Sula Essay

A detailed Summary of Sula Essay


In the novel Sula all the characters have their roles that they're molded into just like everyone does in life. Based in the time that it takes place in and the fact that the vast majority of the characters are African-American their roles are pretty much forced for them to live by a predominately White- male society.

The introduction to the novel starts off towards the end of slave times (the late 1800's). A good white farmer promised freedom and a piece of bottom land to his slave if he would perform some very difficult chores (pg. 5). The slave performs the chores and the White farmer tricks the slave into wanting the hilly land, which he gets. The hilly land is the worst land possible to have. Where Planting was backbreaking, where the soil slid down and washed away the seeds, and where the wind lingered all through the winter (pg. 5). Getting the worst land possible fit the slave's role perfectly. Because he was a slave he always got the worst end of everything and by getting the so-called "bottom land" he got the worst end of the deal.

Throughout the next few years the town of Medallion was formed. It was a poor town but the people who lived there made the best of it. Their roles in life in


Nel's role in life is that she is Sula's best friend. From when they are young, all the way up to when they are adults, and even after Sula passes away. Nel accepted the way of life in the bottom. She marries Jude, raises a family, another person in the Medallion community.

Medallion all seem to fit the poor town or poor neighborhood lifestyle perfectly almost as if we'd expect it too.

These are the people's roles that they are molded into because of the time this story takes place and the setting it is in. Everyone in life eventually assumes a role and makes patterns and lives like that. The novel Sula follows those roles and patterns for a group of people in the early twentieth century. It is a biographical masterpiece of fictional characters that must all assume their roles and live out their lives.

Shadrack's role in Medallion is that the community thinks he's kind of crazy. They just leave him to do his own thing. He is a World War One veteran and witnessed something horrible happen during one of the battles.

The town of Medallion is a predominately black town, located in Ohio during the early 1900's. Blacks weren't expected to do much. No one really cared about them in a White-ran society. White people looked down on them and in society's eye they were at the very bottom of the social ladder. Almost all of the characters roles are roles that people would assume in their societies position.

Sula is the person who this novel

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 981
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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