Toni Morrison’s Sula: Construction of Identity in Terms of Relationships With Others and With Oneself.

Abstract

The construction of identity – formation remains a central concern in Morrison’s
Sula that describes the parents-child relationship and peer relationships, both are controlled by
cultural constrictions. Morrison considers in her second novel Sula a two fold predicament- the
effect of racism upon black identity formation and the effect of racism and sexism upon the
identity formation of female. Sula, the central figure of the novel, suffers at hands of whites and
blacks and rejects the traditional norms ascribed to women in society. Morrison has created two
female characters – Nel and Sula – none is complete in herself. Nel and Sula seek comfort in
each other’s company and develop a strong bond out of the awareness that their lives are
restricted by their community and by the outer society. Sula’s seduction of Jude makes Nel’s
marriage destroyed. The principal aim of writing this novel is to show the damaging effect of
disparity and false white values forced upon the stability of black families in general and women
in particular.