Sula as a Rebel in Bottom

Abstract： Sula in Morrisons Sula has always been the focus of literary criticism of the glorious novel.The paper demonstrates in detail Sulas rebellious behaviours： fights against white boys bullying， subverting traditional notion of an Afro-American woman and explores their respective motivations.

Key Words： Sula， Sula， rebel， motivations.

Introduction

Sula， the central character of the novel， is invariably interpreted as a nontraditional female， both for her courageous behavior of fighting initiatively against the whites bullying in Medallion， and for her rebellious behaviors of subverting the traditional image of black women in Bottom. Contrary to other women represented by Eva in Bottom， Sula chooses to live an experimental life of seeking her self， for which she self-consciously opposes racial oppression and challenges female stereotypes in Bottom.

1. Subverting Traditional Female Images

Sulas inaugural heroism presents itself in her brave opposition to racial discrimination. In Bottom， the blacks， especially black females， are always mocked and humiliated by the whites. Sula， born and bred in the community， experiences in person varieties of terrible extremities facing the blacks. Yet she never yields to the unfair treatment. At the age of 12， one day on her way back home from school， Sula is threatened by four white boys who always harass black schoolchildren. She takes out a paring knife out of her coat pocket， and bravely slashes off part of her finger. After that， she raises her eyes to them and says in a quiet voice， “If I can do that to myself， what you suppose Ill do to you？”1 The white boys are startled， staring with their mouths wide open at the wound and the scrap of flesh. They never expect that Sula will take such a self-sacrificial action towards their bulling. To the best collection of their memory， black girls would always suffer their taunt and humiliation in silence. Sulas heroic act subverts the traditional image of a submissive black girl and， more momentously， shakes the ever sound foundation of the whites belief. Her unprecedented act also produces the desired effect of frightening them away， and undoubtedly facilitates to develop her experimental personality of exploring her self later in life.

As a black female of a new generation， Sula is determined to live an experimental life of searching for self. When her bosom friend Nel gets married， Sula leaves Bottom， and embarks upon her assiduous journey of finding her self， seeking her identity and existential meaning in the earthly world：

The men who took her to one or another of those places had merged into one large personality： the same language of love， the same entertainment of love， the same cooling of love. Whenever she introduced her private thoughts into their rubbings or goings， they hooded their eyes. They taught her nothing but love tricks， share nothing but worry， gave nothing but money.2

Although Morrison gives no detailed description of Sulas life during her ten years absence from Bottom， we can， from this sarcastic remark， effortlessly imagine the life of Sula in those big cities. In order to search female romanticism and identity， both of which are deprived of other black women in Bottom， Sula undauntedly overrides traditional sexual mores. She frequently sleeps with men， which is conventionally believed to be shameless and despicable. In Sulas mind， sexual intercourse is only considered as a way to realize her self and feel her existence. However， Sulas quest for self is hardly realistic for the simple reason that black women are always thought of as the other or subordinates of black men in the patriarchal system.

Sula brings her heroism to the fullest extent by subverting the conventional image of a black woman as both a faithful wife and a nurturing mother. Having failed to fulfill herself in the outside world， Sula， in fancy clothes and armed with a college education， returns to Bottom with her high dream of continuing searching for self. Her weird reappearance in Bottom indicates that she is an outcast from the start. The moment she enters Evas house， Sula quarrels with her grandmother. When Eva asks her about the possibility of marrying a man and having children to settle， Sula retorts angrily， “I dont want to make somebody else. I want to make myself.”3

In Bottom， customarily， womanhood is valued by what it produces and tends. Children， correspondingly， are considered “part of the order of things and the literal outgrowth of the concept of womanhood.”4 However， Sula rebels against the roles she is assigned to take within the community because to her， the roles of a wife and a mother are not pre-requisites for selfhood. Her own business of being and living is not dictated by family or community， and she strives to live a life free from any obligation and duty. However， “her status as a woman without a man and a woman without children simply does not translate into a life that Bottom understands.”5 Consequently， she becomes a transgressor and an outlaw.

2. Motivations for Her Heroic Behaviors

Sulas toughness embodied in her early life can be attributed to her experiences with her family， particularly with Eva. “A prevalent theme in Sula is the influence of family and friends on the characters.”6 Eva， who has manages to survive desperate poverty， is a woman of considerable strength and toughness. As Sulas grandmother， she teaches Sula an important lesson of intrepidity and self-reliance. Discarded by her husband， Eva sacrifices one leg to finance her trip out of poverty， and to economic prosperity. This act indicates “a certain ruthlessness in her character.”7 Sula， born and bred in the female-dominated family is undoubtedly no stranger to what are strength， control and predominance. She inherits this toughness and independence from Eva. Her threatening the white boys away by cutting off the tip of her finger exactly echoes Evas intentional loss of her leg in the service of survival.

