Sula by Toni Morrison Essay Example

Sula by Toni Morrison, is a book about a black female and the various events throughout her life. The majority of these events were at the fault of Sula, but because of her past she did not know, or could not understand any better. Sula became the woman that she was because of the people and events that were around her during her childhood. When Sula was a child, she grew up faster than most children because of the things that she saw and heard, so it was almost as if she had a loss of childhood. When Sula was only three years old, her father died. Although this may not have had a direct effect on Sula because of how young she was, her mother, Hannah, was left without a husband and with an unquenchable thirst for "maleness" (Bukisa). This passion for men led to Hannah having many affairs with different men but never building real relationships with them. Sula, being as curious as any child, often watched these interactions, or at least saw the aftereffects of these interactions, and understood that her mother found pleasure in men. Another incident during Sula's childhood involves her listening in on one of her mother's conversations. One day Sula heard Hannah tell some other woman that she loved Sula, but that she did not like her. Hannah's comments about not liking her made Sula begin to think about love. These thoughts of love were her first real interaction with adulthood (Sparknotes). Hearing her mother say this made Sula realize that she could not count on anyone except herself (Begnal). Sula realized that love was not what she thought it was, and it made her feel insecure, but secure at the same time. She knew that her mother would not stop loving her, but that love was not the same thing that she had once believed it to be (Sparknotes). A third traumatic event that occurred during the childhood of Sula was the death of Chicken Little. Sula and Nel were out playing near a lake, when a boy named Chicken Little showed up. Nel teased him, but instead of