After finishing the book, I was able to reflect on it and find a few different themes and even sub themes. There was obviously a theme of death throughout the book and even ended with the main character, Sula dying. I think this has a meaning that's deeper than surface level. I think it says a lot about the lives they led and the struggles they all faced. Moreso, there are subthemes such as a connectedness. The book opens with Shadrack then we don't see him again until the last chapter which brings the story full cirlce. On that topic, my first passage I've chosen is the last line of the book which reads, "It was a fine cry--loud and long--but it had not bottom and it had not top just circles and circles of sorrow." (174) The quote, circles and circles, I feel is very symbolic of the book. Each person in this town had such a strong impact on each other and what one did affected the others dramatically. It reminds me of a pond when something small is dropped in and the ripples span out from the center, each getting bigger and each being created by the previous one. Even with characters that came across to us as being independent were strongle affected by those around them.
Secondly, I've also chosen the passage from page 131. I'm not going to type it because it's a half of a page long. It's the scene where Sula is looking the the mirror, tracing lines on her face. She puts a ribbon in her hair which is out of Sula's character. This scene shows a moment of weakness from a woman that has previously shown to be shamless and disreguarding of other's judgements and thoughts. She shows a very vulerable, soft side of herself and I, as a reader, felt like I was seeing something I wasn't supposed to. It's a moment, that I feel like, she is almost realizing that she may not be the person she WANTS to be or has put her self up to be in the preceeding time. We have seen her softer side before like when she over hears her mom saying that she loves Sula but doesn't like her, but not like this. What upsets me the most is that it wasn't family or friends that makes her reach this moment of weakness and complete honesty but a man. I think that says something and opens up discussion on women's issues.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sula #2
The first passage from Sula that I would like to comment on is: "Here she is in the midst of it, hating it, scared of it, and again she thought of Sula as though they are still friends and talked things over. That was too much. To lose Jude and not have Sula to talk to about it because it was Sula that he had left her for. My reaction is that I feel that Nel is hurt and the only friend that she could count on in times of need caused her pain. When Nel gave the thought of going to her ex-friend to be consoled she had forgot that it was this friend that caused it. This relates to the other passages in this book because it shows the girls true relationship. That even though they grew apart for awhile Sula was the first person that Nel needed for comfort. Some themes are about the women in Sula's life and the way they were with men, and the fact that Sula grew to be just like her mother who she despised.
The second passage that I had a strong reaction to was: "Although you could never tell. She wondered for an instant what Nellie wanted; why she had come. Did she want to gloat? Make up?" My reaction to this is that Sula is acting very ungrateful because Nel is being a good person to come help even though Sula had betrayed her. I am surprised that Nel would actually started talking to her again, but I feel that this is significant for toward the rest of the book. This relates to other passages because again it shows the true nature of their bond. Nel had become like all those other women and shut Sula out but when Sula needed help Nel came to her rescue. Thats how their relationship is to me throughout the whole book.
The second passage that I had a strong reaction to was: "Although you could never tell. She wondered for an instant what Nellie wanted; why she had come. Did she want to gloat? Make up?" My reaction to this is that Sula is acting very ungrateful because Nel is being a good person to come help even though Sula had betrayed her. I am surprised that Nel would actually started talking to her again, but I feel that this is significant for toward the rest of the book. This relates to other passages because again it shows the true nature of their bond. Nel had become like all those other women and shut Sula out but when Sula needed help Nel came to her rescue. Thats how their relationship is to me throughout the whole book.
Roses to rattlesnakes
"And the other one, the one with the scary black thing over her eye, laughing softly and egging their mother on.... this slight woman, not exactly plain, but not fine either, with a copperhead over her eye.... that her wide smile took some of the sting from that rattlesnake over her eye."
Earlier in the story, Sula's birthmark was referred to as a budding rose or a rose and stem, all suitable analogies in view of her age and physical growth. As a young girl, she was like a blossoming flower, which adheres to the common stereotype likening women to flowers; however, it should be noted that she was likened to a rose with its stem that bore thorns. It could be thought that whatever viciousness that was within Sula to give her thorns as a child flourished wholly once she left since the mark is scary and serpentine upon her return to Medallion. As the imagery changed, I noted the shift and my apathy toward Sula's character changed to fearful apprehension. She was no longer a child victim of the oddities around her, but a woman instigating unrest. With the rose above her eye, she is mere witness to her mother's death. With a snake, a scary black thing, above her eye, she is the render of kin, destroying Nel's marriage and unconsciously prompting Jude to abandon his children. The birthmark is definitely a symbol of Sula's identity. In fact, it is one of the first things mentioned about her in the book and one is given the sense of its impending darkness. If only I had recognized that as a foreshadowing of her character, I would have anticipated her wicked ways.
"Of the few who were not afraid to witness the burial of a witch and who had gone to the cemetery, some had come just to verify her being put away but stayed to sing "Shall We Gather at the River" for politeness' sake, quite unaware of the bleak promise of their song."
"You reap what you sow." I feel nothing of surprise, only justice. It causes me to wonder if that means I am already a bitter woman. Not truly a witch, the anger and evil ways of Sula mark her a witch. All her bold declarations of hell and awaiting it reiterate the idea, a witch being one allied with the Devil. The song seems to reflect her first dark act, the death of Chicken Little, whose funeral was attended by mourners that truly seemed to care for him in contrast to the anxious spectators of Sula's funeral. It seems death is also the reflection of identity and the way others reflect upon oneself as seen in these two funerals.
Earlier in the story, Sula's birthmark was referred to as a budding rose or a rose and stem, all suitable analogies in view of her age and physical growth. As a young girl, she was like a blossoming flower, which adheres to the common stereotype likening women to flowers; however, it should be noted that she was likened to a rose with its stem that bore thorns. It could be thought that whatever viciousness that was within Sula to give her thorns as a child flourished wholly once she left since the mark is scary and serpentine upon her return to Medallion. As the imagery changed, I noted the shift and my apathy toward Sula's character changed to fearful apprehension. She was no longer a child victim of the oddities around her, but a woman instigating unrest. With the rose above her eye, she is mere witness to her mother's death. With a snake, a scary black thing, above her eye, she is the render of kin, destroying Nel's marriage and unconsciously prompting Jude to abandon his children. The birthmark is definitely a symbol of Sula's identity. In fact, it is one of the first things mentioned about her in the book and one is given the sense of its impending darkness. If only I had recognized that as a foreshadowing of her character, I would have anticipated her wicked ways.
"Of the few who were not afraid to witness the burial of a witch and who had gone to the cemetery, some had come just to verify her being put away but stayed to sing "Shall We Gather at the River" for politeness' sake, quite unaware of the bleak promise of their song."
"You reap what you sow." I feel nothing of surprise, only justice. It causes me to wonder if that means I am already a bitter woman. Not truly a witch, the anger and evil ways of Sula mark her a witch. All her bold declarations of hell and awaiting it reiterate the idea, a witch being one allied with the Devil. The song seems to reflect her first dark act, the death of Chicken Little, whose funeral was attended by mourners that truly seemed to care for him in contrast to the anxious spectators of Sula's funeral. It seems death is also the reflection of identity and the way others reflect upon oneself as seen in these two funerals.
Sula the second half
"In spite of their fear, they reacted to an oppressive oddity, or what they called evil days, with an acceptance that bordered on welcome. Such evil must be avoided, they felt, and precautions must naturally be taken to protect themselves from it. but they let it run its course, fullfill itself, and never invented ways either to alter it, to annihilate it or to prevent its happening again. So also were they with people."
