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Relationships In Toni Morrison's Sula

Decent Essays

In the short “Sula” by Toni Morrison, we watch two young girls grow up in a small town, the Bottom, and become unlikely friends. These girls, Sula and Nel, are as different as night and day, yet they are inseparable when they were young. They were only separated when Nel gets married to Jude, and Sula leaves the Bottom for ten years. These girls choose different lives, and each life has different connotations attached. Nel grew up with a mother, Helene, who was neat and clean, strict and proper. That was the way Helene grew up, and that was how she was going to raise her child. Nel grew up “Under Helene’s hand”(18) and “became obedient and polite. Any enthusiasms that little Nel showed were calmed by the mother”(18). Helene did not want Nel to know about Rochelle, Nel’s grandmother, because of Rochelle’s “wild” life. Rochelle was a whore in New Orleans, and being from a good christian family that life was frowned upon by the great-grandmother, and Helene, who grew up with the great-grandmother. Nel’s background clearly shows that she …show more content…

When Nel asks Sula why she did it, Sula reiterates that her and Nel were good friends, and goes on to ask, “If we were such good friends, how come you couldn’t get over it?”(144) That is a tough question about morals and the lives each woman chose. Sula’s question reveals to us that these two girls, women, who used to be such good friends have different ways of thinking, and possibly couldn't be friends anymore because of the decisions that Sula made. Nel cannot forgive and forget, because Jude was taken from her by her best friend. Nel feels hurt and betrayed by Sula, and it is clear Sula doesn’t understand where Nel is coming from. Sula was taught that sex was pleasant and frequent, but nothing of

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