Intro to African American Literature

Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional, verbal or non-verbal slights or insults that communicate derogatory or negative messages to marginalized groups. These actions can be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other characteristics. Derald Wing Sue, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, is a leading expert in this area. In one of his previous articles, Wing Sue discussed microaggressions from a more racial perspective. However, he has decided to focus his study more on microaggressions within the female community as well as the gay community. Through his article Microaggressions : more than just race, he chooses to debate microaggressions in everyday life. He then shares his knowledge on microaggressions by clearly explaining to us what it is about. He then highlights several perspectives that he considers essential by firstly affirming that most well-intentioned White Americans have inherited racial biases that exist outside their conscious awareness. He also shows that microaggressions are verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults that communicate hostile messages to marginalized people. In his work, Sue has highlighted that microaggressions are not always overt or intentional acts of discrimination but can still have a significant impact on individuals’ mental health and well-being. 

Through his article, the author chooses to stage situations in order to denounce malicious and discriminatory behavior. In fact, the latter chooses to highlight situations and daily prejudices which seem almost insignificant but which, on the contrary, are offensive for the person concerned. It is possible to use one of the examples of situations, that he gave in the article, to show all the injustice and discrimination that is found there. In the “gender microaggressions” section, Wing Sue confronts us with the following situation: “A female physician wearing a stethoscope is mistaken as a nurse. (Hidden message: Women should occupy nurturing and not decision-making roles. Women are less capable than men).” Even if at first glance the action of confusing the profession of nurse and doctor might not shock and be perceived as a harmless act, in reality here Wing Sue proves that it is quite the opposite and that behind certain thoughts and words there is always a hidden message. Indeed, here, it perpetuates harmful stereotypes and biaises about gender roles and professions. Such assumptions are based on outdated and discriminatory beliefs that certain professions are more suitable or natural for women, while others are reserved for men. This assumption reinforces the stereotype that nursing is a female-dominated profession, while medecine is primarily for men. It disregards the reality that women can and do excel in various fields, including medicine, and can hold positions of authority and expertise as doctors. Additionally, it undermines the accomplishments and qualifications of women in medecine by assuming they hold lower-ranking positions. Such assumptions can contribute to a hostile work environment for women in male-dominated fields like medecine, where they may already face challenges related to gender discrimination, bias and lack of recognition for their contribution.  

Furthermore, Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine, also relates about microaggressions, particularly those directed at women because it bare a series of everyday encounters that illustrate the experiences of microaggressions faced by the protagonist, who is a black woman navigating various social contexts in America. These encounters, though seemingly mundane on the surface, carry significant weight due to their implications and the racial dynamics at play. She experiences subtle acts of exclusion, such as being overlooked or dismissed in social situations. These acts may seem minor, but they contribute to a sense of otherness and marginalization. She also experiences microinvalidations and gaslighting, where her experiences of racism are minimized or denied by others. This gaslighting can take the form of well-intentioned but dismissive comments like “I’m sure they didn’t mean it that way” or “You’re overreacting.” These responses invalidate her experiences and feelings, contributing to a sense of isolation and frustration.

In conclusion, Wing Sue as well as Rankine are fighting against microaggression by trying to immerse ourselves in a discriminatory situation in order to represent to ourselves what discriminated people experience and thus allows a radical awareness. 

Discussion questions :

What role do bystanders play in addressing and preventing microaggressions against women? How can individuals intervene effectively to support victims, challenge harmful behaviors, and promote environments of respect and equality?

How do microaggressions targeting sexual orientation impact the daily lives and experiences of gay individuals? How do these subtle forms of prejudice contribute to feelings of marginalization, alienation, and stress within the LGBTQ+ community? 

Works cited :

Derald Wing Sue, Microaggressions : More than just race

Claudia Rankine, Citizen : An American lyric (Graywolf 2014)

“If they don’t see happiness in the picture, at least they’ll see the black.” This quote introduces the reader to the world of Citizen: An American Lyric, a book by Claudia Rankine that details the struggles of living in American society as an African American in a unique way; this idea is immediately thrown to the reader at the beginning of the book. The opening chapter contains small anecdotes depicting your firsthand struggles as an African American. What makes this book unique from others is the effective writing strategy that Rankine implements throughout the chapter, which allows all readers to relate to the subject being discussed. In Citizen, Claudia Rankine’s constant use of the second person ‘you’ serves as a universal character that readers can relate to while educating readers about the phenomenon known as John Henryism. 