This passage in the first part of the second half of the book is talking about the arrival of the birds and Sula. It seems to connect the "plague" of the birds with evil which then suggest that Sula herself brought the birds with her return after being gone for ten years. She seems to be the "people" that this passage refers to. Evil seems to be a big issue; especially in the second part of the book and Sula is the one who is deemed evil by the towns people. In many ways she acts according to her whim and her actions could be considered evil. Such as sleeping with Nell's husband. But their are many places throughout the book where evil takes place but is less emphasized. For instance, Eva burns her own son. She thinks she is doing it out of love but to most normal people that could be seen as evil. Sula's mother Hannah sleeps with all types of men even if they are married and that could be seen as evil to most people, but isn't given as much attention. However, sula is deemed evil because she watched her mother burn, watched when chicken drowned, put her grandmother in a nursing home and slept with her friends husband. All of those things are bad, but she never actually lit someone on fire and her mother slept wiht more married men then she did. So it is interesting to me how evil seems to be defined in the story.
"So he had said "always", so she would not have to be afraid fo the change-teh falling away of skin, the drip and slide of blood, andthe exposure of bone underneath. He had said 'always' to convince her, assure her, of permanancy."
I found this passage interesting because it is answering the question most of us had when reading the first part of the book which is "what did Shadrack mean when he told Sula always"? I feel like Shadrack was trying to sooth Sula becaue she had seen death for the first time. She seemed to be afraid not for being caught not doing anything to save chicken, but afraid of death herself. Shadrack seems to mean "permanancy" as a way of saying immortality. However antoher way to interpret it would be that we are always afraid of death. It is a permanent fear in the minds of all humans. Maybe this is a wrong way to read it but later on down the page he speaks of seein Sula dead and says "so he had been wrong. Terribly wrong. No 'always' at all. Another dying away of someone whose face we knew." it seems to mean that he was wrong about always fearing death. he sees Sula dead and realizes you can't fear death when you're dead and maybe death isn't always such a fearful thing. Maybe that is why he felt national suicide day was no longer important.
This passage in the first part of the second half of the book is talking about the arrival of the birds and Sula. It seems to connect the "plague" of the birds with evil which then suggest that Sula herself brought the birds with her return after being gone for ten years. She seems to be the "people" that this passage refers to. Evil seems to be a big issue; especially in the second part of the book and Sula is the one who is deemed evil by the towns people. In many ways she acts according to her whim and her actions could be considered evil. Such as sleeping with Nell's husband. But their are many places throughout the book where evil takes place but is less emphasized. For instance, Eva burns her own son. She thinks she is doing it out of love but to most normal people that could be seen as evil. Sula's mother Hannah sleeps with all types of men even if they are married and that could be seen as evil to most people, but isn't given as much attention. However, sula is deemed evil because she watched her mother burn, watched when chicken drowned, put her grandmother in a nursing home and slept with her friends husband. All of those things are bad, but she never actually lit someone on fire and her mother slept wiht more married men then she did. So it is interesting to me how evil seems to be defined in the story.
"So he had said "always", so she would not have to be afraid fo the change-teh falling away of skin, the drip and slide of blood, andthe exposure of bone underneath. He had said 'always' to convince her, assure her, of permanancy."
I found this passage interesting because it is answering the question most of us had when reading the first part of the book which is "what did Shadrack mean when he told Sula always"? I feel like Shadrack was trying to sooth Sula becaue she had seen death for the first time. She seemed to be afraid not for being caught not doing anything to save chicken, but afraid of death herself. Shadrack seems to mean "permanancy" as a way of saying immortality. However antoher way to interpret it would be that we are always afraid of death. It is a permanent fear in the minds of all humans. Maybe this is a wrong way to read it but later on down the page he speaks of seein Sula dead and says "so he had been wrong. Terribly wrong. No 'always' at all. Another dying away of someone whose face we knew." it seems to mean that he was wrong about always fearing death. he sees Sula dead and realizes you can't fear death when you're dead and maybe death isn't always such a fearful thing. Maybe that is why he felt national suicide day was no longer important.
Sula part 2
There were so many powerful passages in this second half that it was hard to choose two to write about. However, The paragraph on page 105 beginning, "But they had been..." and ending "when my mother turned to custard". I really thought this passage stood out becasue it is a climax in the story when Sula sleeps with Jude and Nel finds out. This is really the end of their friendship in Nel's eyes, but she doesn't express anger really, just reverst back to negative experiences from her childhood. I think it is safe to say that Nel is not fully realizing the extent of the situation and she is dissociating to keep herself from going crazy. I liked the way the passage was addressed to Jude and then at the very end we come to understand that the pain that came at this moment was not about Jude, but about Sula.
I also liked the entire section on page 135 when Sula discovers that she never really knew Ajax's name. This is provoking becasue it is a connection that Sula had put so much energy to and she really alomost loved Ajax, when she discovered this and felt betrayed. I think this ties back to the part in the first half when she overhears that her mother doesn't like her. It reminds her that she doesn't want to trust or rely on enyone except herself and I thik it sadly changes her character again in a negative way.
Both of these passages contain images and events that affect the two women in powerful ways and since they echo the past so closely, I think that the readers can really understand how the events in their past caused them to separate abd become who they are when they finally meet again at the end.
I also liked the entire section on page 135 when Sula discovers that she never really knew Ajax's name. This is provoking becasue it is a connection that Sula had put so much energy to and she really alomost loved Ajax, when she discovered this and felt betrayed. I think this ties back to the part in the first half when she overhears that her mother doesn't like her. It reminds her that she doesn't want to trust or rely on enyone except herself and I thik it sadly changes her character again in a negative way.
Both of these passages contain images and events that affect the two women in powerful ways and since they echo the past so closely, I think that the readers can really understand how the events in their past caused them to separate abd become who they are when they finally meet again at the end.
Sula Pt 2
"Nibbling at each other, not even touching, not even looking at each other, just their lips, and when I opened the door they didn't even look for a minute" (105). This image really stuck out to me because of how sexual it was. They were not in love, yet they broke a marriage and a happy home because of a lust they felt for each other. This is obvious because it states that they were not even looking at each other. This just shows the unattachment to the other yet there was something there that was enough to break up a happy home. That is devastating to me.
"A crease of fear touched her breast, for any second there was sure to be a violent explosion in her brain, a gasping for breath."
"Sula felt her face smiling. "Well, I'll be damned... it didn't even hurt. Wait'll I tell Nel.""
This image really stuck out to me because of how beautifully I thought it described death. Most people fear death and think of it as a very scary situation. however, this was not the image Morrison portrayed, and for that reason it really stood out to me. Also, Sula's last words really stuck with me. After all they had been through, she still wanted to tell her best friend what she now knew. This is important because it really shows the strength of women's relationships.
"A crease of fear touched her breast, for any second there was sure to be a violent explosion in her brain, a gasping for breath."
"Sula felt her face smiling. "Well, I'll be damned... it didn't even hurt. Wait'll I tell Nel.""
This image really stuck out to me because of how beautifully I thought it described death. Most people fear death and think of it as a very scary situation. however, this was not the image Morrison portrayed, and for that reason it really stood out to me. Also, Sula's last words really stuck with me. After all they had been through, she still wanted to tell her best friend what she now knew. This is important because it really shows the strength of women's relationships.
Sula: Part 2, Due 7/19/07
“Hunched down in the small bright room Nel waited. Waited for the oldest cry. A scream not for others, not in sympathy for a burnt child, or a dead father, but a deeply personal cry for one’s own pain. A loud, strident: “Why me?” – Page 108
This quote really stuck with me because I think it is something everyone can relate to. Everyone has had a friend stab you in the back or a boyfriend break up with you. It really hurts. You just want to cry and scream “Why me”? So many things run through your head and you don’t understand what you did to deserve such emotional pain. I think this passage had amazing imagery and really showed how Nel was feeling. I think the author did a wonderful job expressing the feelings of the character and actually showing her readers how she was feeling. What made things even worse for her is that Sula was the cause of this pain, her best friend, the person she care about more than anyone, caused her to feel this terrible way. This would make the pain twice as bad.
“What do you mean take him away? I didn’t kill him, I just fucked him. If we were such good friends, how come you couldn’t get over it?” -Page 145
“You lay there in that bed without a dime or a friend to your name having done all the dirt you did in this town and you still expect folks to love you?” -Page 145
“Goodbye, Sula. I don’t reckon I’ll be back” – 146
These quotes are very monumental to the book because Nel is finally sticking up for herself. She’s trying to explain to Sula how she feels and Sula is being completely heartless. She truly doesn’t feel that she did anything wrong and that it is Nel’s fault for not caring enough to stay friends with her. This is when you truly see the person that Sula really is.
