"'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.
I dont really think that she lives through Nel that much. She definitely has a connection to the earth, but I am not so sure that it is with Nel. There is definitely a theme of magic realism.
ReplyDeleteLike Eli, I'm not sure that Sula lives through Nel, but she definitely still affects, changes, and is possibly still a part of Nel. I agree that Morison's naming the book after Sula may have been a result of this line and others like it - throughout the book I was wondering why she choose Sula to name it after. Your idea that it is because of how she influences Nel and the community even in death makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I didn't mean to post this meaning because after rereading the passage I got a different feeling/meaning from it. After reading, I realized that this is a boss line because it shows how Nel finally shows feelings for Sula's death and the loss of their friendship, and it links back to how she couldn't do this when she realized that Jude left her for Sula--how she was unable to shead one tear. This line also deals with the themes of love, Nel's love for Sula, and acceptance, how Nel starts to actually care about herself and realizes that in the midst of trying to be socially accepted, she comes to the conclusion that it is a lost cause, creating nothing but hurt,and even though Sula died, she died in a peaceful and satisfied way.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that Nel, after how upset she was after she found Jude and Sula in bed together, was so sad that Sula died. While everyone is sad when their closest friend dies it seems like she was just as distraught as when she found Sula and Jude together. Maybe Sula doesn't live through Nel but she definitely had some influence over her. Referring to Justin's last line in his comment it is ironic that Sula died peacefully after all the havoc she caused in other people's lives. I wonder what Sula would think if she could see everything happening after she had died? Getting a little sci-fi here but what if she was looking through Nel's eyes as it happened?
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