Racism in Sula

There are several events when racism occurs in Sula, but there are two specific times when it actually happens—in the description about the community and the frequent nagging of Nel about her nose. Racism is shown in the community when Sula says, “A joke. A nigger joke. That was the way it got started. Not the town, of course, but that part of town where the Negroes lived, the part they called the Bottom in spite of the fact that it was up in the hills. Just a nigger joke” (4). After reading this quote, I realized that my perceptions about racism weren’t changed because Bottom represents the disappointing disposition of blacks that was ultimately caused by the racism of whites; it reflects how blacks over many years are always given the worst of everything and cheated out of what they’ve worked so hard for—respect and equal opportunity. For example, the unfortunate outcome of the deal made between the blacks and whites of Medallion about who was going to live in the valley:

So the slave pressed his master to try to get him some. He preferred it to the valley. And it was done. The nigger got the hilly land, where planting was backbreaking, where the soil slid down and washed away the seeds, and where the wind lingered all through the winter. Which accounted for the fact that white people lived on the rich valley floor in that little river town in Ohio, and the blacks populated the hills above it, taking small consolation in the fact that every day they could literally look down on the white folks. (5)

This quote also didn’t change my perception. The quote made me remember the sharecropping method; it was a “veiled” system of keeping blacks both in debt and slavery; the process was set up where the whites would give blacks land but the blacks would have to both pay for and harvest the crops, thus getting the bad end of a bargain. Another example of racism in Sula is the time when Helene constantly tells her daughter, Nel, to flatten her nose; Helene expresses her feelings about Nel’s nose when she says, “She had taken the broad flat nose of Wiley (although Helene expected to improve it somewhat)” (18). My perceptions about racism weren’t in conflict with this quote either because when I was growing up, my mother would always tell me to squeeze and flatten my nose, but Helene probably had a different reasoning behind making Nel do it. I feel she did this so that if and when her daughter was able to leave Medallion, she could be accepted by the white society.

Sula Vocab 2

1. solicitous- (n.) meticulously careful. "Kept them solicitous of white people's children" (160). Since I had a cold, I was very solicitous of the people I came in contact with.






2. malevolence- (n.) malevolent behavior; ill will; malice; hatred. "The slurred remarks and the staggering childish malevolence of their employees" (161). After 9/11, Americans had an extreme malevolence for the Islamic people.






3. fastidious- (adj.) showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care. "She had neither iron nor clothes but did not stop her fastidious lining up of pleats or pressing out of wrinkles even when she acknowledged Nel's greeting" (167). I had a fastidious upkeep for my rare quarters








4. dirge- (n). a song or hymn of grief or lamentation. "And so did Shadrack with his rope, his bell and his childish dirge"(155). During slavery, many black slaves would sing dirges in order to converse subliminal messages.













5. unassailable- (adj). not assailable: not liable to doubt, attack, or question. "The sealed window soothed her with its sturdy termination, its unassailable finality" (148). An unassailable lawyer will always have and conduct meticulous notes.










6. timbre- (n.) the distinctive tone quality differentiating one vowel or sonant from another. "It gave her voice the timbre she wanted it to have" (139). Since moving up north, my accent was able to have more timbre than when I lived in Atlanta.











7. ornate- (adj.) elaborately or excessively decorated. "An absence so decorative, so ornate, it was difficult for her to understand how she had ever endured" (134). Since my renovation, my house looks so ornate.








8. mercurial- (adj.) characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood. "She admires him, as though his mercurial nature" (12). My bipolar disorder caused me to have mercurial behavior.












9. trepidation- (n.) a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation. "Willy outside the bedroom, calls with some trepidation" (12). After escaping the grasp of Michael Myers' hands, my body shivered with such trepidation that I couldn't even hold anything in my hands.












10. imbue- (v.) to instill or inspire (with ideals, principles, etc.). "That's just the spirit I want to imbue them with!" (52). Dr. King's speech imbue in me the skills of resilience and nonviolence.

Boss Line

"'Sula?' she whispered, gazing at the tops of trees. 'Sula?'" (174).