This is the complete opposite of how I thought the book would end. I honestly thought that Sula would apologize to Nel and tell her how much she regrets not being a good friend, etc. However, this truly was the turning point of the book. This is when Nel finally realized that it was time to let go of Sula, to be done with her. She finally realized that she was better off without her.
This quote really stuck with me because I think it is something everyone can relate to. Everyone has had a friend stab you in the back or a boyfriend break up with you. It really hurts. You just want to cry and scream “Why me”? So many things run through your head and you don’t understand what you did to deserve such emotional pain. I think this passage had amazing imagery and really showed how Nel was feeling. I think the author did a wonderful job expressing the feelings of the character and actually showing her readers how she was feeling. What made things even worse for her is that Sula was the cause of this pain, her best friend, the person she care about more than anyone, caused her to feel this terrible way. This would make the pain twice as bad.
“What do you mean take him away? I didn’t kill him, I just fucked him. If we were such good friends, how come you couldn’t get over it?” -Page 145
“You lay there in that bed without a dime or a friend to your name having done all the dirt you did in this town and you still expect folks to love you?” -Page 145
“Goodbye, Sula. I don’t reckon I’ll be back” – 146
These quotes are very monumental to the book because Nel is finally sticking up for herself. She’s trying to explain to Sula how she feels and Sula is being completely heartless. She truly doesn’t feel that she did anything wrong and that it is Nel’s fault for not caring enough to stay friends with her. This is when you truly see the person that Sula really is.
This is the complete opposite of how I thought the book would end. I honestly thought that Sula would apologize to Nel and tell her how much she regrets not being a good friend, etc. However, this truly was the turning point of the book. This is when Nel finally realized that it was time to let go of Sula, to be done with her. She finally realized that she was better off without her.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Sula (second half)
"I am just standing here. They are not doing that. I am just standing here and seeing it, but they are not really doing it."
This line reminded me of an earlier scene when Nel saw Sula throw Chicken Little in the water and didn't do anything about it. She thinks this scene is such a horrific sight that it can't actually be taking place before her eyes. I just really like the way she describes seeing something that hurts so badely to see. It definitly reenforces how passive she it, how passive most women are at the time actually, except for Sula.
"You laying there in that bed without a dime or a friend to your name having done all the dirt you did in this town and you still expect folks to love you?"
I liked this line because it's the first time Nel has spoken back to Sula. Before this she looked up to Sula so much and even after Jude left thought it was Sula who she missed. I'm glad she finally spoke up. I feel like this what a sort of turning point for her, she really became her own woman and let go of Sula.
This line reminded me of an earlier scene when Nel saw Sula throw Chicken Little in the water and didn't do anything about it. She thinks this scene is such a horrific sight that it can't actually be taking place before her eyes. I just really like the way she describes seeing something that hurts so badely to see. It definitly reenforces how passive she it, how passive most women are at the time actually, except for Sula.
"You laying there in that bed without a dime or a friend to your name having done all the dirt you did in this town and you still expect folks to love you?"
I liked this line because it's the first time Nel has spoken back to Sula. Before this she looked up to Sula so much and even after Jude left thought it was Sula who she missed. I'm glad she finally spoke up. I feel like this what a sort of turning point for her, she really became her own woman and let go of Sula.
Sula Pt 1
The first passage that stood out to me was "he opened his eyes and saw what he imagined was the great wing of an eagle pouring a wet lightness over him." (47). This was so powerful to me because his mother was pouring kerosene on him to kill him, yet he felt so tranquil because he did not know this. I know it is odd to say, but that is always how I hoped to die. At peace and not in pain. Because of this I was drawn to this description. Also, I cannot imagine what his mother was going through when she made the decision to kill her own son. My own brother was a drug addict and it was so painful for my mother to watch him sink lower and lower. I believe this is exactly how Eva felt.
Another passage that caught my attention was "When a woman approached, the older men tipped their hats; the younger open and closed their thighs. But all of them, whatever their age, watched her retreating view with interest." (49). This was interesting to me because it made me think of the theme we talked about the first week of class that women are always being watched. This definitely is another example of that. I also found it interesting the different reactions of men. The older men only tipped their hats, but the younger almost seemed to be unable to hold their sexual attraction for women in by moving their legs back and forth. I found this very interesting.
Another passage that caught my attention was "When a woman approached, the older men tipped their hats; the younger open and closed their thighs. But all of them, whatever their age, watched her retreating view with interest." (49). This was interesting to me because it made me think of the theme we talked about the first week of class that women are always being watched. This definitely is another example of that. I also found it interesting the different reactions of men. The older men only tipped their hats, but the younger almost seemed to be unable to hold their sexual attraction for women in by moving their legs back and forth. I found this very interesting.
Sula - Part One
While I think the story was slow in its start, the more I read the more hooked I became on the story and ended up reading up reading well into the morning hours.
Here are two passages that caught my attention:
"Then, for no earthly reason, at least no reason that anybody could understand, certainly no reason that Nel understood then or later, she smiled. Like a street pup that wags its tail at the very doorjamb of the butcher shop he has been kicked away from only moments before, Helene smiled. Smiling dazzlingly and conquettishly at the salmon-colored face of the conductor." (pg. 21)
I thought this passage really created a good image in my mind. I imagined Helene as a woman of pride, refusing to be shamed by the "salmon-colored" conductor. I really liked this passage because I think Helene is setting a good example for Nel, keeping her head held high while everyone on the train was trying to belittle her.
"She [Eva] remembered something else too, and try as she might to deny it, she knew that as she lay on the ground trying to drag herself through the sweet peas and clover to get to Hannah, she had seen Sula standing on the back porch just looking. When Eva, who was never one to hide the faults of her children, mentioned what she'd thought she'd seen to a few friends, they said it was natural. Sula was probably struck dumb, as anybody would be who saw her own mamma burn up. Eva said yes, but inside disagreed and remained convinced that Sula had watched Hannah burn not because she was paralyzed, but because she was interested." (pg.78)
I was so riveted throughout this entire section (1923). I was glued to the story at this point. Although the story has already established Sula as curious by nature, this passage reveals that Sula's curiousity isn't as innocent as originally believed. I also think that this passage is a foreshadowing of a lack of trust between the granddaughter and grandmother. After this event, Eva relationship with Sula is forever changed. As I read this passage, I was in shock. It appalls me that a girl would let her curiosity take precedent over her mother's life. My opinion of Sula changes drastically at this point in the story, as now I start to recognize the cold side of her personality.
Here are two passages that caught my attention:
"Then, for no earthly reason, at least no reason that anybody could understand, certainly no reason that Nel understood then or later, she smiled. Like a street pup that wags its tail at the very doorjamb of the butcher shop he has been kicked away from only moments before, Helene smiled. Smiling dazzlingly and conquettishly at the salmon-colored face of the conductor." (pg. 21)
I thought this passage really created a good image in my mind. I imagined Helene as a woman of pride, refusing to be shamed by the "salmon-colored" conductor. I really liked this passage because I think Helene is setting a good example for Nel, keeping her head held high while everyone on the train was trying to belittle her.