The first of many powerful instances starts within the book’s first pages. Imagine this: You are a Catholic school student, and a girl asks if she could copy off your test; while you do not know the girl, you let her cheat on your test anyway. After this, you two only talk the day the next test comes. But she constantly says that you smell good and that you have features similar to a white person. This story ends when she thanks you for letting her cheat and mentions how she feels about cheating off an “almost white person.” (Rankine, 3.) The emotional impact of these experiences is palpable, inviting the reader to feel empathetic towards the ‘you’ character. Another instance appears further in the chapter when you and a woman eat lunch at a café. You two order your food and immediately talk about college; the woman mentions how she, her father, her grandfather, and you have all attended the same college. She grows disgruntled as she explains how her son was not accepted into the school and blames affirmative action; how do you react? Do you apologize for ‘taking her son’s spot?’ You sit there as she grows upset about how you took her son’s place at that school. (Rankine, 12.) Situations similar to this probably cause much unwanted stress; you seem never to be able to escape this horrid mistreatment. Following these events, you decide to seek help. You have contacted your therapist over the phone for some time now and scheduled an appointment to meet in person. On the day of the appointment, you go towards the back of the house to the entrance where patients typically meet. You ring the doorbell, and soon later, the woman at the door screams at the top of her lungs, “Get away from my house! What are you doing in my yard?” (Rankine, 18.) She yells as if a dog has gained the power of speech; once you step back, you explain that you are there for an appointment. After realizing her mistake, all she does is constantly apologize. (Rankine, 18.)

These were just some of a few examples in the chapter of the heavy amount of racism a person could face throughout their life. One of the chapter’s key themes is John Henryism, a term coined by Sherman James. It refers to the high levels of stress experienced by individuals due to racism, and this societal stress can have severe lifelong health implications (Rankine, 10.) Citizen is a valuable tool for readers to explore John Henryism through the lens of a universal character, fostering a deeper understanding of the African American experience. Rankine purposefully writes in a second-person perspective so that all readers can relate to this struggle. Authors often struggle to get readers to relate to their characters so that they are engaged with learning the theme; only some people have lived through similar experiences in the real world. If the book is written in the first or third person, then the total number of people who relate to the text shrinks, as many readers may find that the narrator or outside characters share different sentiments than they do. With a second-person perspective involving ‘you,’ every person reading this chapter can relate to the presented struggles. This opens the range of audience engaged with the reading and who may want to learn more about John Henryism. Having a universal character forces the reader to relate to the text and may instinctively allow them to immerse themselves better into it.

Other writers could use styles similar to Claudia Rankine’s in Citizen, which implements the second-person point of view with the word ‘you’ to better allow their readers to relate to the text’s themes. This unique writing style allows all readers to create a character of themselves in the author’s environment, allowing them to learn more about their world. Rankine uses the example of John Henryism by having the main character (you) face racial hardships in most aspects of life, later introducing the term and highlighting its adverse long-term effects. 

Discussion Questions:

1. Is it important for Americans to learn about John Henryism? Why or why not?
2. Do you think that the meaning of this text would change if there was a specific character instead?

Works Cited

Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric (Graywolf, 2014)

 

As a reader, a lot of us prioritize what is the message that the author is trying to convey to us. It is a common thing to do as readers. As we continue to read a story, do we make connections to things we learned from our education or through our life experiences? The reason why I point this out is because that is one of the main reasons why we get interested in novels or articles. Poet Alice Walker can write a reflection on one’s story. What allows the reading, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Garden’ by Alice Walker, able to have great success is the fact that she acknowledges the history of African American Women and also acknowledges who one is as a person. Let me explain my statement. On page 5 Walker brings up how African American women are seen in society. As I read this section, the sentence that catches my attention the most has to be towards the end. In the reading, it states, “To be an artist and a black woman, even today, lowers our status in many respects, rather than raises it; and yet, artist we will be” (Walker Page 5). This quote is essential because it gives a summary of the struggles that black women face in society, however, this quote also shows strength and determination to stick to your identity. I enjoyed reading that part because I was able to make connections between that sentence with my personal life or a reading that I had read. Tragedy, self-love, and mental health play a big role in how we contribute to our days and play a factor in our future. The whole point of that quote is to give a reminder that we should not allow our struggles to take over, but rather conquer them.

