Toni Morrison's Early Social Analysis

In Toni Morrison’s Sula, gender heteronormative relationships are demonstrated in a very punishable manner. The two main characters Sula Peace, and Nel Right share a very strong, well connected friendship. The two of them are a mirror reflection of each other, with the same desires. Heteronormative institutions in the book do not seem to be stable for the most part. Hannah Peace, the single mother Sula, lives a disordered life in her household while Helene Wright belongs to a conservative and peaceful life, but her husband is never around. With the two daughters of both families being part of each other’s lives, they create a friendship that shows the privilege for female-female bonds over male-male bonds.

Rebelling against the societal norms can get you killed, or at least have death wished upon you. That’s why people tend to follow the status quo, they are least likely to a ripple in a stagnant pond. However, there are those who don’t mind making a large splash, no matter the consequences to others. Sula, from Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, created waves after she returned to Bottom and fought against every expectation that was placed upon as Black woman.

Toni Morrison, the infamous novelist, took the stand as a concerned citizen of the United States when she wrote a public letter to presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. At the time, the country was divided with contrasting opinions on George W. Bush, which seemed to block the focus of the candidates’ elections. Morrison mentioned this issue as one of her reasons for writing the endorsement, when she wrote, “One reason is it may help gather other supporters; another is that this one one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril.” Morrison addressed her personal thoughts on the two presidential candidates, and gave reasoning as for why she chose Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton. Overall, Morrison created a very concerned tone regarding the United States and its political future, using phrases such as “multiple crisis facing us” and “peril” to describe the issues that faced the country. Furthermore, when describing Obama’s political future, the tone was much more optimistic and light. Morrison used phrases such as

The famous novel ‘Sula’ is written by Toni Morrison. Toni Morrison is the Robert F. Goheen professor of Humanities, Emeritus at Princeton University. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1993 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She lives in Rockland County, New York, and Princeton, New Jersey. Toni Morrison is not just an important contemporary novelist, but a major figure in our national literature. “Sula novel examines the dynamics of friendship and the expectations for conformity within the black community” (Morrison, Toni). The main character in this novel ‘Sula’ is Sula Peace. She is the daughter of Hannah Peace and granddaughter of Eva Peace. Sula Peace has a best friend Nel Wright.

     Toni Morrison's Beloved - a novel that addresses the cruelties that result from slavery.  Morrison depicts the African American's quest for a new life while showing the difficult task of escaping the past.  The African American simply wants to claim freedom and create a sense of community.  In Beloved, the characters suffer not from slavery itself, but as a result of slavery - that is to say the pain occurs as they reconstruct themselves, their families, and their communities only "after the devastation of slavery" (Kubitschek 115).  Throughout the novel, Morrison utilizes color as a symbolic tool to represent a free, safe, happy life as well as involvement in community and

Two young girls, coalescing on a grass-laden field while lying on their stomachs, dig a hole in unspoken harmony. A picture of youth and innocence, this scene depicts an innocuous moment which the two girls share as a result of their juvenescence--or does it? In Toni Morrison 's Sula, this scene, among others, appears at first to be both irrelevant to the novel’s underlying theme and out of place with regard to the rest of the plot. Yet, when analyzed further, the literary devices that Morrison uses in these scenes bring readers to a vastly different conclusion. These scenes serve as windows into the mind of Morrison and even into the larger themes present in the text. So, perhaps two girls sharing a seemingly casual experience is not as

Beloved by Toni Morrison emphasizes the politics associated with the historical discourse of slavery and African American culture. Characters such as Denver, Beloved, Baby Suggs, and Halle provides the audience’s clues to the past of such discourse. The language communicates complex symbolism that comment’s on the philosophy of Aesthetics, racial segregation, the sublime, and African American scholarship. The symbolism of the text in Beloved broadcasts references to these philosophical debates in this quote:

In December 2016, my friend and classmate Calli Webb posted a link to Emotional Labor: The MetaFilter Thread Condensed on her Facebook. I printed it out and read it all in one sitting; it’s a page-turning text that answered questions I thought no one else had, that noticeably changed the way I see the world. A substantial series of forum posts from MetaFilter regarding EL are meticulously compiled into one document with a broad exploration of human relationships involving femmes. The text absolutely allows for an intersectional conception of EL, but it focuses on the ways in which EL has been disproportionately forced (thrust!) upon women. It made an impact on me, to say the least. So, when I read Toni Morrison’s Sula a few months later, I

The atrocities of slavery know no bounds. Its devices leave lives ruined families pulled apart and countless people dead. Yet many looked away or accepted it as a necessary part of society, even claiming it was beneficial to all. The only way this logic works is if the slaves are seen as less than human, people who cannot be trusted to take care of themselves. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved the consequences of a lifetime of slavery are examined. Paul D and seethe, two former slaves have experienced the worst slavery has to offer. Under their original master, Mr. Garner the slaves were treated like humans. They were encouraged to think for themselves and make their own decisions. However, upon the death of Mr. Garner all of that changes. Under

In Black Matters, Toni Morrison discusses "knowledge" and how it seems to take on a Eurocentric standpoint. The "knowledge" she discusses is the traditional literature that is "unshaped by the four-hundred-year-old presence of the first Africans and then African-Americans in the United States" (Morrison 310). Morrison also addresses the treatment of African Americans in current society dealing with "racial discourse" (311), in addition, to ignoring matters of race. Morrison strongly argues that the traditional canon, taught and respected by much of society, ignores black's contribution to society. She is also concerned with the lack of true African representation within the

Community involvement creates advancements that are essential to many individuals in society.Values are imposed to achieve a community’s goal; as a result, individuals are able to prosper and produce major actions that affect others. For example, without the African American community demanding equal rights, President Obama wouldn’t have been able to become the first African American president. Without the LGBT community requesting the Supreme Court to rule for same-sex marriage, LGBT members would not marry their significant others. It is apparent that a community influences the lives of others. This concept is seen in Toni Morrison’s Beloved where the community serves a major function in the lives of the characters. Throughout the novel,

“Maybe you expect to hear my laments about ‘how much I suffer’ living with a man like Diego. But I don’t think the edges of a river suffer about letting it run,” stated Frida Kahlo. Kahlo was a famous Mexican artist who was in an open marriage. Being sexually free came naturally. It should not be a taboo that breaks up marriages. Kahlo’s marriage proved that, well after her death, when her husband stated that he wanted their ashes to be combined. Kahlo would have agreed that there is nothing wrong with being promiscuous. Toni Morrison’s novel showed the reader how promiscuous women help build some immediate family bonds within small communities.

Throughout American history there have been multiple instances of inequality between races, classes, and genders. Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved is a story that truly shows how oppressive slavery was during the setting of the book. Similarly to the inequality faced during the time of slavery, while Morrison was writing the her novel the issue of women’s equality was present, and being fought for. Morrison, through Beloved, is able to show the world her views on inequality, and how it is still present in life today.

preclusion of speech instills a “wildness where before there wasn’t any” (71) in victims of the bit

(“Morrison, Toni.” Par.3). She then began attending Howard University, where she was a member of a repertory company that presented plays about the lives of African American people in the South during the 1940s and 1950s. They were called Howard University Players. ("Toni Morrison." Par. 2). After earning her B.A degree at Howard, she went onto Cornell University in New York. Toni taught 2 years of English to undergraduates at the Texas Southern University. She then became an ENglish instructor at Howard University, that where she met Harold Morrsion. (“Morrison, Toni.” Par.