This line shows one how much Nel misses Sula from the fact that she is calling out her name and it also reassures what everyone believes in the community: Nel and Sula are one in the same. Maybe this is why Morrison names the book Sula because even in her death, Sula stills seems to live on earth, possibly through Nel. This line could also reflect the theme of magic realism especially with the changes/omens that occur after Sula's death; at first, it is portrayed that her death lifted the evil spirit that lurked Medallion, but afterwards, the town begins to see that her "evil spirit" is what actually balances out the community, and without it, leaves complete chaos. Also another meaning of this quote is that it shows Nel's regret for the sudden, unfortunate ending to their long-lasting relationship.

Sula Vocab

1. Repugnance- noun. Strong dislike, distaste, or antagonism. “All their repugnance was contained in the neat balance” (8). My views of the play had great repugnance because of the horrible job done by the actors.

2. Abate- verb. To reduce in degree or intensity. “Shadrack was suffering from a blinding headache, which was not abated by the comfort he felt when the policeman pulled his hands away from what he thought was a permanent entanglement with his shoelaces” (13). In order to abate the intensity of the argument between the two students, the teacher decided to put both students into their own “time-out” corner.

3. Unequivocal- adjective. Leaving no doubt. “A black so definite, so unequivocal, it astonished him” (13). Because I studied very well for my chemistry test, I felt that it would be unequivocal to think that I would receive nothing less than an A on the test.

4. Quell- verb. To thoroughly overwhelm and reduce to submission or passivity; quiet; pacify. “Who could quell a roustabout with a look, if she were really custard, then there was a chance that Nel was too” (23). My mother had such a handle on me where any look she gave me could quell me from saying anything that I would later regret.

5. Guile- noun. Deceitful; cunning. “Her flirting was sweet, low and guileless” (42). The great Olympiads—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—showed great guile when they used the kingdom of Ithaca as a bait for getting Odysseus to do whatever they wanted him to do. *I could only like one of my pictures to this word.

6. Fastidious- adjective. Having high and often capricious standards; difficult to please. “Hannah was fastidious about whom she slept with” (43). I have very fastidious ways about my food: I only eat food that hasn’t been fried, packaged, or cooked by someone other than my mom.

7. Vitriol- noun. Something highly caustic or severe in effect, as criticism. “Made them defend her and protect her from any vitriol that newcomers or their wives might spill” (45). Because my project was so sloppy, I received vitriol from my teacher for my poor works.

8. Insouciant- adjective. Lighthearted unconcern. “Nel’s grimy intractable children looked like three wild things happily insouciant in the May shine” (96). The insouciant children refused to stop stepping on my freshly garden that I worked so hard on everyday for at least two weeks.

9. Contrive- verb. To form or create in an artistic or ingenious manner. “Their evidence against Sula was contrived, but their conclusions about her were not” (118). In order to fit everyone’s schedule, I contrived a plan where all of the members could attend the mandatory rehearsal in a punctual manner and still have time remaining where they can do what they wanted to do afterwards.

10. Pariah- noun. One that is despised or rejected; outcast. “She was pariah, then, and knew it” (122). While everyone else went on the bike trial, I felt like a pariah because out of the whole group, I was the only one who didn’t know how to ride a bike.

*Just so you know, I linked all of my pictures to each word it describes.

Votre Amour

How can it be?
One who's a lover and a comrade?
How can it be!!!!
The thing is, it can't; it doesn't exist.
The moment the sheets are spread and
the pillows are fluffed, your job is done.
No worries or troubles are left behind.
But is that what one really wants?
How can one find the thrill for lust without the
journey of finding a soul mate who is a
similar version of oneself?
So what keeps the lover going?
I'll tell ya.
It's the chance to reach out and touch that
special person with such assurance and security
similar to that of an ungloved hand.

Mimicing Writing Used By Morrison

Even now on the saddest day in Penelope Neighbors I could remember---a day so sad that the chirping of my phone haunts me as I hear yet again the daunting news of my mother's omission, a day so sad where the doctors become like the fizzes of a coke bottle after it's been shook as their ears are tickled by the interminable cacophony of "HELP!", a day so sad where the constant moans of hurting patients become like Charybdis as each and every sound swivels you up and scars your soul.

The Unfortunate and Fortunate Events of Nel and Sula

This video shows pictures of three themes found in 2/14 reading: marriage, love, and death. I chose the song "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum because it shows how two people can satisfy each others' needs through their commitment to a relationship, such as with Nel and Jude; and it also shows the sadness of losing someone you'll never see again because of the love you have for them, such as with Eva with both Hannah's strange question and sudden death.