Sulas mother， Hannahs lifestyle has also naturally imposed great impact on the shaping of her experimental personality. Hannah loves men and attracts a steady stream of lovers， most of whom are married to her friends or neighbors. However， in spite of her promiscuity， she is leery of trusting anyone or becoming emotionally committed to anyone. Sulas innocent mind is branded with the sight of her mother making love with a man when she gets home from school， and it is right in this atmosphere that she learns the lesson that to women， men are nothing more than just sex and entertainment. She sleeps with men indiscriminately， but she refuses to commit to anyone or to become emotionally vulnerable. In this sense， she has her own share of wantonness and wariness with Hannah.

More significantly， want for emotional nurturance from Hannah in her childhood catalyzes the evolution of Sulas self-seeking character. One day Sula overhears her mothers friend discussing her daughter： “Well， Hester grows now and I cant say love is exactly what I feel.” Then Hannah says， “Sure you do. You love her， like I love Sula. I just dont like her. Thats the difference.”8 To a little girl， however， there is no difference， and this remark sears itself into Sulas consciousness， filling her with a sense of her own unlovable nature and destroys her sense of trust in anyone， including her dearest mother. Sula is overwhelmed by a sense of isolation.

The crucially important factor that stirs Sula to live an experimental life is her loss of self caused by the accidental death of a black child Chicken Little. Sula and her bosom friend Nel go down to a riverside， seeking shade from the heat， and they see Chicken Little playing there. So they join him and Sula grabs his arms and swings him around. Unexpectedly， her grip slips， and Chicken flies out into the river and drowns. Frightened， Sula runs in vain for help. Terrified， she flees with Nel， who consoles her that it is not her fault but an accident. A strong sense of guilt， since then haunts Sula throughout her life， and does not allow her a respite. For a twelve-year-old girl， the first encounter with death appears so sudden and utterly unexpected.

Eva and Hannah teach Sula that there is no other but herself to count on， but the accidental death of Chicken Little convinces her that there is no self to count on either. This belief makes her suffer acute isolation once again because she has no such a thing as an ego to anchor or fix herself. With Evas arrogance and Hannahs self-indulgence merged in her， Sula lives out her days exploring her truest sense of me-ness.

3.Conclusion

Sulas search for self ends in failure. After ten years of absence， Sula， with humdrum and disappointment， returns to Bottom， accompanied by a plague of little yam-breasted shuddering robins that exhilarate small children away from their usual welcome into a vicious stoning. Essentially， Sulas return to Bottom is greeted with a stoning， a punishment traditionally reserved for the public humiliation of a criminal or， more to the point， a witch because Sula fails to live up to the notions of black womanhood embedded in the minds of the townspeople. In addition， her reappearance is subjectively linked to the physical accidents of others. When Teapot， a young boy， comes to Sulas door to collect bottles， he falls down her steps and hurts himself. When Mr. Finley， who has sucked on chicken bones for years， looks up to see Sula in the distance， he chokes on a chicken bone and dies. In other words， Sula has become a scapegoat， an incarnation of evil and a pariah who “effects and creates change and catastrophe.”9 With her lonely death are gone her ever efforts to search for self， never to return.

Despite the failure to quest for self， Sula can still be acclaimed as a rebellious heroine and pioneer for her resistance against the whites oppression and what Bottom silently but aggressively perceives as her duty. Her values are usually polar opposites of those of other women in Bottom who choose to settle down. She shows indifference and despise in mothering， care-taking and running a household which， in Eva and other womens minds， are non-negotiable womens responsibilities. What she believes in as an end is self-nurturing and self-satisfying. Though the townspeople regard her as nothing but evil and trouble， Sula also has a paradoxical good effect on the town. People tend to take better care of their aging parents and grandparents， because they do not want to repeat Sulas unfilial behavior of sending Eva to a shabby nursing house. Moreover， Sulas unconventionality evokes the self-awareness of other black women in Bottom.

Notes

1 Toni Morrison， Sula （New York： Knopf， 1973）， 54.

2 Ibid.， 120.

3 Ibid.， 92.

4 Maggie Galehouse， “New World Woman： Toni Morrisons Sula，” in Papers on Language and Literature： （Detroit： Gale， 1999）， 339.

5 Ibid..

6 Kelly Winters， “Critical Essay on Sula，” in Novels for Student， ed. Jennifer Smith （Detroit： Gale， 2002）， 14.

7 Ibid..

8 Morrison， 57.

9 Galehouse， 339.

作者簡介

周權（1985—），男，四川達縣人，現任職于四川外國語大學國際關系學院，英語語言文學專業，碩士，職稱：助教，研究方向：英語文學和英語教學法。