As I continued reading, what caught my attention a lot was the history of her mother and the appreciation that she has for her. Walker brought up the lifestyle that her mother lived and it wasn’t pretty, to say the least. As she continued her quest to recognize the creativity that others do, she realized that her mother was an artist herself. Although she was not a painter, her mother was a garden designer and her work is a representation of creative expression. Other artists like Faith Ringgold and Bisa Butler share the same concept in showing their feelings. For example, the quilt, “Woman on a Bridge” by Faith Ringgold, is important because it represents an African American girl who is living in New York and can fly. The young girl has access to go to her rooftop and one night as she is lying down the stars lift her which is how she can fly. A quote from the quilt that stood out to me the most is when the girl says the following, “Only eight years old and in the third grade and I can fly. That means I am free to go wherever I want to for the rest of my life” (Ringgold). This example is significant because it represents power and liberty to the little girl. The quilt work setting is throughout the great depression. The representation that the artist is trying to convey is freedom. Street Story Quilt also shows the same theme but in a different story setting. The quilt work setting is in Harlem but in a building where it is divided between two characters who suffer through poverty and racism. As I was reading the iconic projects that Ringgold had produced, I remembered how her work shows how our country stands. Although the work had been produced a long time ago, the same message from the quilt work still stays the same.  Throughout our history, an enduring issue that we always faced is inequality. As a society, we still fail to contribute to fixing this issue. “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” is stated in the Declaration of Independence. Everyone in this country has those rights and those rights were produced in 1776. The messages from Walker and Ringgold connect to this because in the end that is what they’re trying to fight for which is liberty.

Bisa Butler is an artist who can represent the identity of African Americans. Her work can express the culture in positive ways. Throughout her time at Howard University, her professor had spoken to her about how her work should be positive and she still sticks with that I believe that is important because it gives a better connection and narrative towards the audience. The work that she produced most people had told her that they’re able to feel the spirit of the people who are being represented in the quilt. It is crazy how one can think that or feel that in my opinion. These 3 individuals produced great ways to show their forms of expression toward African Americans.

Questions:

How is “In Search of Our Mothers Gardens” able to have a connection to African American History? What is the message that Alice Walker trying to convey?

Based on the quilt “Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach” by Faith Ringgold, what is the representation that Ringgold trying to set up in her artwork? Based on the information that was given, what conclusion did you come up with and why?

Work Cited:

“Bisa Butler: Portraits | Exhibition Stories.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/videos/44/bisa-butler-portraits-exhibition-stories. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

“Bisa Butler: Portraits.” The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9324/bisa-butler-portraits.

“Faith Ringgold | Street Story Quilt.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/485416.

Spector, Nancy. “Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach.” Guggenheim, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/3719.

“Walker_In Search Of.pdf.” Google Docs, drive.google.com/file/d/1ZZDHvHq-56H2zAbL4b7qsRoXPXRnEnWW/view. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Alice Walker’s “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” and the Quilts created by the likes of Faith Ringgold and Bisa Butler all share a common message and theme. Their work resembles strength and pride for African American Women using artwork and symbolism to tell a story using pictures. When I looked at the Quilts and watched the videos, I noticed that the colors were extremely bright and vibrant. It popped out and caught my attention quickly. I like this about the artwork because not only is it extremely noticeable, but it also helps express the personality of the person as well as the type of style they like to make their quilts. In Walker’s text, she expresses how poetry is also a good way to get your point across because you can use metaphors and similes to express how you feel.

I also noticed reading the text that Walker’s mother was a huge influence in shaping her into the strong woman she is today. The quote “During the “working” day, she labored beside-not behind-my father in the fields. Her day began before sunup and did not end until late at night. There was never a moment for her to sit down, undisturbed, to unravel her own private thoughts; never a time free from interruption by work or the noisy inquiries of her many children.” Page 6. This quote is significant to me because seeing her mother not only work to make money but also work in the house to cook and clean shows that she grew up with a hard-working and loving mother who she could look up to for guidance and support. Walker states that while she was growing up and exploring the country, she was saddened to see that the African American women in the country were so beautiful yet so underappreciated by society. I think that was the inspiration to start using poetry and artistic methods such as paintings and quilts to inspire any African American woman who sees it to realize that they are strong, beautiful, and independent. Something else I’ve noticed reading the text and watching the videos is that colors are very important in showing how vibrant or bright something or someone is.