"She [Eva] remembered something else too, and try as she might to deny it, she knew that as she lay on the ground trying to drag herself through the sweet peas and clover to get to Hannah, she had seen Sula standing on the back porch just looking. When Eva, who was never one to hide the faults of her children, mentioned what she'd thought she'd seen to a few friends, they said it was natural. Sula was probably struck dumb, as anybody would be who saw her own mamma burn up. Eva said yes, but inside disagreed and remained convinced that Sula had watched Hannah burn not because she was paralyzed, but because she was interested." (pg.78)
I was so riveted throughout this entire section (1923). I was glued to the story at this point. Although the story has already established Sula as curious by nature, this passage reveals that Sula's curiousity isn't as innocent as originally believed. I also think that this passage is a foreshadowing of a lack of trust between the granddaughter and grandmother. After this event, Eva relationship with Sula is forever changed. As I read this passage, I was in shock. It appalls me that a girl would let her curiosity take precedent over her mother's life. My opinion of Sula changes drastically at this point in the story, as now I start to recognize the cold side of her personality.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sula
The first passage I've chosen to write about can be found on page 40. It reads, "Hannah worried about him a little, but only a very little. For it soon became clear that he simply wanted a place to die privately but not quite alone. No one thought of suggesting to him that he pull himself together or see a doctor or anything. Even the women at prayer meeting who cried when he sang "In the Sweet By-and-By" never tired to get him to participate in the church activities. They just listened to him sing. wept and thought very graphically of their own imminent deaths."
This excerpt stood out to me because I think it's a universal feeling that we share when close ones are in need of help or attention. It's applicable to me as the reader as well as others around me. I think that when others are in such a state that he is others tend to loose hope or take on an "oh well" mentality. It's rare to find someone that cares more about that other person's well-being enough to loose interest in themself. However, in this case there was no one like that to pull him out of this state, not even to suggest that he see a doctor or to take on the sober battle themself. In fact, people around him showed such selfishness that they began imagining their own deaths due to his situation, they turned the attention back on themselves. So far I see a running theme of death and selfishness in the novel and I hope things become more positive in the second half. Now, the argument can be made that it says he wanted to die privately but not quite alone so the women were providing him with his wishes. I beg to differ; concidering the community he is in, which is small and tight-nit, I think it's fair to assume that regardless of his habits, he cares about the people around him and wants them near him but lacks the ability to show that or ask for it. I think this also displays another theme in the book which is a lack of personal responsiblity. I would argue that the people around him, that see him like that, need to take responsiblity to help him instead of waiting for him to ask.
The next excerpt I've chosen is from a scene that takes place on pages 68-69 where Hannah is talking to her mom, Eva.
"'I'm talkin' 'bout 18 and 95 when I set in that house five days iwth you and Pearl and Plum and three beets, you snake-eyed ungrateful hussy. What would I look like leapin' 'round that little old room playin' with youngins with three beets to my name?"'
This is Eva's response to Hannah's question, asking if Eva ever played with her children. Eva also makes the point that just because things are good now doesn't mean they've always been good. I think this is so true and something that many of us tend to forget. I know that I forget what my parents have done and gone through to get to where they are now and while things are good now and we are finincailly and emotionally stable, it's been a fight to get here. Even though Hannah says yes, she knows about the beets it's much different to hear stories and know them than it is to have lived it. We so often take things for grandit and don't realize how others had to struggle so that we can reep the benifits. This is a true moment of children's innosence. Also, this shows the difference between the two in what they value, Eva values hard work and apprication while Hannah values time together and love.
This excerpt stood out to me because I think it's a universal feeling that we share when close ones are in need of help or attention. It's applicable to me as the reader as well as others around me. I think that when others are in such a state that he is others tend to loose hope or take on an "oh well" mentality. It's rare to find someone that cares more about that other person's well-being enough to loose interest in themself. However, in this case there was no one like that to pull him out of this state, not even to suggest that he see a doctor or to take on the sober battle themself. In fact, people around him showed such selfishness that they began imagining their own deaths due to his situation, they turned the attention back on themselves. So far I see a running theme of death and selfishness in the novel and I hope things become more positive in the second half. Now, the argument can be made that it says he wanted to die privately but not quite alone so the women were providing him with his wishes. I beg to differ; concidering the community he is in, which is small and tight-nit, I think it's fair to assume that regardless of his habits, he cares about the people around him and wants them near him but lacks the ability to show that or ask for it. I think this also displays another theme in the book which is a lack of personal responsiblity. I would argue that the people around him, that see him like that, need to take responsiblity to help him instead of waiting for him to ask.
The next excerpt I've chosen is from a scene that takes place on pages 68-69 where Hannah is talking to her mom, Eva.
"'I'm talkin' 'bout 18 and 95 when I set in that house five days iwth you and Pearl and Plum and three beets, you snake-eyed ungrateful hussy. What would I look like leapin' 'round that little old room playin' with youngins with three beets to my name?"'
This is Eva's response to Hannah's question, asking if Eva ever played with her children. Eva also makes the point that just because things are good now doesn't mean they've always been good. I think this is so true and something that many of us tend to forget. I know that I forget what my parents have done and gone through to get to where they are now and while things are good now and we are finincailly and emotionally stable, it's been a fight to get here. Even though Hannah says yes, she knows about the beets it's much different to hear stories and know them than it is to have lived it. We so often take things for grandit and don't realize how others had to struggle so that we can reep the benifits. This is a true moment of children's innosence. Also, this shows the difference between the two in what they value, Eva values hard work and apprication while Hannah values time together and love.
Sula
The first passage that I had a reaction to was on pg. 46-47: "She sat down and gathered Plum into her arms. She rolled a bit of newspaper into a tight stick about six inches long, lit it and threw it into the bed where the kerosene-soaked Plum lay in a snug delight. My reaction to this was that I thought this woman was crazy. Thoughts were running through mind trying to figure out why she we set her own son on fire. I was astonished at the thought of someone doing this. This passage relates to another Toni Morrison novel "Beloved", when the main character tried to kill her children. The woman tried to kill her children because she wanted to protect and prevent them from being sold into slavery. "Beloved" relates to "Sula" because it seems that these women would kill their children to protect them. That why I came to the conclusion that Eva was setting Plum on fire because she felt that she had to save him from himself. I felt that she was hurt in doing this because she wanted to hold her son to let him know she loves him.
The second passage that I had a reaction to was: "Because each had discovered years before they were neither white nor male, and that all freedom and triumph was forbidden to them, they had set a bout creating something else to be. I feel that my reaction to this is that being oppressed is a good reason for people to come together to form bonds. As troubled little girls Nel and Sula needed to have that friendship to get through rough times and it makes me feel relieved. This passage reminds me of the movie "The Color Purple," because two sisters who were kept away from each other their bond never diminished. The relationship between Nettie and Cely kept Cely strong form the reality of being abused by her older husband. When the girls are together they ignore everything around them because it does not matter as long as they have each other. This relates to Sula, because The color Purple shows the bond between sisters even through oppression. These two stories are similar in the way the girls handle the situations they are in.
The second passage that I had a reaction to was: "Because each had discovered years before they were neither white nor male, and that all freedom and triumph was forbidden to them, they had set a bout creating something else to be. I feel that my reaction to this is that being oppressed is a good reason for people to come together to form bonds. As troubled little girls Nel and Sula needed to have that friendship to get through rough times and it makes me feel relieved. This passage reminds me of the movie "The Color Purple," because two sisters who were kept away from each other their bond never diminished. The relationship between Nettie and Cely kept Cely strong form the reality of being abused by her older husband. When the girls are together they ignore everything around them because it does not matter as long as they have each other. This relates to Sula, because The color Purple shows the bond between sisters even through oppression. These two stories are similar in the way the girls handle the situations they are in.
Sula (first half)
"As Reverend Deal moved into his sermon, the hands of the women unfolded like pairs of raven's wings and flew high above their hats in the air. They did not hear all of what he said; they heard the one word, or phrase, or inflection that was for them the connection between the event and themselves."
I really like this line because it reminded me of a negative and positive way i've always thought people have dealt with the idea of church. I've been going to church since before I can even remember and since i've grown i've been able to make the decision as to whether or not I want to go, as opposed to my dad making me, and I still choose to attend. However I've had many many conversations with people who either don't believe in the church and over again I hear the argument 'just take what you need from the sermon and learn from it.' or things along those lines in which you just choose the part of religion you want to follow and ignore the rest. Anyone who has been a Christian or even gone to church for an extended period of time knows that this is a common mistake amongst believers, they do what fits into their lives and ignore the parts that make it hard. This passage reminds me of that idea. On the positive side it reminds me of people who do get the whole picture and know once they decide to practice this it's all or nothing and how sometimes in a sermon there is one line, as in literature, that stands out to you and really touches you the most.
