Application of Excess in Morrison’s Sula and Ginsberg’s Howl
In William Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell, he declares that "the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom…Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained." These beliefs are reiterated and expanded upon in both Toni Morrison’s novel Sula and Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem Howl. Both authors challenge the conception of socially imposed boundaries, which suppress the absolute freedom of thought and action, by venerating the human characteristic of excess. Instead of abiding by the social norms of the general cultural animosity towards excess, Morrison and Ginsberg use this vilified "attribute" as a means to transcend the aforementioned
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This occurs when Sula overhears her mother confessing that although she loves her daughter, she doesn’t particularly like her. Only moments later Sula accidentally heaves Chicken Little into the river where he drowns. These coupling of events deflate all the idealistic conceptions of trust and reliance in the world that she once had: "The first experience taught her there was no other that you could count on; the second that there was no self to count on either. She had no center, no speck around which to grow"(118-119).
The traumatic consequences of these events stunt Sula’s emotional maturation and understanding at the raw age of twelve. From this moment on, her emotional wellbeing is solely restricted to what she has learned from her family and immediate surroundings, with no chance of growth: "Eva’s arrogance and Hannah’s self-indulgence merged in her and, with a twist that was all her own imagination, she lived out her days exploring her own thoughts and emotions, giving them full reign, feeling no obligation to please anybody unless their pleasure pleased her"(118). This excess in behavior is undeniably childlike in nature, which is due to the retardation of Sula’s emotional and social growth at such a young age.
Sula’s propensity for not being able to rely on another human being, coupled with her youth-like conceptions of
Sula wanted nothing to do with a husband that would betray her and cheat on her and come home and just be horribly mean to her. I think the biggest emotional obstacle Sula endured was watching her mother burn to death. Sula went through an obstacle course of emotions and relationships. Poor choices were made, which led to her ultimate demise, however, her demise was her own choice. It was pretty ironic how the dislike for Sula brought the community together. With their dislike for Sula they forgot about the problems they had with each other.
Her mother and grandmother, who obviously favor her brother, essentially ignore Sula. Hannah, her mother, is a very sexual woman who enjoys the company of many men in town to the disapproval of Sula. Because of her mother’s actions, Sula views her with an indifferent and callous sense of hostility. Still, Sula reacts in a negative way when hears her mother say, “‘I just don’t like her’” in reference to her daughter. (57) The difference between loving someone and liking someone is made clear here. It develops the idea of a mother’s ambivalent love. When a child is aggravating, it can be frustrating to love them. But for Hannah, she simply does not like the person Sula is becoming. This realization, for Sula, removes her from
Sula dislikes her disheveled house, and wishes that she could live in a household as clean as that of Nel. Sula?s positive view of Nel?s home challenges Nel to see it in a new light, teaching her to appreciate. This concept stays current throughout the early years of their relationship, each opening the other?s eyes to new idea and ways of living and as they do their friendship grows stronger. The two become practically inseparable, living completely symbiotically and depending on each other for everything. However, this relationship is destined to change.
Sula’s return to Bottom was ominous event, she was a woman very strong in who she was, and what she desires, yet that placed her on the opposite spectrum of what was expected of her as a woman, especially a black woman. She had great pride within herself that shaped her to not rely on anyone
Being oppressed by her mother, Nel has an attraction to Sula’s carefree environment, which, unlike her own lacks any oppression. Likewise, Sula has an attraction to Nel’s peaceful and orderly environment. They both desire something that the other has, and that’s where such a strong attraction comes from. Together, they are perfect. Nel finds in Sula the youthfulness and the fun she’s missing, and Sula finds order and stability in Nel.