I mentioned before that the quilts and paintings had a lot of bright colors but it’s interesting to see how Alice Walker incorporated her mother’s garden into the text as well to show how they inspired her. It states “And I remember people coming to my mother’s yard to be given cuttings from her flowers; I hear again the praise showered on her because whatever rocky soil she landed on, she turned into a garden. A garden so brilliant with colors, so original in its design, so magnificent with life and creativity that people drive by our house in perfect strangers and imperfect strangers and ask to stand or walk among my mother’s art.” Page 8. Her growing up with all these beautiful flowers and a wonderful mother must have been the inspiration for her to start using art as a way to express stories about people.

The artwork I see from the quilts matches the description of her mother’s garden. Faith Ringgold’s “Woman on a Bridge” was a symbolic piece of work that was meant to show people that you should go and strive above and beyond. The girl is above the bridge floating and I think it is meant to show that oppression and unfair laws make it hard for African American women to succeed but you can use outlets like making quilts to tell your story. The “Street Story Quilt” was also constructed by Faith Ringgold, and I think it does a very nice job of depicting what it was like to live in the area in 1985. I noticed in Faith Ringgold’s work that the colors aren’t dark, but the setting of her work is during the nighttime so they aren’t as vibrant as in Bisa Butler’s work. Bisa Butler’s quilts to me are a lot more eye-catching and have more of a wow factor to them. This is because she uses way brighter colors to make her work and I think this is because she wants to show off the person, she is quilting to make them feel seen or heard.

Questions

How does Alice Walker use art and poetry to help express how she feels to other people? Why do you think her mother’s garden was such a big influence in her being able to express herself?

How can we use art and color to see what type of mood or setting the person is trying to instill for the viewer. Does the color or background help create a story if there are no words on the canvas?

Work Cited

“WALKER_IN Search of.Pdf.” Google Drive, Google, drive.google.com/file/d/1ZZDHvHq-56H2zAbL4b7qsRoXPXRnEnWW/view. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

 

Because of my schedule, I was unfortunately unable to attend any of the Black History Month Events on campus. Instead, I chose to delve into the 2023 film adaptation of The Color Purple, directed by Blitz Bazawule. I watched this film while we were reading and discussing Sula by Toni Morrison in class, and could not help but notice the parallels between the two stories highlighting female relationships and networks within the black community. This film tells a beautiful story of how women and feminine relationships are built in the context of a dark reality and are able to provide a unique refuge and joy.  

The Color Purple was originally a novel written by Alice Walker and published in 1982. The book won awards and was very well reviewed, and was adapted into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg in 1985. In 2001, the story was adapted into a Broadway musical. The 2023 movie version that I watched is an adaptation of the musical. The use of music and dance in this film I think makes the hardships discussed more accessible to a wider audience, like younger viewers. Additionally, the musical aspect can highlight black joy through the vibrant musical and dance numbers that the characters perform throughout. This adds to a key theme of the movie – the ability the black community has had to find joy despite hardship and oppression throughout history. 

The plot of the movie focuses on the story of two sisters (Celie and Nettie), who were able to find refuge and joy within each other despite the darkness of their childhood. These sisters are so close, and depend on one another. Their relationship immediately reminded me of Sula and Nel’s in Sula by Toni Morrison, in that they also had this form of relationship where they were able to escape from their woes within each other. This quote from Sula about Sula and Nel’s relationship also perfectly depicts Celie and Nettie’s: “In the safe harbor of each other’s company they could afford to abandon the ways of other people and focus on the perception of things… Joined in mutual admiration, they watched each day as though it were a movie arranged for their amusement” (55). Celie is married off to a terrible man as a teenager, and the two sisters are separated, for what becomes most of their life. The absence of Nettie in Celie’s life is heartbreaking, and it shows how deeply these two depend on each other for survival. Survival became a key aspect for me in understanding the relationships in this movie. Nettie and Celie depend on each other to survive their childhood, and then through her sister’s absence, Celie is forced to find other means of survival. This manifests through a new sisterhood she creates with two new characters, Shug and Sophie. Again, these characters provide an escape for Nettie from the cruelty of her husband and reality of her life. Shug and Sophie empower her to the point where Celie stands up to her husband, a crucial moment in the film. Aside from her feminine relationships, Celie’s life has been seemingly miserable. At one point in the film she says, “I may be black. I may be poor. I may even be ugly. But I’m here!” This again points to the theme of focus on survival.  

