Sula Pages 49-66

Nel Wright and Sula Peace: Soul-mates Forever?

In this section of the novel, we gain a deeper insight into the friendship between two very different 12 year-old girls, Nel and Sula. Nel is described as bold and independent whereas Sula is more dependent on Nel and not as emotionally stable. Nel takes the position of the leader while Sula eagerly follows her. I think the contrast in their personalities is really interesting because they become close friends to the extent of  soul-mates. They do share a similar attraction for adventure and "[t]he new theme they were now discovering was men." (Morrison, 55)

As they're both approaching adolescence, it's not surprising that they begin to crave attention from men. From the previous chapters we've learned that their mothers and grandmothers have had bitter experiences with marriage but gain attention from men through their physical appearances. I've noticed that Morrison always emphasizes women's clothing; the color, the way it accentuates the figure, and the way their dresses are blown by the wind to reveal their bodies. Even the 12 year old girls' dresses are described with a sexual connotation, catering to the male gaze: "It pushed their dresses  into the creases of their behinds, then lifted the hems to peek at their cotton underwear." (Morrison, 49)

Speaking of the male gaze, the way women dress are often connected to the male gaze. It could be that women dress to satisfy the eyes of men or that the male gaze is conceptualized due to the way women choose to dress for themselves. However, when Nel and Sula go Edna Finch's Mellow House for ice cream, the male gaze ultimately held power over their appearances: "Nel and Sula walked through this valley of eyes chilled by the wind and heated by the embarrassment of appraising stares." (50) They felt embarrassed and the male gaze was described as a valley of eyes, almost seemingly hovering over them as they walked together.

Another component of the male gaze is the verbal communication between a man and woman. A young man apparently "compliments" the girls by referring to their body as "pig meat", which I found degrading because  it objectified them: "Pig meat. The words were in all their minds." (50) There's definitely tension in the process of the male gaze when their eyes feed on their lust for the girls' skin and flesh.

I feel like this famous statue of Marilyn Monroe demonstrates what men seek in the male gaze. 

Credit

Sula pages 16-48: Overview

Sula is a novel exploring the theme of power in society through both gender and racial lens. The author, Toni Morrison, claimed in the novel's foreword that she did not want to address African-American culture as a "problem" but rather pursue it strictly in literary terms. I found that she somewhat contradicts this statement because there is a clear indication of white versus black race through the mention of skin colors and even behavior. However, I do find that the novel does not focus entirely race and the main purpose is not to depict political power struggles between two different races.

Another major theme in Sula is feminism or a form of female empowerment centralizing around outlawed women. In the foreword, Morrison seeks to discuss the consequences of being an outlaw woman in a woman-prejudiced society. Many female characters have been introduced (Cecila, Helene, Nel, Eva, Hanna, Sula) and I've noticed a pattern  of complexity in personality and responses to trials of being a women. There's a similarity in their experiences due to socio-political issues and family conflicts.

I'm really intrigued on how the novel will progress and also for the character development of Sula, since her name is the title of the novel. Personally, I anticipate how Sula will defy society norms and prove to be somewhat different from how she will respond to socio-economic problems.

Image Credit:

http://dramatica.com/resources/onesheets/sula-one-sheet.jpg