they in, they had less rights and were not treated as equals. Women were trapped, like the figures in the wallpaper. They were expected to be perfect house wifes, to cook and clean and take care of the children. They trapped in a world ruled by men.

I think The Yellow Wallpaper is seen more as a book dealing with the psychological breakdown of the narrator. Which in itself is a unique story, but I believe the book was also written to show the exteme poles between the genders. The author wrote this story to reprent a large majority of women in general. Throughout this book the male characters make all the decisions and over see everything. Slowly the narrator begins to go completely insane under the complete control of John, who doesn't ever listen to a thing she has to say. What she needed was to be treated as a human, to be able to read and write, go outside and work. Instead she was couped up and told to do nothing which drove her to insantity.

The books ending is very different. It is extremely sad to see the narrator at her worst point. Yet the ending was inevitable, we watched her break down slowly throughout the novel but it was still hard to read. I think this is a great book that has to be read more then once to get a better understanding of the text. Reading the Afterword also helped me to understand the book better.

A couple questions:

Was the house John takes the narrator to really a summer house or was it some kind of mental hospital>
Does the narrator not remember ripping off the wallpaper? She talks about how the children and made such a mess and it was really her.

Sula Extended journal

For my extend journal I chose to draw a picture incorporating what we discussed in class about Sula and Nel being one in the same. The picture is a face with one side shaded a dark brown with curly hair, the other side is a lighter brown with straight hair. The dark side of the face is representing Sula, the id, and perhaps evil. The lighter side represents Nel, the ego and good. Around the border of the paper are quotes describing the two characters. They could be the same person yet they could also be very close friends. It deals with the struggle that each person, such as Nel and Sula, face within themselves deciding to either stay true to their identity or give into society and become the person they are expected to be. Sula represents the darker side of a person's personality, she is the ultimate id. Morrison writes, "[Sula] lived out her days exporing her own thoughts and emotions...feeling no obligation to please anybody"(118). She represents the restless side in every human. Nel on the other hand, is portrayed as the "good" one. Morrison states, "Nel seemed stronger and more consistent that Sula"(53). But Nel's character is the one who loses herself and her identity in the end.

Close Analysis Journal-Green Grass, Running Water

Stereotypes

The world is filled with all types of different people and humans are far from perfect. Which leads people to judge each other, put up barriers, and develop stereotypes. Simply because we can not adjust to someone who is different from ourselves. A stereotype by definition is to categorize individuals or groups according to an oversimplified standardized image or idea. In Thomas King's novel, Green Grass, Running Water, King tackles the typical cowboy and Indian, gender, and religion stereotypes that are encountered in everyday life. Through King's novel he opens the reader's eyes to how crippling stereotypes can be.

Throughout the novel Lionel, Eli, Alberta and others try to overcome their cultural stereotypes. Growing up in America, as Native Americans, meant growing up with cowboys being the heroes and Indians being the villains. King takes the fictional character of the Lone Ranger and gives his identity to First Women. The Lone Ranger is a famous American cowboy who gallops around the West on his horse Silver, fighting off Indians and saving the day. He wears a black mask to hide his true identity. He also has an Indian sidekick, named Tonto. The Lone Ranger, along with other famous cowboys such as John Wayne, are viewed as heroes in white culture. King takes this persona of the white, male hero and reverses it to a Native American women. King writes, "[First Women] takes some black cloth...cuts some holes in that black cloth. She puts that cloth around her head. Look, look, all the rangers say... it's the Lone Ranger"(75). The live rangers see the black mask and think that First Women is the Lone Ranger and let her walk away. Instead of giving First Women the identity of the sidekick, King gave her the white male role. He reverses the the common cowboy and Indian stereotype with the character of First Women.

Furthermore King tackles the stereotype involving the genders. In society women are expected to be the romantic ones, the ones who want commitment. The female sex is more prone, or it is assumed to want to get married and have a family. Men are commonly viewed as fearing commitment. They seem to avoid settling down until later in life or not at all. Women take on the persona of being more delicate. Alberta is the complete opposite. She is a strong, independent women who fears commitment. Alberta is dating two men, neither of whom she truly loves. She wants a child but no husband. Alberta's character flips the typical gender role. She is the one who is doesn't want to settle down. Alberta is the one who doesn't want a husband. She says, "Men wanted to be married. More then sex...men wanted marriage"(46). Alberta contradicts the gender stereotype by claiming it is men who want marriage. King uses Alberta to switch the gender roles. Casting men in the commitment role, and women, or at least Alberta, as wanting her freedom.

Finally King focus on the stereotypes of religion. Christianity is the main target in the novel. Christians are know for pushing their religion on others, yet they are quick to judge other religious views. Christians seem to pass judgment on other religions as being silly or unreasonable. But King shows the flaws in Christianity and their own stories throughout the book. He takes famous bible stories such as Noah and the ark and Jesus walking on water and gives the character's a rude, arrogant tone. Noah was told by God to build an ark and take two of each animal to fill the ark. God created a flood that killed everything expect what was on the arc. To Christians Noah is a hero, a true servant of God. But in the novel Noah turns out to be a different sort of man. Noah says "Lemme see your breasts...I like women with big breasts. I hope God remembered that"(160). King is simply showing how Christian stories are not perfect as Christians like to believe. King took characters that were were revered or respected in the Christian faith and reversed them to be vulgar and insulting.