Allen Ginsberg’s revolutionary poem, Howl, is a powerful portrayal of life degraded. It represents the harsh life of the beat generation and chronicles the struggles of the repressed. Howl is a poem of destruction. Destruction of mind, body, and soul through the oppression of the individual. Using powerful diction, Allen Ginsberg describes this abolition of life and its implications through our human understanding of abstractions like Time, Eternity, and self. The poem’s jumbled phrasing and drastic emotion seems to correspond with the minds of the people it describes. Ginsberg uses surprisingly precise and purposeful writing to weave the complex
The novel Sula, is a work which contrasts the lives of its two main characters Nel and Sula. They appear, on the surface, to be the epidemy of binary opposites but this is in actuality their underlying bond. The differences in their personalities complement one another in a way that forges an almost unbreakable alliance. Sula is compulsive and uncontrollable while her counterpart, Nel, is sensible and principled. To prove Nel human by subscribing to the theory that a human is one who possess both good and bad traits, one must only look at how she interacts with Sula, here both negative and positive traits are evident.Nel’s "good" traits obviously come to the forefront when looking at her character. One might say this is a result
In Toni Morrison's Sula, the reader meets the protagonist, Sula, and her friend Nel when both girls are roughly twelve years old. Both girls are black, intelligent, and dreaming of
The Chains of Motherhood In Toni Morrison’s Sula, Morrison paints a bleak picture of motherhood: a vicious recurring cycle of nature versus nurture that ensnares generation after generation through lack of education, poverty, hopelessness, sexism, and racism. The mothers of the Peace household are each confronted with taxing responsibilities, agonizing sacrifices, and burdensome choices that each woman must make in order to keep her family alive. Eva has to go to great lengths to make sure her children survive, as a single mother with three children and no source of income: “ When he left in November, Eva had $1.65, five eggs, three beets (Morrison 32).” Morrison harsh rendition of Eva’s circumstances, illustrates the taxing responsibilities
Unlike all the other women in the story, Sula is tough and does not let others interfere with her. She lives her life by her own rules and standards. The people in the town notice that "except for a funny-shaped finger and that evil birthmark, she was free of any normal signs of vulnerability" (115). Again, the rose symbolized Sula's growth and carefree way of life.
Writers use setting to reveal the hidden emotions of characters. Characters react differently when placed in particular environments. Morrison used this technique, when in a single chapter she portrayed Sula in two distinct moods. In chapter 1922, Sula is introduced as upfront and tough when “she slashed off only the tip of her finger” (Morrison, 54) to intimidate her bullies. A young girl who is not terrified, “if I can do that to myself, what you suppose ill do to you?” (Morrison, 55) is later on placed in an environment of comfort and viewed as
The form of Ginsberg’s poem challenges the American culture by resistance from “best minds”. Howl is separated to three sections that include long lines, which look like paragraphs. Resisting
Sula as the main character in which the book is named, would be expected to have quite the character development as the story progresses, but this is not how the story progresses. Sula, as a child, receives little attention from her mother and grandmother (Reddy). This forces her to learn how to care for herself as well as become independent at young age, thus her childhood being cut short. Sula’s mother, Hannah, has a well know reputation for sleeping with all of the men of the Bottom (Reddy). Although Sula disapproves of her mother’s tendencies, her mother’s actions make their mark on Sula’s personality which we see later in the book.
Though, despite this sexual violence in each text, sexual freedom is also explored. In Sula, Sula and Nel represent two ways women can lead their lives in their communities. Nel leads a life of sacrifice and righteousness, by deciding to marry and settle down in Bottom. Sula represents the opposite of this through self-realisation and sexual expression. She leaves Bottom after Nel’s marriage and returns a new woman with new experiences, which results in her becoming an outsider of the community while still being a part of it. Sex has little meaning to her in ways that it would for others and “Sula's search for self is conducted by way of having indiscriminate sexual relations with the community's husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers is immaterial
“Hold back the edges of your gowns, Ladies, we are going through hell,” (Sullivan 1) as William Carlos Williams put it, in introducing the first edition of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. Most famously known for Howl, Ginsberg was recognized for his obscene and exaggerated writing style. With Edgar Allen Poe being a form of influence and admiration in Ginsberg’s eyes, it’s understandable to see where he gets his inspiration. Allen Ginsberg’s work of literature is important because it challenges mainstream societal values and gives a voice to those who struggle with repression by a patriarchal agenda.