The ability to survive through creating a strong female network is key to understanding the experience of Black Americans, especially in the 20th century, when both Sula and The Color Purple are set. In Sula, Nel and Sula’s relationship is described as incredibly unified: “They never quarreled, the way some girlfriends did over boys, or competed against one another for them. In those days a compliment to one was a compliment to the other, and cruelty to one was a challenge to the other” (83). The girls use their friendship to strengthen and defend one another. This unity and defense mechanism is also prevalent in The Color Purple, in that Celie can find strength and bravery in her relationships with Shug and Sophie. 

The Color Purple is a beautiful story and addresses many dark aspects of black history and experience, and there is so much to be said about it. Watching the movie while simultaneously reading Sula allowed me to focus in on the aspect of feminine relationships and community, and building support, especially for black women. This is crucial to surviving oppression, and both stories do an excellent job of displaying that. 

 

Sources: 

Bazawule, Blitz. The Color Purple. Warner Bros., 1985.

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage Books, 1994.

 We meet Eva not too long into the book and get to know her as a very independent person. Her cheating husband left her with practically nothing but 3 mouths to feed. She was the only parent figure in the peace family. She did as much as she could for her family, not much but also her neighbors would help. She had come to a point where she left her children for 18 months. We don’t know what’s she does in that time, but what we do now is that she came back a new woman, not just because she had lost one of her legs but because she was ready. Ready to be there and had returned with some money. Not too soon she was the picture of an independent strong-minded women. In the book we get a sense of how she was perceived by others. “The wagon was so low that children who spoke to her standing up were eye level with her, and adults, standing or sitting, had to look down on her. But they didn’t know it. They all had the impression that they were looking up at her, up into the open distances of her eyes, up into the soft black of her nostrils and up at the crest of her chin.” (31)  When I read this, I get the image of her standing on her balcony of her house as she looks at the people, she takes care of. Not only her family but the number of people who lived in her house and feeling personally responsible for all of them. She sacrificed her own happiness and maybe health to ensure that the people she loves are taken care of. In her own unique way.

In the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, we meet Lena Young, but mostly known as Mama. She is the head of the household and cares for each person in that home. She has faced challenges like poverty, racism, and the death of her husband. In my opinion she is a bold character. Even with all the problems she has with her family, specifically her children, she still manages to control them in way that she always has the last word. Granted she is their mother, but it would be unthinkable to stand next to her talk out of turn. Beneatha and Mama don’t always see eye to especially when it comes to religion. In the play beneath and Mama get into a heated argument about gods role in their lives. Mama “Course you going to be a doctor honey, God willing.” Beneatha “God hasn’t got a thing to do with it.” Mama “Beneatha, that just wasn’t necessary” Beneatha “Well neither is God. I get sick of hearing about God. . . I mean it! I’m just tired of hearing about God all the time. What has he got to do with anything? Does he pay tuition?” (Hansberry, 50-51)In the book she is described as an old-fashioned woman but still supports her family’s decisions and wants the absolute best for them.

I think both of these women set the example of proud women. They’re proud of what they’ve overcome and achieved in life. But their daughters want more. They come from a different generation of course and don’t always see what their mothers have sacrificed for them. The privileges of their life that they didn’t have growing up. But can you blame them for wanting more? Isn’t that point of a growing family? To step up to the plate and bring your family name further. To achieve things to make your parents proud. I know I am. I’m a first-generation student who believes to succeed in life is to make my parents proud and do what they couldn’t. What would be the point of sacrificing so much? To do the bare minimum? No. But does that mean that should be the only thing to reach for in life? No. When you look at the relationship Eva and Hannah have and the relationship Mama and Beneatha have, you see some similarities. In the book Hannah asks her mother if she ever loved her children. Her response was “Aww, Mamma? Aww Mamma? You settin’ here with your healthy-ass self and ask me did I love you? Them big old eyes in your head would a been two holes full of maggots if I hadn’t. I didn’t mean that, Mamma. I know you fed us and all I was talking ‘bout something else. Like. Like playin’with us. Did you ever, you know, play with us?” (Morrison, 68)  Eva and Hannah have a complicated relationship because they both have different point of views on what love is. Eva sees love as being a provider and Hannah sees it as doing more than that and being more a caring character for her children.