"Nel sat on the red-velvet sofa listening to her mother but remembering the smell and the tight, tight hug of the woman in the yellow who rubbed burned matches over her eyes"
I really related to this line because it reminds me so much of me. I remember growing up once a week changing my mind about the group I wanted to fit in with. Half my friends were in bands and one week i'd think 'yeah! I want to be in a band, I love music' and then the next week i'd hang out with my girlfriends and my girliest side would come out and i'd think I only ever want to wear dresses ever again and smell pretty too! It's funny when you're young the images create in your mind of types of people based on they way they dress and how they carry themselves. I thought I could only be one or the other, a hip band mate or a pretty little girl. It just really made me laugh thinking about that awkward time! It also reminded me of "When I was growing up" because of the good image she has in her head about blond white girls and the way this girl inspires to be as womanly as her grandmother not knowing the downfalls of it yet.
I really like this line because it reminded me of a negative and positive way i've always thought people have dealt with the idea of church. I've been going to church since before I can even remember and since i've grown i've been able to make the decision as to whether or not I want to go, as opposed to my dad making me, and I still choose to attend. However I've had many many conversations with people who either don't believe in the church and over again I hear the argument 'just take what you need from the sermon and learn from it.' or things along those lines in which you just choose the part of religion you want to follow and ignore the rest. Anyone who has been a Christian or even gone to church for an extended period of time knows that this is a common mistake amongst believers, they do what fits into their lives and ignore the parts that make it hard. This passage reminds me of that idea. On the positive side it reminds me of people who do get the whole picture and know once they decide to practice this it's all or nothing and how sometimes in a sermon there is one line, as in literature, that stands out to you and really touches you the most.
"Nel sat on the red-velvet sofa listening to her mother but remembering the smell and the tight, tight hug of the woman in the yellow who rubbed burned matches over her eyes"
I really related to this line because it reminds me so much of me. I remember growing up once a week changing my mind about the group I wanted to fit in with. Half my friends were in bands and one week i'd think 'yeah! I want to be in a band, I love music' and then the next week i'd hang out with my girlfriends and my girliest side would come out and i'd think I only ever want to wear dresses ever again and smell pretty too! It's funny when you're young the images create in your mind of types of people based on they way they dress and how they carry themselves. I thought I could only be one or the other, a hip band mate or a pretty little girl. It just really made me laugh thinking about that awkward time! It also reminded me of "When I was growing up" because of the good image she has in her head about blond white girls and the way this girl inspires to be as womanly as her grandmother not knowing the downfalls of it yet.
Sula part 1
"The lumpy whiteness of rice, the quivering blood tomatoes, the grayish-brown meat. All their repugnance was contained in the neat balance of the triangles...Thus reassured that the white, the red adn the brown would stay where they were- would not explode or burst forth from their restricted zones..."(page 8).
this passage in the first part of "Sula" stood out to me because it reminded and insinuated the idea of segregation. How all things or people that are different neeed to be kept apart from eachother inorder for their to be some sort of peace. However, as most would know, this is not right. it is the chaos the differences that each thing or group has that when mixed together can create a great deal of diversity and new and interesting things and ideas. It reminded me of many other things i have read about slavery or the Harlem Rennasance(?), where the main idea is that different is bad and it can't be mixed together witih other types of people. That is why Harlem eventually turned into a run down part of New York. the white people who lived there moved out when the black artist of the time began moving in from all parts of the country and the world.
"Hannah exasperated the women in the town-the "good" women, who said, ' One thing I can't stand is a nasty woman'; the whores, who were hard put to find trade among black men anyway and who resented Hanah's generosity; the middling women, who had both husbands and affairs, because Hannah seemed too unlike them, having no passion attached to her relationships and being wholly incapable of jealousy. Hannah's friendships with women were, of course seldom and short lived..."
This passage in the first part of Sula stood out to me because it seems to catergorize women. There are the married "good" women, the prostitutes who aren't married and the married women who are bad because they cheat on their husbands. Hannah doesn't fit into any of these catergories and i find it interesting. it is just like the passage about shadrack and everything needing thier assigned place. Well here, it seems that women need their assigned position or label in society and when you fit none of those labels then you are really and outcast and different. you are alone. i also thought it was interesting because it talks about teh roles women are expected to play and how you can only be considered good if you are a faithfully married woman. this goes along with soem of our readings such as "why i want a wife". It emphasizes what women should do iin order to be considered "good". if you are not this, then you are bad or not fitting the norm of society.
this passage in the first part of "Sula" stood out to me because it reminded and insinuated the idea of segregation. How all things or people that are different neeed to be kept apart from eachother inorder for their to be some sort of peace. However, as most would know, this is not right. it is the chaos the differences that each thing or group has that when mixed together can create a great deal of diversity and new and interesting things and ideas. It reminded me of many other things i have read about slavery or the Harlem Rennasance(?), where the main idea is that different is bad and it can't be mixed together witih other types of people. That is why Harlem eventually turned into a run down part of New York. the white people who lived there moved out when the black artist of the time began moving in from all parts of the country and the world.
"Hannah exasperated the women in the town-the "good" women, who said, ' One thing I can't stand is a nasty woman'; the whores, who were hard put to find trade among black men anyway and who resented Hanah's generosity; the middling women, who had both husbands and affairs, because Hannah seemed too unlike them, having no passion attached to her relationships and being wholly incapable of jealousy. Hannah's friendships with women were, of course seldom and short lived..."
This passage in the first part of Sula stood out to me because it seems to catergorize women. There are the married "good" women, the prostitutes who aren't married and the married women who are bad because they cheat on their husbands. Hannah doesn't fit into any of these catergories and i find it interesting. it is just like the passage about shadrack and everything needing thier assigned place. Well here, it seems that women need their assigned position or label in society and when you fit none of those labels then you are really and outcast and different. you are alone. i also thought it was interesting because it talks about teh roles women are expected to play and how you can only be considered good if you are a faithfully married woman. this goes along with soem of our readings such as "why i want a wife". It emphasizes what women should do iin order to be considered "good". if you are not this, then you are bad or not fitting the norm of society.
Sula- first half
The first passage that I really liked and felt a connection to was on page 12. Morrison is describing hte life of Shadrack and the state he is in when he is released from the hospital.
She writes, "...the fact that he didnt even know who or what he was...with no past, no language, no tribe, no source, no address book, no comb, no pencil, no clock, no pocket hankerchif, no rug, no bed, no can opener, no faded postcard, no soap, no key, no tobacco pouch, no soiled underwear and nothing nothing nothing to do..."
I was drawn to this paragraph becasue it is highlighting things about his life that might be important (things inthe form of objects) but he does not have them. It was interesting to me to see the choice of objects that one might have that would have possible made Shadrack better off. The text that this reminds me of very much is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brian. This was originally a short story that he expanded to a novel and it lists in a manner like in this passage all of the things that soldiers carried with them. For these men, their stuff was what differentiated them from eachother and told the reader of their pasts and the lives that they were missing to serve their coutnry. Morrison takes a twist of this though, because instead of connecting Shadrack to a place through these things on his person, he is without them and she uses the list in a very powerful way to tell the reader to what extent he is lost.
The second part of the reading I encountered and responded to is the entire last paragraph on p. 29 beginning "When Sula first visited the Wright house..." This passage reminded me of our conversation yesterday relating to the poem "As Children Together". The passage is divided in two between Sula's response to Nel's clean and more upsacle house and Nel's preference for Sula's "wolly house". I think that this is always true about people, especially when they are growing up. I remember that I would have much rather played over at my friends house than my own and my friends felt the same way. Each place and mother had different attributes that we envied by those who were not already used to them. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fense. This reminded me of yesterday's discussion because it is a snapshot of what the girls in the poem might have thought or said at one point when they were younger. I think that we will have to keep the poem in mind as we see how Nel and Sula grow up and respond to eachother as women.
