Ethnic Lit.
Sula Essay
10/27
Women are typically characterized for having relationships with each other that are not always loyal or true. The ups and downs I witnessed from Sula and Nel in Sula made me think about my own life, and if I felt I knew two females who could endure more tragedy than this friendship brought on. To think of the sneakiness of Sula to betray her friend and have relations with her husband, and the bitterness of Nel to doom Sula as evil in the community I wondered how these two could ever find their way through the drama and slander. The answer is which I came up with however is they reconciled because these women needed each other. The reputation of Sula in the bottom is not one in which an individual would pleasantly welcome of themselves. Rumors about her promiscuity circle the town of this young woman, and although she deserves the title of being a slut I feel Sula is accurate but as a person Sula is misunderstood. With a broken support system at home from her mother and grandmother she is often times felt like no one loves her, and turns to sex to find the feeling of compassion from another human being.. I feel she left the bottom because of these things. One can picture the life in which she lived away from the bottom and how she must have dealt with her emotions and thoughts inside her head and it's not a pleasant one. However her trip back to the bottom reveals her sophistication does not make up for the void left in her heart due to lack of male compassion. Her relationship with Nel is one that is very helpful to her though. Sula does not go to her mom to talk nor her grandmother and so all of her thoughts and emotions are shared with Nel. An example of Sula opening up to Nel in the text is when they reminisce over Chicken Little and how his laughter still remained in their heads. They left the funeral holding hands which is a true sign of the two being close to one another. Sula has no one else to open up