Sula takes you through the early 1900s and the struggles of mainly black women. In the 1900s Black women were taught to take care of the house and children so of course they were only taught housekeeping skills. But it was a cruel circle where women were constantly getting left, cheated on or abused by their husbands. By the time their husbands left or died, they were left to fend for themselves and their children. Colored women weren’t looked at as smart or beneficial to others, but they were resilient. They couldn’t stand to be looked at as nothing. They overcame the obstacles to become the woman they needed in their life. To be that role model in the way they knew how.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do these two mothers love differently? Is it because of their experience?
2. What kind of relationship do you have with your mother/mother figure that is similar or different?

Works cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage Books, 1994.

Morrison, Toni. Sula. Columna, 1995.

 

As we continue to read Sula, by Toni Morrison, we are able to get a deeper understanding of the characters and the way in which they choose to live their lives. We are given great, in depth, descriptions as to the actions and emotions, and I believe it is up to us to interpret those for better or worse. In other words, we are left to our own opinions as each character moves about the story, and our minds form these thoughts which deepen exactly how we perceive certain events and traits.

I would like to focus in on Eva Peace, more specifically, how her character is described throughout many different instances. In earlier pages, we learn that Eva has done many different things for her children, things that she believes is out of the good of her heart. The first being when Plum had bowel troubles. She used the last bit of food in the house to help the child relieve himself. But now the children are left without a meal to depend on for the time being. Next, she leaves her children for eighteen months, and although it seems like she ditched them, she eventually comes home with more wealth than ever before. The only thing is, she only had one leg left, which leaves us open to many different assumptions. Further along in the story, Plum returns home for war, a shell of his former self. Eva eventually succumbs to his pain and ignites him up into flames, walking away calmly, as if she did nothing of the sort. Overall, we are able to see two sides to Eva, one that helps to keep her children alive, and another that comes out of a dark place. But are these all acts of love or not?

As we move forward onto pages 67 through 85 of Sula, in 1923 we are led to believe that Eva’s children, specifically Hannah, question her love. “‘Mamma, did you ever love us?’…’I mean did you? You know. When we was little.’” (67).  At first the question poses as Hannah realizes her mother no longer loves them but was curious as to if there ever was love. However, Eva follows up with a response of, “‘No. I don’t reckon I did. Not in the way you thinkin’.” (67). In this instance, we begin to wonder exactly what Eva means by that. Did she love them because they were her children? Was it a forced love? Eva seems to get slightly defensive, or even offended by the question at hand. Later that week, when Hannah catches on fire, Eva throws herself out of the window in an attempt to save her daughter. However, we are led to infer that her death was an accident, so perhaps Eva aided in the process as she had with Plum. Although we are not told for certain that this was the case, I believe it is hinted to us in that way due to Eva’s prior actions with a different child of hers. Also, when at the hospital, Eva was pushed to the side and forgotten about until Old Willy Fields saved her by bringing attention to the nurses. “From then on Willy boasted that he had saved Eva’s life- an indisputable fact which she herself admitted and for which she cursed him every day…” (77). This led me to believe that maybe Eva did not want to be saved, as she had to continue to live with what she did to her own children.