She writes, "...the fact that he didnt even know who or what he was...with no past, no language, no tribe, no source, no address book, no comb, no pencil, no clock, no pocket hankerchif, no rug, no bed, no can opener, no faded postcard, no soap, no key, no tobacco pouch, no soiled underwear and nothing nothing nothing to do..."
I was drawn to this paragraph becasue it is highlighting things about his life that might be important (things inthe form of objects) but he does not have them. It was interesting to me to see the choice of objects that one might have that would have possible made Shadrack better off. The text that this reminds me of very much is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brian. This was originally a short story that he expanded to a novel and it lists in a manner like in this passage all of the things that soldiers carried with them. For these men, their stuff was what differentiated them from eachother and told the reader of their pasts and the lives that they were missing to serve their coutnry. Morrison takes a twist of this though, because instead of connecting Shadrack to a place through these things on his person, he is without them and she uses the list in a very powerful way to tell the reader to what extent he is lost.
The second part of the reading I encountered and responded to is the entire last paragraph on p. 29 beginning "When Sula first visited the Wright house..." This passage reminded me of our conversation yesterday relating to the poem "As Children Together". The passage is divided in two between Sula's response to Nel's clean and more upsacle house and Nel's preference for Sula's "wolly house". I think that this is always true about people, especially when they are growing up. I remember that I would have much rather played over at my friends house than my own and my friends felt the same way. Each place and mother had different attributes that we envied by those who were not already used to them. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fense. This reminded me of yesterday's discussion because it is a snapshot of what the girls in the poem might have thought or said at one point when they were younger. I think that we will have to keep the poem in mind as we see how Nel and Sula grow up and respond to eachother as women.
Sula, pt. 1
"All the while Helene and Nel watched her. The one in a rage at the folded leaves she had endured, the wooden benches she had slept on, all to miss seeing her grandmother and seeing instead that painted canary who never said a word of greeting or affection or. . ."
This passage easily evokes feelings of sympathetic irritation. While the exact circumstances may not be common, surely many people have experienced the desecration of something personally sacred. It is not always death or related to religion as we place value on objects, events, and ideals, developing a similar perception. For instance, small children often develop attachments to specific toys (all toys, in a worst case scenario) and grow jealous or even violent if another child attempts to play with these. If the child is forced to share, they will try to minimize this infringement by dictating how the toy should be used. My sister will attest that I once felt this way about Barbie and supervised play fastidiously in my zeal. With the notion of controlling the situation in mind, I wonder if Helene would have felt differently had her mother appeared in proper mourning garb and hadn't been so concerned with her appearance.
"Old people were dancing with little children. Young boys with their sisters, and the church women who frowned on any bodily expression of joy (except when the hand of God commanded it) tapped their feet."
This passage evokes feelings of nostalgia and amusement within me. Because my family reunions are very similar, I can easily relate. I've had my toes trodden upon by little girls eager to dance and kept my aging great aunts company as they were unable (or unwilling) to join the more active of the festivities. In relation to Sula, it just seems as though things do not change all that much. The communal dynamic of a small town is almost steadfast across time and continues to unite generations and cultures again and again.
This passage easily evokes feelings of sympathetic irritation. While the exact circumstances may not be common, surely many people have experienced the desecration of something personally sacred. It is not always death or related to religion as we place value on objects, events, and ideals, developing a similar perception. For instance, small children often develop attachments to specific toys (all toys, in a worst case scenario) and grow jealous or even violent if another child attempts to play with these. If the child is forced to share, they will try to minimize this infringement by dictating how the toy should be used. My sister will attest that I once felt this way about Barbie and supervised play fastidiously in my zeal. With the notion of controlling the situation in mind, I wonder if Helene would have felt differently had her mother appeared in proper mourning garb and hadn't been so concerned with her appearance.
"Old people were dancing with little children. Young boys with their sisters, and the church women who frowned on any bodily expression of joy (except when the hand of God commanded it) tapped their feet."
This passage evokes feelings of nostalgia and amusement within me. Because my family reunions are very similar, I can easily relate. I've had my toes trodden upon by little girls eager to dance and kept my aging great aunts company as they were unable (or unwilling) to join the more active of the festivities. In relation to Sula, it just seems as though things do not change all that much. The communal dynamic of a small town is almost steadfast across time and continues to unite generations and cultures again and again.
Sula Blog: Due 7/17/07
There are two particular quotes that I found in the first half of the book that really caught my eye.
The first one is found in section 1920 on page 24. “She looked around for the other women and her four children, three boys and a girl, Helene and her daughter squatted there in the four o’ clock Meridian sun. They did it again in Ellisvile, again in Hattiesburg and by the time they reached Slidell, not to far from Lake Pontchartrain, Helene could not only fold leaves as well as the fat woman, she never felt a stir as she passed the muddy eyes of the men who stood like wrecked Dorics under the station roofs of those towns.”
The reason this quote affected me so much is because it seems so real, and at the time. It was. There was so much racism going on in our world at this time. It just really made me think about how far we have really come as a country. Although I can’t think of one right now, but I only believe that I can compare this to other books I have read focused on racism. It would be impossible to compare this to something that happened in my life because this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore. There are now black doctors and nurses, black executives, etc. I am so glad that I will never know how African Americans truly were treated. It’s cruel and not human. You would never hear of something like that going on this time and while reading this, I honestly found myself thanking God for letting me live in a time where all this is past, where people are created equally. There will always be some racist people in our world, but these people are immature and need to grow up. This is definitely something I feel very strongly about and it interests me a lot.
The second quote that caught my eye right away was in section 1922, on page 53. “Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personality. Although both were unshaped, formless things, Nel seemed stronger and more consistent than Sula, who could hardly be counted on to sustain any emotion for more than three minutes.”
This quote is obviously about friendship- a very strong friendship. It kind of reminds me of the friendship that I have with my best friend, Kathleen. Kathleen and I luckily don’t have to cope with the problems that these girls did. But if we ever had to, I feel confident that Kat and I would be about to get through it together. Besides my family, no one in the world compares to that girl. And to me, this quote exemplifies that kind of friendship. This book has definitely made me appreciate the things I have more than I have been. I guess what I am trying to say is that when it comes down to it, a true friend will be there for you no matter what, through good and bad. They will help you work out your problems and be there for you no matter what- whether it is something as big as racism in the early 1900’s or something petty like make up, hair, nails, etc.. And when you’re acting petty, they’ll be there to give you a kick in the butt and say “What the heck are you thinking!”
I’ve said it above, but I feel the need to say it again. In just one day of reading this book, it has made me appreciate the things I have to much more- even the little things. These things are leisures that we might not have forever. So appreciate them. Cherish them.
The first one is found in section 1920 on page 24. “She looked around for the other women and her four children, three boys and a girl, Helene and her daughter squatted there in the four o’ clock Meridian sun. They did it again in Ellisvile, again in Hattiesburg and by the time they reached Slidell, not to far from Lake Pontchartrain, Helene could not only fold leaves as well as the fat woman, she never felt a stir as she passed the muddy eyes of the men who stood like wrecked Dorics under the station roofs of those towns.”
The reason this quote affected me so much is because it seems so real, and at the time. It was. There was so much racism going on in our world at this time. It just really made me think about how far we have really come as a country. Although I can’t think of one right now, but I only believe that I can compare this to other books I have read focused on racism. It would be impossible to compare this to something that happened in my life because this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore. There are now black doctors and nurses, black executives, etc. I am so glad that I will never know how African Americans truly were treated. It’s cruel and not human. You would never hear of something like that going on this time and while reading this, I honestly found myself thanking God for letting me live in a time where all this is past, where people are created equally. There will always be some racist people in our world, but these people are immature and need to grow up. This is definitely something I feel very strongly about and it interests me a lot.
The second quote that caught my eye right away was in section 1922, on page 53. “Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personality. Although both were unshaped, formless things, Nel seemed stronger and more consistent than Sula, who could hardly be counted on to sustain any emotion for more than three minutes.”
