Sula by Toni Morrison
"Sula," a novel by Toni Morrison, explores the complex dynamics of friendship, community, and identity within the African American experience in the fictional town of Medallion, Ohio. The story is set against the backdrop of a community known as The Bottom, which has its roots in the era of slavery. It follows the intertwined lives of two women, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, whose intense friendship evolves amidst personal tragedies and societal expectations.
The narrative begins with Shadrack, a World War I veteran suffering from trauma, who introduces the concept of National Suicide Day. As the story unfolds, Sula and Nel develop a deep bond, marked by shared secrets and pivotal experiences, including a tragic incident involving a young boy. Their paths diverge when Nel marries and Sula returns to Medallion years later, defying societal norms and igniting conflicts within their community.
Sula's return brings about a series of events that lead to her being ostracized, reflecting themes of betrayal, loss, and the struggle for self-definition. Morrison’s work addresses the challenges faced by African American women and critiques the cultural expectations surrounding them. Through the lens of their friendship, "Sula" delves into the complexities of love, guilt, and the enduring impact of the past on personal and communal identities. The novel ultimately culminates in a poignant reflection on memory and the bonds that shape our lives.
Sula by Toni Morrison
First published: 1973
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: 1919–1965
Locale: Medallion, Ohio
Principal Characters
Sula Peace , the daughter of Hannah PeaceNel Wright , the daughter of Helene WrightEva Peace , Sula’s grandmotherHelene Wright , Nel’s motherHannah Peace , the daughter of Eva PeaceShadrack , a World War I Veteran
The Story
The Bottom, the African American community of Medallion, Ohio, originated in the time of slavery. Through trickery, an enslaved black man had accepted a portion of higher land from his master in exchange for completing “some very difficult chores.” The man had been told by his master that the land was nearer heaven and of better quality, but it was actually less desirable and subject to erosion.
In 1919, Shadrack, an African American World War I veteran and Medallion resident, is recuperating in a military hospital; he is suffering from psychological trauma. After his discharge from the hospital, he is arrested by the police but eventually released. Following the new year in 1920, Shadrack, carrying a cowbell and a hangman’s noose, walks through Medallion informing the residents that he offers them their “only chance to kill themselves.” With this act, he begins National Suicide Day.
Helene Wright, another Medallion resident, was born in New Orleans to Rochelle, a “Creole whore.” Helene, who was reared by her grandmother, Cecile Sabat, married Wiley Wright, the grandnephew of Cecile, and was brought north to Medallion. A civic-minded woman, Helene rears her daughter, Nel, in a protective manner. When Helene’s grandmother becomes ill, Helene journeys with Nel to New Orleans. They experience segregation on their journey, and in New Orleans, Nel meets her grandmother, Rochelle.
After Nel and her mother return to Medallion, Nel seems to have achieved a “new found me-ness.” At this time, Nel meets Sula Peace, who loves the orderly and “oppressive neatness” of the Wright household. In contrast, Sula’s home, headed by Eva Peace, is a “woolly house, where a pot of something was always cooking on the stove.”
In 1921, the household of Eva Peace includes her children, Hannah and Plum, Hannah’s daughter, Sula, and various “strays” such as the Deweys, three children given the same name by Eva. Eva, who had been deserted by her husband BoyBoy after five years of marriage, is rumored to have lost her leg by intentionally allowing a train to run over it so that she could collect money.
Both of Eva’s children die in tragic ways. Plum, a World War I veteran, returned in 1919 addicted to heroin. Eva sacrifices Plum by burning him to death. Hannah, a sexually liberated woman and a threat to the “good” women of the town, is burned to death accidentally when she tries to light the yard on fire. Eva attempts to save her daughter, whose death is witnessed silently by Sula.
In 1922, Sula and Nel, both about twelve years of age, share a friendship that is “as intense as it was sudden.” On one occasion, when they are harassed by four white boys, Sula demonstrates her resolve to fight by cutting off the tip of her own finger. Nel and Sula also share the secret of Chicken Little’s accidental drowning. While playing, Sula had tossed the young boy into the river.
In 1927, Nel marries Jude Greene, a tenor in Mount Zion’s Men’s Quartet. Nel’s marriage affects her friendship with Sula, who leaves Medallion. She returns in 1937, “accompanied by a plague of robins.” While away from Medallion, Sula attends college and travels to big cities. After her return, Sula is defiant and disrespectful to Eva. Sula also contributes to the breakup of Nel’s marriage by having an affair with Jude.
In 1939, Sula places Eva in the Sunnydale home for the elderly. Consequently, the African American community considers Sula to be bewitched. Sula’s sexual activities, her sleeping with white men and with the husbands of African American women, contributes to her pariah status. At age twenty-nine, Sula meets Ajax—Albert Jacks—a man thirty-eight years of age, whose mother is a conjure woman. Sula becomes emotionally attached to Ajax through their “genuine conversations.” After Ajax deserts Sula, she realizes that she had not really known him.
In 1940, Sula, who is seriously ill, is visited by Nel. They recount the past, and Nel blames Sula for having slept with Jude. In 1941, Sula’s death is “the best news folks up in the Bottom had had since the promise of work at the tunnel.” The building of a home for African American elderly people is another sign of the community’s revitalization. However, this hope is countered by ominous signs such as the ice storm that ruins crops, beginning a “dislocation” that Shadrack had prophesied. Shadrack and residents from Carpenter’s Road march to the tunnel, where their protest ends with an accidental cave-in.
In 1965, downtown Medallion is integrated. The land in the hills, which becomes more expensive, is used for building television towers, and a golf course is even proposed. The hills are left to “the poor, the old, the stubborn—and the rich white folks.”
When Nel visits Eva at the home for the elderly, Eva accuses Nel of having killed Chicken Little. Eva tells Nel that Plum, though dead, had revealed the truth about Chicken Little’s drowning. Eva’s revelations upset Nel, especially when Eva says that Nel and Sula are the same, stating, “never was no difference between you.”
After Nel leaves Eva, Nel begins to remember Chicken Little’s death and Sula’s burial. While Nel reflects, she is passed on the road by Shadrack, who is a “little shaggier, a little older” and “still energetically mad.” Recollecting the past, Nel whispers to Sula as if Sula were present. Nel affirms their childhood friendship and cries “loud and long.”
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