“Every one of them imagines the scene, each according to his own predilections—Sula underneath some white man —and it filled them with choking disgust. There was nothing lower she could do, nothing filthier. The fact that their own skin color was proof that it had happened in their own families was no deterrent to their bile. Nor was the willingness of black men to lie in the beds of white women a consideration that might lead them toward tolerance. They insisted that all unions between white men and black women be rape; for a black woman to be willing was literally unthinkable. In that way, they regarded integration with precisely the same venom that white people did” (113).
This quote describes the town’s view on Sula and on her actions. The people who live in the Bottom are clear on their position in society and they’re content with it. Unlike most other blacks, they do not want integration because their view of whites is the same as the whites’ view of them. They view Sula as someone who crosses the boundary between blacks and white by sleeping with them. As if the town’s recollection of Sula watching her own mother die was not enough to hate her, Sula adds more to her already ruined reputation by transgressing. However, since her nature is very carefree and independent, she does not care what the townspeople say about her, rather it makes her stronger.
“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…In the midst of a pleasant conversation with someone she might say, ’Why do you chew with your mouth open?’ not because the answer interested her but because she wanted to see the person’s face change rapidly. She was completely free of ambition, with no affection for money, property or things, no greed, no desire to command attention or compliments—no ego. For that reason she felt no compulsion to verify herself—be consistent with herself” (118-119).
Although Sula is Eva’s granddaughter and Hannah’s daughter, she is completely her own person. She does what she pleases without others telling her what to do, and it never seems to bother her. She does not rely on anyone for anything except Nel for support and a best friend. She does have some similar traits to Eva; they are both very strong-willed women without major male counterparts. A major difference between the two of them is that Eva is stationary while Sula is free to go where she desires. She uses this to her advantage and travels to big cities, but ends up back in Medallion. I think that no matter how much she tries to escape from her past and her family, she will always come back.
“Sula stood with a worn slip of paper in her fingers and said aloud to no one, ‘I didn’t even know his name. And if I didn’t even know his name, then there is nothing I did know and have known nothing ever at all since the one thing I wanted was to know his name so how could he help but leave me since he was making love to a woman who didn’t even know his name’” (136).
When Ajax leaves Sula she is completely distraught and she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Everything she sees reminds her of him. However, when she finds his driver’s license in her drawer, she realizes that his actual name is not Ajax but that it is Albert Jacks. This upsets her because she feels like she doesn’t know him and that there was no meaning in their relationship because she never knew his real name. This is strange because I think Sula is overreacting. Clearly, Ajax is his nickname and everyone refers to him as that. Since their relationship was never anything more than physical, it would be strange for Sula to call him anything other than Ajax.
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