This quote is obviously about friendship- a very strong friendship. It kind of reminds me of the friendship that I have with my best friend, Kathleen. Kathleen and I luckily don’t have to cope with the problems that these girls did. But if we ever had to, I feel confident that Kat and I would be about to get through it together. Besides my family, no one in the world compares to that girl. And to me, this quote exemplifies that kind of friendship. This book has definitely made me appreciate the things I have more than I have been. I guess what I am trying to say is that when it comes down to it, a true friend will be there for you no matter what, through good and bad. They will help you work out your problems and be there for you no matter what- whether it is something as big as racism in the early 1900’s or something petty like make up, hair, nails, etc.. And when you’re acting petty, they’ll be there to give you a kick in the butt and say “What the heck are you thinking!”
I’ve said it above, but I feel the need to say it again. In just one day of reading this book, it has made me appreciate the things I have to much more- even the little things. These things are leisures that we might not have forever. So appreciate them. Cherish them.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Sula: part II
"The black people, for all their new look, seemed awfully anxious to get to the valley, or leave town, and abandon the hills to whoever was interested. It was sad, because the Bottom had been a real place. These young ones kept talking about the community, but they left the hills to the poor, the old, the stubborn – and the rich white folks. Maybe it hadn’t been a community, but it had been a place. Now there weren’t any places left, just separate houses with separate televisions and separate telephones and less and less dropping by."
To me, this passage symbolizes Nel and Sula’s eventual drift apart. It explains how two parts of one self came to be separated by the passage of time. They remain friends in a particular place in time, just as the Bottom remains a community in a fragment of time. Their drift apart parallels their community’s disintegration. In a larger sense, Morrison appears to be highlighting one of the flaws of the postmodern society – isolation. While early 20th century communities were far from perfect, there was a sense of solidarity. Each had their own idiosyncrasies, in contrast to the faceless metropolises that dot the American landscape today.
This passage adds to the mythological quality of Morrison’s work. It seems the reader is always examining closely, yet is still remaining on the outside, confined to their own little particular place in time.
In a way, her strangeness, her naivete, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings; had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like any artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
I chose this passage because it highlights a major theme throughout the novel. Women have consistently turned to men, as a way to seemingly subvert the power hierarchy. What's ironic is that, while having sexual power makes one feel good in the moment, it doesn't change the historical paradigm. Woman's only creative outlet was to be a sex artist, which proved to be deeply unsatisfying for Sula, and many others.
Until very recently in history, women were denied many of the economic advantages men enjoyed. It is easy to forget that most of us still have grandparents who lived before the women's rights movement, without political, social, or sexual freedom. The setting of Sula isn't even a hundred years ago, which makes me very appreciative of those who fought to earn my sex equal opportunities for societal advancement.
Further, Sula and Nel were doubly disadvantaged, being minorities and women. While Sula tried to better herself, it didn't earn her respect from her fellow townspeople - she was ostracized and alienated for pushing the boundaries.
To me, this passage symbolizes Nel and Sula’s eventual drift apart. It explains how two parts of one self came to be separated by the passage of time. They remain friends in a particular place in time, just as the Bottom remains a community in a fragment of time. Their drift apart parallels their community’s disintegration. In a larger sense, Morrison appears to be highlighting one of the flaws of the postmodern society – isolation. While early 20th century communities were far from perfect, there was a sense of solidarity. Each had their own idiosyncrasies, in contrast to the faceless metropolises that dot the American landscape today.
This passage adds to the mythological quality of Morrison’s work. It seems the reader is always examining closely, yet is still remaining on the outside, confined to their own little particular place in time.
In a way, her strangeness, her naivete, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings; had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like any artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
I chose this passage because it highlights a major theme throughout the novel. Women have consistently turned to men, as a way to seemingly subvert the power hierarchy. What's ironic is that, while having sexual power makes one feel good in the moment, it doesn't change the historical paradigm. Woman's only creative outlet was to be a sex artist, which proved to be deeply unsatisfying for Sula, and many others.
Until very recently in history, women were denied many of the economic advantages men enjoyed. It is easy to forget that most of us still have grandparents who lived before the women's rights movement, without political, social, or sexual freedom. The setting of Sula isn't even a hundred years ago, which makes me very appreciative of those who fought to earn my sex equal opportunities for societal advancement.
Further, Sula and Nel were doubly disadvantaged, being minorities and women. While Sula tried to better herself, it didn't earn her respect from her fellow townspeople - she was ostracized and alienated for pushing the boundaries.
Sula: part I
"Hannah exasperated the women in the town – the “good” women, who said, “One thing I can’t stand is a nasty woman”; the whores, who were hard put to find trade among black men anyway and who resented Hannah’s generosity; the middling women who had both husbands and affairs, because Hannah seemed too unlike them, having no passion attached to her relationships and being wholly incapable of jealousy. Hannah’s friendships with women were, of course, seldom and short-lived, and the newly married couples whom her mother took in soon learned what a hazard she was. She could break up a marriage before it had even become one – she would make love to the new groom and wash his wife’s dishes all in an afternoon. What she wanted, after Rekus died, and what she succeeded in having more often than not, was some touching every day."
This passage seemed very compelling, because it accurately describes the plight of a woman who doesn’t fit into the narrow conception of what being a woman means, and is resented for it. It’s strange that even though Hannah and these women shared several of the same womanly desires and experiences, they still chose to despise her. Perhaps she physically manifested the evil parts of themselves they wished to pretend didn’t exist. I had a similar experience with a female who I became close to. Some of her personality traits I despised in other people, and they eventually ended our friendship. However, after she moved away and I reflected on the situation, I realized that I shared some of the same characteristics I had despised in her. Perhaps I, like the women in Sula, wanted to ignore the characteristics of myself I found to be negative, rather than trying to change them myself. There was a clash between the rational and the emotional halves of myself. The rational part wanted to change my behavior, but the emotional half was unwilling to admit it was even there.
"It was not really Edna Finch’s ice cream that made them brave the stretch of those panther eyes. Years later their own eyes would glaze as they cupped their chins in remembrance of the inchworm smiles, the squatting haunches, the track-rail legs straddling broken chairs. The cream-colored trousers marking with a mere seam the place where the mystery curled. Those smooth vanilla crotches invited them; those lemon-yellow gabardines beckoned to them. They moved toward the ice-cream parlor like tightrope walkers, as thrilled by the possibility of a slip as by the maintenance of tension and balance. The least sideways glance, the merest toe stub, could pitch them into those creamy haunches spread wide with welcome. Somewhere beneath all of that daintiness, chambered in all that neatness, lay the thing that clotted their dreams."
I found the last sentence of this passage to be particularly interesting. “Clotted their dreams” could simply mean occupied their innermost thoughts, but it could also mean destroyed their ambition. Thus far, neither Nel nor Sula has a particularly ambitious attitude toward life. If the female figures in your life need a man to validate their existence, what message does that send to you? Hannah, Sula’s mother, was constantly searching for a man to validate her existence, to recapture some of the feelings she experienced with her deceased husband. Undoubtedly the messages Sula and Nel received from the maternal figures in their lives informed their perceptions of men. My own experiences with maternal figures contrasts that of Sula. Several of my relatives consider themselves feminists, and the message "you don't need a man, so don't rely on one" was consistently reinforced. Thankfully I've turned out differently than Nel or Sula, in part because the messages I was given as a child didn't reinforce the cultural narrative that a woman needs a man to validate her existence.
This passage seemed very compelling, because it accurately describes the plight of a woman who doesn’t fit into the narrow conception of what being a woman means, and is resented for it. It’s strange that even though Hannah and these women shared several of the same womanly desires and experiences, they still chose to despise her. Perhaps she physically manifested the evil parts of themselves they wished to pretend didn’t exist. I had a similar experience with a female who I became close to. Some of her personality traits I despised in other people, and they eventually ended our friendship. However, after she moved away and I reflected on the situation, I realized that I shared some of the same characteristics I had despised in her. Perhaps I, like the women in Sula, wanted to ignore the characteristics of myself I found to be negative, rather than trying to change them myself. There was a clash between the rational and the emotional halves of myself. The rational part wanted to change my behavior, but the emotional half was unwilling to admit it was even there.