Throughout Green Grass, Running Water, King takes common stereotypes and sheds light to how unfair they can truly be. By taking an Indian women and giving her a white cowboy name, King portrays the cultural biases held against one another. Through Alberta, women become the independent sex wanting their freedom. Along with the stereotypes facing religion we are forced to take a deeper look at the stories of our faith. Forcing different religions and people to wonder do you have a right to judge. King forces his readers to think do we judge to quickly? Also what we asssume is not always correct.

GGRW Journal Three

After reading Green Grass Running Water, I was very interested in the four Indian elders and the significance of their names. I did research on who the Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Robinson Crusoe, and Ishmael were and why King picked these names for his own characters. For my research I used http://www.wikipedia.org/ and http://www.ask.com/ for information on the characters. I spent about an hour and a half gathering and organizing all the information.

The Lone Ranger was a popular Texas Ranger from the Old West. He wore a black mask to hide his identity, leaving characters to wonder "Who is that masked man?" The Lone Ranger was famous for galloping around the Old West righting injustices and being a hero. He had a Native American sidekick named Tonto.

Hawkeye was an American Pioneer, who was originally know as Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo. He was adopted by a Native American family and given the name Hawkeye. Hawkeye is said to symbolize rugged individualism and the pioneer spirit.

Robinson Crusoe was an English castaway who was shipwrecked on a remote island for twenty-eight years. During those years he read the Bible and became religious, thanking God for his fate. Crusoe discovered savages and native cannibals on the island. He became friends with a savage who he named Friday. Crusoe taught him English and converted him to Christianity.

Ishmael according to the Bible was Abraham's eldest son, who was born by Sarah's handmaiden Hagar. After Sarah gave birth to Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away, Ishmael married and had twelve sons. But in Moby Dick, Ishmael was the narrator, a sailor on the Pequod. His role was to observe the conflicts around him. Ishmael became close friends with the harpooner Queeque. Queeque is portrayed as a savage.

After researching these characters I found that each one dealt with the typical Indian stereotypes. The Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Robinson Crusoe, and Ishmael are all white males who "improved" their Indian companions. The Lone Ranger took Tonto under his wing. Robinson Crusoe taught Friday English and converted him to Christianity. Ishmael became close friends and learned to deeply care for his uncivilized friend Queeque. King took the names of these white heros and gave them to his four Indian women who were out to save the world.

Sula Reader Response

After reading Sula by Toni Morrison I felt like I was left wondering. I don't know what I was supposed to get out of this book or what the author was trying to portray. I did enjoy the vast array of characters, and it offered a view of black culture. But the book seemed to deal mainly with sex, which was different then what I was used to.

Shadrack is an interesting character who brings his own twist to the book. The way he views death or fears death is striking. Because of Shadrack's terror of unexpected death he invents National Suicide day. It took place January third, Shadrack would "[walk] through the Bottom down Carpenter's Road with a cowbell and a hangman's rope calling the people together. Telling them that this was their only chance to kill themselves or each other"(14). I found it intriguing why Shadrack had created National Suicide Day. If you devoted one day a year to death and its unexpectedness, the rest of the year you could go without fear of it. It seems to make sense, in a far out way.I think that Shadrack's character was highly misunderstood. The community viewed him as crazy and slightly scary but I think he was only trying to find his place in the world. His interaction with Sula is viewed differetly from the two parties. Sula found him to be scary, and his response of "always"(62) worried her. But Shadrack viewed her as his only vistor, a friend of some sort with the word "always" as a sort of welcome.

While reading I noticed Sula's mark above her eye is mentioned several times. The mark seems to get darker as Sula gets older. At first the birthmark looks like "a stem and rose"(74). Which is also the image on the front cover of the book. Sula's mark reminds Shadrack of a tadpole. After Sula returns home Jude calls the birthmark a rattlesnake. Finally the towns people say that Sula's birthmark was "not a stemmed rose, or a snake, it was Hannah's ashes marking her from the very beginning"(114). I was wondering what the importance of Sula's birthmark was, or if it was simply a destination of her character. Something that made Sula stand out. A mark of evil in the eyes of the community.

I found the Peace women to be strange characters. They are all very independent women, none of whom have serious relationships throughout the book. These women, Eva, Hannah, and Sula avoid commitment and float from man to man. Social expectations and morals seem to have little effect on these three women. I was shocked when Sula slept with Jude. Sula and Nel were the best of friends. They were inseparable and understood each other the way no one else did. Yet when Sula returns home she sleeps with Nel's husband. Sula didn't even see why it was a big deal. She grew up in a house where sleeping with different men was a way of life. So she did not think this was any different. I still couldn't believe she would do that, especially to her best friend.

I am confused about the part where Eva burns Plum, her own son. I know she taught he was in pain and she was worried about her baby, but why would she burn him. I am looking forward to discussing Eva more in class, there seems to be many angles to her character and I am looking forward to discussing it more.

I feel there may be more to this book then I understood. I want to explore the characters more and their actions. I am looking forward to discussing this book in class.