The Role of Motherhood in Sula
Harry Potter
Hour 6
Female Identity in Literature
18 October 2010
The Role of Motherhood in Sula by Toni Morrison As seen by many different mothers in the novel Sula by author Toni Morrison, mothers play an important part in kid’s life, shaping how they view different beliefs in the world and setting up values in their child. Every individual’s life is shaped by personal relationships they have with others. The mother and child relationship greatly affects the identity development in the kid. As seen in the racist community in the novel, the mother and kid relationship is important in the sense that the mothers and children share understanding of the sexist oppression, intertwining their lives together even more than they already were. As seen in different mother and daughter relationships including, Eva and Hannah Peace, Sula and Hannah Peace, and Helene and Nel Wright, readers come to terms that mothers and their children represent the connection between future and past. The relationship between Eva and Hannah Peace later affects how Hannah raises Nel, due to Eva not being a significant mother figure for Hannah to look up too. Eva was a good mother from the beginning. She always wanted the best for her family and most importantly her kids before taking care of herself. Though hard to understand by her children, Eva even kills one of her sons in order to release Plum from his heroine addiction and she leaves her family for eighteen months in order to make money and fend for her family. The eighteen month gap severely influenced the emotional relationship between Eva and Hannah. Eva never even chooses to share her misdoings with her daughter Hannah. At one point, Hannah even says to her mother, “ ‘Mamma, did you ever love us?’ ” (Morrison 67). (Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Vintage International, 2004. Print. Further references to this work will be documented parenthetically in the text.) In order to deal in which the poverty her family was living
Hour 6
Female Identity in Literature
18 October 2010
The Role of Motherhood in Sula by Toni Morrison As seen by many different mothers in the novel Sula by author Toni Morrison, mothers play an important part in kid’s life, shaping how they view different beliefs in the world and setting up values in their child. Every individual’s life is shaped by personal relationships they have with others. The mother and child relationship greatly affects the identity development in the kid. As seen in the racist community in the novel, the mother and kid relationship is important in the sense that the mothers and children share understanding of the sexist oppression, intertwining their lives together even more than they already were. As seen in different mother and daughter relationships including, Eva and Hannah Peace, Sula and Hannah Peace, and Helene and Nel Wright, readers come to terms that mothers and their children represent the connection between future and past. The relationship between Eva and Hannah Peace later affects how Hannah raises Nel, due to Eva not being a significant mother figure for Hannah to look up too. Eva was a good mother from the beginning. She always wanted the best for her family and most importantly her kids before taking care of herself. Though hard to understand by her children, Eva even kills one of her sons in order to release Plum from his heroine addiction and she leaves her family for eighteen months in order to make money and fend for her family. The eighteen month gap severely influenced the emotional relationship between Eva and Hannah. Eva never even chooses to share her misdoings with her daughter Hannah. At one point, Hannah even says to her mother, “ ‘Mamma, did you ever love us?’ ” (Morrison 67). (Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Vintage International, 2004. Print. Further references to this work will be documented parenthetically in the text.) In order to deal in which the poverty her family was living