"It was not really Edna Finch’s ice cream that made them brave the stretch of those panther eyes. Years later their own eyes would glaze as they cupped their chins in remembrance of the inchworm smiles, the squatting haunches, the track-rail legs straddling broken chairs. The cream-colored trousers marking with a mere seam the place where the mystery curled. Those smooth vanilla crotches invited them; those lemon-yellow gabardines beckoned to them. They moved toward the ice-cream parlor like tightrope walkers, as thrilled by the possibility of a slip as by the maintenance of tension and balance. The least sideways glance, the merest toe stub, could pitch them into those creamy haunches spread wide with welcome. Somewhere beneath all of that daintiness, chambered in all that neatness, lay the thing that clotted their dreams."
I found the last sentence of this passage to be particularly interesting. “Clotted their dreams” could simply mean occupied their innermost thoughts, but it could also mean destroyed their ambition. Thus far, neither Nel nor Sula has a particularly ambitious attitude toward life. If the female figures in your life need a man to validate their existence, what message does that send to you? Hannah, Sula’s mother, was constantly searching for a man to validate her existence, to recapture some of the feelings she experienced with her deceased husband. Undoubtedly the messages Sula and Nel received from the maternal figures in their lives informed their perceptions of men. My own experiences with maternal figures contrasts that of Sula. Several of my relatives consider themselves feminists, and the message "you don't need a man, so don't rely on one" was consistently reinforced. Thankfully I've turned out differently than Nel or Sula, in part because the messages I was given as a child didn't reinforce the cultural narrative that a woman needs a man to validate her existence.
For July 16
"As Children Together"--Carol Forche
The first time I read this throuh, I had a much different interpretation than my fellow class mates. I read it in a much more aggressive, emotionally damaging tone. Then, after reading the blogs, I went back and read it again and felt the tone to be much different. The two friends once ran away together but now have drawn apart. They grew up and grew apart and this author is remember older days and missing and old friend. But the line that stands out the most to me is when she writes,
"Your mirror grew ringed
with photos of servicemen
who had taken your breasts
in their hands, the buttons
of your blouses in their teeth,
who had given you the silk
tassels of their graduation,
jackets embroidered with dragons
from the Far East. You kept
the corks that had fired
from bottles over their beds
their letters with each city
blackened, envelopes of hair
from their shaved heads."
This, like someone else posted, is very similar to the scene in Grease when that girl is describing the silk robe she got from the one of many soldiers she writes back and forth with. They both want independence, Victoria wants independence with a man, the narrator wants true independence. I think the narrator, in a way, wishes she had the same attention that Victoria does but also knows that is not fitting for her.
"Trifles"--Susan Glaspeli
County Attorney: "You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive"
Sheriff: "Nothing here but kitchen things."
As a feminist, this was a frustrating reading for me. It speaks of how superior men were to women which allowed men to make all decisions and then dictate them to the women, regardless of how the women felt. I also noticed how interesting it was that Glaspell used gender sterotypes throughout the play. The men's superiority is so important that it can not be lowered even to find the true motive for murder. It is the nuances of the woman's daily life that the real evidence is found.
"The Revolt of Mother"
This writing obviously focuses on the oppression of women as Sarah Penn fights for equality in treatment. There's also a demonstration of the lack of power women had.
I know you be, as well as I want to. Now, father, look here” — Sarah Penn had not sat down; she stood before her husband in the humble fashion of a Scripture woman — “I'm goin' to talk real plain to you; I never have sence I married you, but I'm goin' to now. I ain't never complained, an' I ain't goin' to complain now, but I'm goin' to talk plain. You see this room here, father; you look at it well. You see there ain't no carpet on the floor, an' you see the paper is all dirty, an' droppin' off the walls. We ain't had no new paper on it for ten year, an' then I put it on myself, an' it didn't cost but ninepence a roll. You see this room, father; it's all the one I've had to work in an' eat in an' sit in sence we was married. There ain't another woman in the whole town whose husband ain't got half the means you have but what's got better. It's all the room Nanny's got to have her company in; an' there ain't one of her mates but what's got better, an' their fathers not so able as hers is. It's all the room she'll have to be married in. What would you have thought, father, if we had had our weddin' in a room no better than this? I was married in my mother's parlor, with a carpet on the floor, an' stuffed furniture, an' a mahogany card-table. An' this is all the room my daughter will have to be married in. Look here, father!”
This excerpt is very powerful and gave me chills because she finally steps up and speaks her mind, she puts her foot down and says what I feel, she's been wanting to say for a long time. It's a demonstration of her fight for earned recognition. She says how hard she works and there's little to show because he doesn't put forth effort to help or contribute they way she feels he should, as a team. I loved this reading and think the point is very clear and made well.
The first time I read this throuh, I had a much different interpretation than my fellow class mates. I read it in a much more aggressive, emotionally damaging tone. Then, after reading the blogs, I went back and read it again and felt the tone to be much different. The two friends once ran away together but now have drawn apart. They grew up and grew apart and this author is remember older days and missing and old friend. But the line that stands out the most to me is when she writes,
"Your mirror grew ringed
with photos of servicemen
who had taken your breasts
in their hands, the buttons
of your blouses in their teeth,
who had given you the silk
tassels of their graduation,
jackets embroidered with dragons
from the Far East. You kept
the corks that had fired
from bottles over their beds
their letters with each city
blackened, envelopes of hair
from their shaved heads."
This, like someone else posted, is very similar to the scene in Grease when that girl is describing the silk robe she got from the one of many soldiers she writes back and forth with. They both want independence, Victoria wants independence with a man, the narrator wants true independence. I think the narrator, in a way, wishes she had the same attention that Victoria does but also knows that is not fitting for her.
"Trifles"--Susan Glaspeli
County Attorney: "You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive"
Sheriff: "Nothing here but kitchen things."
As a feminist, this was a frustrating reading for me. It speaks of how superior men were to women which allowed men to make all decisions and then dictate them to the women, regardless of how the women felt. I also noticed how interesting it was that Glaspell used gender sterotypes throughout the play. The men's superiority is so important that it can not be lowered even to find the true motive for murder. It is the nuances of the woman's daily life that the real evidence is found.
"The Revolt of Mother"
This writing obviously focuses on the oppression of women as Sarah Penn fights for equality in treatment. There's also a demonstration of the lack of power women had.
I know you be, as well as I want to. Now, father, look here” — Sarah Penn had not sat down; she stood before her husband in the humble fashion of a Scripture woman — “I'm goin' to talk real plain to you; I never have sence I married you, but I'm goin' to now. I ain't never complained, an' I ain't goin' to complain now, but I'm goin' to talk plain. You see this room here, father; you look at it well. You see there ain't no carpet on the floor, an' you see the paper is all dirty, an' droppin' off the walls. We ain't had no new paper on it for ten year, an' then I put it on myself, an' it didn't cost but ninepence a roll. You see this room, father; it's all the one I've had to work in an' eat in an' sit in sence we was married. There ain't another woman in the whole town whose husband ain't got half the means you have but what's got better. It's all the room Nanny's got to have her company in; an' there ain't one of her mates but what's got better, an' their fathers not so able as hers is. It's all the room she'll have to be married in. What would you have thought, father, if we had had our weddin' in a room no better than this? I was married in my mother's parlor, with a carpet on the floor, an' stuffed furniture, an' a mahogany card-table. An' this is all the room my daughter will have to be married in. Look here, father!”
This excerpt is very powerful and gave me chills because she finally steps up and speaks her mind, she puts her foot down and says what I feel, she's been wanting to say for a long time. It's a demonstration of her fight for earned recognition. She says how hard she works and there's little to show because he doesn't put forth effort to help or contribute they way she feels he should, as a team. I loved this reading and think the point is very clear and made well.
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