After we learn and understand the story thus far of Eva Peace, we can analyze her story, character traits, and morals. Since we are led to believe she does whatever she can for her children, this leads us to thinks that she does this out of love. But by doing everything she can, it may be morally wrong especially when death is involved at her hands. Everyone has their own ways of showing and expressing love, but I do not believe that the end results of Eva’s doings are particularly out of love for her children. I believe she does these horrific things out of selfishness, as she cannot stand to see her children endure such things. This may fall into a grey area, as we discussed last week, that it can be placed in between what may be right and wrong. From the perspective we learn about, we are led to infer that Eva loves her children too much to allow them to continue in life while in pain. But she acts as if they are almost a bother of her, especially looking at Plum and everything he went through up until his death. Overall, Eva peace is an interesting character to look at, as the way she goes about life can ultimately be questioned by the greater good.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you believe Eva Peace truly loved her children? Why or why not? How does your belief back up Eva’s actions?
2. If you were in her Eva Peace’s shoes, do you believe you would do the same thing? Why or why not?

Citations

Morrison, Toni. Sula. First Vintage International Edition, June 2004

When I started reading “Sula” by Toni Morrison, I felt an overwhelming sense of uncertainty, like I didn’t quite know what was going on or how to feel. We are in a world of black and white, and good and evil, but nothing really is black, white or good and bad in life or in this story. It’s a world of grey, where what may seem evil is not really and vice versa. By the end, we see that this tentative, grey-area theme runs throughout the story and is perfectly demonstrated in the chapters 1921 and 1922.

The most striking events in the chapter 1921 center around Eva and her son nicknamed Plum. Eva saves Plum as a baby when he has an impacted bowel. She could not stand to see him in pain and knew that if she didn’t do something to help, the baby would have died. As any mother would, she did whatever she had to do to save her child. Then later on in 1921 chapter, we see a mirror image of this situation play out years later with Plum and his mother Eva. Plum is now back from war, and he is a broken man. He is mentally and physically suffering, and this is no way to live. Eva sees this and once again comes to the rescue, but in a different way. Eva kills her son by setting him on fire. It’s a shocking act that at first glance seems heartless and evil. But it is an act committed because of Eva’s intense love of Plum. She can’t bear to see him suffer and commits an “evil” act for his own good, knowing it will save him from himself. He is a man but he is also her child and as a mother, she needs to help him. We would see it as horrific and bad, but it is in this situation, selfless and completely done out of love and goodness. A quote from “Sula” I think relates to both the scenarios is from when Plum is suffering from the impacted bowel, “She managed to soothe him, but when he took up crying again that night, she resolved it once and for all.” (Morrison 34). This quote relates to both times Eva would help her son and stop his suffering and I believe is almost a precursor for what is to come later in 1921. The line between what is right and what is wrong is blurred and it’s all grey.

In 1922, we see this theme of things not being definitive, black and white again. This time it involves Sula and Nel. Sula represents all things bad; her family is disjointed, unorganized, not the socially acceptable norm. Nel, on the other hand, comes from a stable family that is structured and seen as good.  In an absolutely horrifying scene, they are playing with a neighborhood boy, Chicken Little. Sula and the boy begin to play together, and she is spinning him around in a circle by the hands. He accidentally slips from her grip, falls into the river and drowns. The two girls do nothing. In this scene, both the “good” and “bad” characters take no action to save this child, nor do they own up to the accident. I think this is actually a major significant event in the story that will haunt both characters throughout their lives although at the time, they are emotionless and actionless. They are, in a sense, in the grey zone where there is no action, no emotion, no right and no wrong. And the girl from the good family Nel, did the same as the girl from the “bad” family, Sula. You also see themes of grey area in 1922 with this quote “He dragged the sack away and hooked it over the side, so that the Chicken’s body was half in half out of the water.” (Morrison 64). Again, the theme of that grey area, its not in or out of the water its half in and half out.

The overarching theme of white and black, and good versus evil appears throughout “Sula”. But it is the realization that things really are not just black and white in the world that is most the interesting point. We all have the tendency to identify something as good or bad and not see what lies in between. As children, we are taught good and bad exists. But we are not taught that there is also this grey area. And the older I get, the more I realize that most of life really is lived in this grey area, where the line between what is right and what is wrong is blurred and not so easily discernable. The story “Sula” has a lot of references to black and white and we see them reversed and jumbled (where the best land is at the bottom and the “Bottom” is on the top) and, in the end, nothing is what it seems. But in addition to this inversion throughout the story is the awareness that what one thinks is right and good – the stable family, saving a child’s life – is just as right and good as the unstable family and ending a life out of mercy. And the “good” girl Nel was happy that young Chicken Little drowned whereas the girl from the unstable “bad” home Sula carried that guilt with her for her whole life. There is not always a right and a wrong and most of life lies somewhere in between the two, even linking two opposing sides together and creating this grey, blurred ambiguity that is real life.

