Sula is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, written in 1973. It is an African American literary fiction that reveals deep concepts of love, morality, and moral principles. The novel has some symbolic elements through which the author reveals one’s outlook on life. A characteristic feature of the novel is duality in some aspects; for example, some die from drowning and some from a fire. Due to such techniques, Toni Morrison was able to accomplish the novel’s purpose of conveying the duality of the world. The double structure of the novel, along with its end, symbolizes the optimistic aspect due to the representation of sincerity, important values of life, and the deep meaning of the “circles of sorrow”.
One may notice the representation of the duality of the world, namely good and evil, and at the end of the novel, despite all the previous events, the sincere impulse of Sula’s friend formulates a culmination. Thus, one may notice a strong Nel’s reaction: “It was a fine cry—loud and long—but it had no bottom, and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow” (Morrison, 79). Namely, this event implies Nel’s duality of emotions, since all the time, the hero seemed to miss Jude, Nel’s husband. However, in a burst of sincere sadness at the end of the novel, Nel realizes that the melancholy is caused by the time spent without Sula. Just like all the citizens of the city, that would seem that they hate Sula. However, no one realized that the heroine was the reason for their solidarity.
Duality is also represented in the novel’s symbol, namely the mole above Sula’s eye. The change in the mole’s appearance symbolizes the heroine’s maturity and the gradual rejection of social conventions. In turn, it is also the opposite feature of Nel’s character, which accepts all the norms. Further, there was an ambivalent perception of the mole by different characters: Nel thought it was a rose, representing love, feminine beauty, and friendship. Jude perceived it as deceit and seduction, that is, dual and opposite to Nel. Thus, the author was able to express the ambiguity of the world and material and non-material things. In addition, Toni Morison was able to immerse the reader in the idea that the perception of things largely depends on how one sees them.
The duality of the novel also characterizes the end of the book, which at first glance seems tragic. The heroine’s death, sadness, tears, and depressive impulse do not seem to belong to an optimistic perception. However, the author’s main motive was to display a ray of light in the form of a sincere outburst of love and friendship through Nel’s sadness. This formulates the circles of sadness: the first, implicit, displayed in the entire storyline. Namely, all the negative events and the environment of the heroes: connection with husbands, difficult living conditions, and the murder of children by the mother. Finally, the second obvious circle of sadness symbolizes the main aspects of human life, namely sincerity, self-sacrifice, love, and friendship. All this was expressed in a small but main part of the novel, namely in the final impulse of Nel.
The ambiguity and depth of the essence of Toni Morrison’s novel can also be seen by analyzing the criticism of the book. Thus, at first glance, it seems that the plot describes the impact of betrayal on the friendship of two African American women, but the author does not stop there (Nittle, 56). The novel makes one think about what makes a person good or bad and where the line between these concepts lies (Nittle, 56). It formulates the vagueness of the boundaries between the basic concepts of morality and life, which gives the reader additional space for analysis. In addition, it also symbolizes the ambiguity of the perception of the ending of the novel. As already indicated, it may seem to one that the ending cannot be interpreted otherwise than as pessimistic. However, given the deeper dimension of the concepts of good and bad, joy and sadness, one may notice an optimistic factor expressed in sincere outbursts.
Different perspectives of the perception of the novel are also indicated in the context of displaying different cruel scenes, for example, the murder of a child by a mother. The polyphonic nature of Morrison’s narrative should be analyzed through different perspectives, both in Sula and Beloved novels (Palladino, 26). This technique plays the role of a double element, expressing cruelty on the one hand and, on the other hand, being a powerful narrative item. The purpose of this is primarily to enhance the impression on the reader, as well as to make one notice the striking contrast of the plot elements.
To conclude, one learned that due to the dual structure, the ending of the novel formulates an optimistic aspect to a greater extent. The ambiguous perception of symbols, such as Sula’s birthmark, as well as the perception of the heroine by the inhabitants of the city and other characters, represents a multi-level structure of life. Besides, Nel’s “circles of sadness” symbolize two factors, hidden, negative, and explicit, formulating sincerity and important moral and life values.