Sources:

• Morrison, Toni. 1^st Vintage International ed. New York, Vintage International, 2004.

Discussion Questions:

1. How would things be different if Sula and Nel had confessed to accidentally dropping Chicken Little in the river? Would they have turned against each other and would Sula have been the one to take the blame because she is from the “bad” family?
2. What other actions in life can fall in that grey, ambiguous space or do you believe there is always a right and wrong side?

This week’s blog post takes a deeper look into pages 30-66 in Toni Morrison’s “Sula”. Up to this point of the reading we have been able to learn a little bit about each character and have been able to see a few different interactions between everyone. Something that has really stood out so far is the in depth narration and description of different scenes and characters throughout. It has pretty much come natural to this point of the book how easy it is to paint that picture of what is going on. We’re able to do this because of the descriptive words, and in depth character analysis of certain settings and situations. Many books out there have a movie that goes along with them and it is always interesting to see how the characters interact with one another along with scene development. Right now this story does not need that because of how in depth and easy it is to picture each character and setting. Think back to earlier in the semester when we were reading “A Raisin In The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. The book was great and had amazing character / story development but lacked that ability to paint a picture in the reader’s mind for what their situation looked like. When I’m reading Sula I have these thoughts and images constantly running through my head about how it looks because of the constant use of descriptive words and imagery. 

 

We’re at a point in the book where we are slowly learning about who the main characters are like Sula, Eva, Boyboy, and more. Toni Morrison does such a good job describing situations and characteristics. She does this by using certain words and phrases that give the reader an idea of what is really going on in the scene. Off rip Morrison immediately starts talking about Sula’s house stating “The creator and sovereign of this enormous house with the four seckel-pear trees in the front yard and the single elm in the back yard was Eva Peace, who sat in a wagon on the third floor directing the lives of her children, friends, strays, and a constant stream of borders” (Sula, p. 30).  While this isn’t a crucial part of the chapter it gives us readers the basics of some of the characteristics of a pretty important setting along with using descriptive vocab like “enormous” and painting us a picture of what Eva was doing in the front yard. Moving to another example of in depth narration would be when stated “Quickly, as the whoosh of flames engulfed him, she shut the door and made her slow and painful journey back to the top of the house” (Sula, p. 48). This scene is quite eventful as it talks about Eva intentionally setting a fire. Morrison again does a great job of using descriptive words like “engulfed”, this gives us readers a picture of what that may have looked like as Eva made her escape out of the room. The description of a character can be huge for a story’s overall progression because you get to learn and understand a little more about who they are and how their role impacts the progression of the story. Throughout this story we see so many descriptions of physical and characteristic traits that give us a deeper understanding of the book. To start off we are talking about Eva’s last child Plum, and what he was like after returning from war. It is about how he had sent letters talking about coming home soon but was unable to. A quote that really stood out was “Finally some two or three days after Christmas, he arrived with just the shadow of his old dip-down walk. His hair had been neither cut nor combed in months, his clothes were pointless and he had no socks. But he did have a black bag, a paper sack, and a sweet, sweet smile” (Sula, p. 45). This was a textbook character description from Morrison and it helped me understand much more that emotion all the characters had in that scene. Everyone was happy to see him and welcomed him home. As the reader we can see what that room looks like when he walks in, a worn out man in rough shape coming back from the war just happy he could see his family more than anything. This is what has shown all across this book so far, super in depth descriptions of characteristics and scenes.

 

Overall Toni Morrison has made it a great read and pleasant experience as a reader being able to analyze her scenes and characters. I wouldn’t say it is a pattern but most definitely a common theme throughout the book being able to analyze and see what kind of the person the main characters are and paint that image in your head about where they physically are in the book. 

 

Discussion Questions: 

1. Has Toni Morrison’s use of descriptive words helped deepen your understanding for what is going on in the book so far? Explain.
2. As a reader is it easier for you to take in information from a book when you’re able to paint that imaginary picture in your head of the setting, characters, etc?

 

Works Cited:

• (Morrison, T. (1998). Sula)