You must answer one of these questions by 9:00 p.m. on Monday evening:
A. What do you think is the nature of Sula and Nel's relationship? Please specify in one sentence. Please cite three major references for evidence, but only analyze one of these passages by presenting a close reading that justifies your opinion on the blog. Explain the relationship between your opinion and Morrison's word choice and the contents and context of the passage.
B. On page 28, Nel declares, " I'm me. I'm not their daughter. I'm not Nel. I'm me. Me." This line and the following ones lead the reader to believe that Nel is determined to be her own person, to be different from her mother who bows to male authority even when it degrades her, to be a complete woman. Does Nel develop according to plan? What prevents her from being true to her words?Please be specific and cite evidence for your viewpoint.
C. Why can't we have this novel without the character of Shadrack? Exactly what makes him essential to the novel? What would we miss that we must have in this novel if Shadrack did not exist? Explain clearly.
A. I believe the nature of Sula and Nel's relationship has a lot to do with opposites and the way opposites are often attracted to one another through a "mutual admiration" (page 55).
ReplyDeleteOne reference to this is the atmosphere in which they grew up, described on page 29. Nel grew up in an oppressively tidy home, while Sula grew up in a much more lenient, chaotic household. Nel is attracted to Sula's upbringing and Sula is attracted to Nel's, which gives the other comfort in an environment where they previously felt anything but.
A second example of their differences lies in their personalities and physical appearances. On page 52, Nel is described as the color of "wet sandpaper--just dark enough to escape the blows of the pitch-black truebloods and the contempt of old women who worried about such things as bad blood mixtures," while Sula is a "heavy brown with large quiet eyes, one of which featured a birthmark that spread from the middle of the lid toward the eyebrow, shaped something like a stemmed rose." Furthermore, Nel appeared to be "stronger and more consistent" than Sula, who had fleeting emotions (page 53).
Finally, a third, striking difference between the two exists predominately in the second part of the novel, where they are viewed by the Bottom/society as complete opposites. Sula is seen as "evil," while Nel is "good." A few of the reasons Sula is thought to be evil is due to her actions (or lack thereof) surrounding the burning of her mother, her decision to put Eva in a nursing home, and her affair with Jude. Her affair with Jude directly affects her relationship with Nel, and page 144-145 contains the most telling passage regarding Sula's own view of her actions when Nel finally confronts her about the incident. Sula's response is that "he just filled up the space" and that if she and Nel were "such good friends, how come [she] couldn't get over it?" Throughout the novel, Sula was constantly trying to establish her identity in a community that was not understanding or receptive to her as a person. Her actions towards her family and friends made her seem evil, but because Sula did not share the same views on the accountability that people have towards others, she did not follow the same principles of behavior in her life. Instead, Sula tried to posit her own sense of identity in the relationships that she has with others, including Nel. At the end of the novel, Nel seems to come to an understanding of the conventions that Sula had when she realizes that it is not Jude she has been missing all along, but Sula (page 174). Over the course of their relationship, Sula and Nel's lives had become so intertwined and connected despite their differences that Nel was able to look past Sula and Jude's betrayal and went to Sula's aid when she was ill, even before she had the realization; and Sula's last thought was, "it didn't even hurt. Wait'll I tell Nel" (page 149), despite the bitterness of their final encounter, which further showcases just how deep their friendship truly was--so deep that it withstood even some of the most trying circumstances and fundamental differences.
ReplyDeleteMorrison's choice of words to describe Nel's reaction to her realization that it had been Sula she missed all along, not Jude, is very symbolic of Sula and Nel's relationship. The closing sentence, "It wa a fine cry--loud and long--but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow" (page 174) is a precise representation of their friendship. Their relationship is never-ending, like a circle, and despite the fact that things happened in between, it "ends" (by Sula's death) the way it begin: mutually with one another in heart and mind. Sula's last thoughts are of Nel, and Nel's last words and actions are of Sula. In the end, although they had other people along the way--Nel with Jude and her children and Sula with Ajax and other random men--they ultimately "circle" back to one another, discovering that what they truly and only need is each other.
(p.s. Sorry for splitting the answer into two posts...it said my character count was over the limit for one comment.)
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ReplyDeleteB. In the beginning of Sula, Nel states that she wants to be herself, and she wants to be wonderful. She does not fully stand by her words when she marries Jude. I feel that her and Jude were very dependent on each other. Instead of being her own person, her and Jude combined to be one. Jude was not really “aiming to get married” (Morrison 80); however, he “needed some of his appetites filled, some posture of adulthood recognized, but mostly he wanted someone to care about his hurt, to care very deeply” (Morisson 82). Other people of the town did not look at Nel as wonderful, strong, and independent. Ajax believed that Nel did not have aggression, and “her parents had succeeded in rubbing down to a dull glow any sparkle or splutter she had” (Morisson 83). On page 84, the first paragraph explains how Nel and Sula were pulled apart by Jude: “Nel’s response to Jude’s shame and anger selected her away from Sula. And greater than her friendship was this new feeling of being needed by someone who saw her singly. She didn’t even know she had a neck until Jude remarked on it…” Like her mother, Nel also yearns for male attention. Male attention is what makes Nel feel complete and important. On page 22, Nel explains that she does not want any man to look at her the way the man on the train looked at her mother; however, this happens to Nel when Jude has an affair with Sula. Nel states that she is worried because she did not want to tell Jude that his fly was down in front of Sula, and “scared too because [his] eyes looked like the soldiers’ that time on the train when [her] mother turned to custard” (Morisson 106). Instead of responding to the situation with aggression, and letting Jude know how she felt, she was afraid to speak and let her emotions out.
ReplyDeleteC.Shadrack was an important character in this novel. We cannot have this novel without him because then we would miss the juxtaposition of order and chaos, social acceptance and alienation, and the theme of appearance vs. reality. He, unlike many of the other characters, faced his fear of the unexpectedness of death by inventing The National Suicide Day. He invented this day as a way of creating order out of a town which was otherwise chaotic. Although he was no longer fighting in the war, it seems as though he was unable to make a clear distinction between the battle field and The Bottom. It was explained that “The messier his house got, the lonelier he felt, and it was harder and harder to conjure up sergeants, and orderlies, and invading armies; harder and harder to hear the gunfire and keep the platoon marching in time” (156). This connection he made between the bloody battle field and the town shows the true nature of the people who lived there. Shadrack was the only person who never placed judgments on the people in the town, and ironically he was judged as a crazy, inappropriate drunk and became an outcast.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, Shadrack was arrested “for vagrancy and intoxication” (13), although he was not drunk. Instead of being shown respect and gratitude, he was released from the hospital with nowhere to go, no knowledge of who he was, and shunned by the people of his town. He was misunderstood throughout the novel. After the drowning of Chicken Little, Sula explained how Shadrack responded “always” to the question she never got the chance to ask. As a reader, I was unsure of what he meant by this answer. However, once Shadrack explained his side of the story I realized how compassionate he was. He explained that “he had said ‘always,’ so she would not have to be afraid of the change” (157). He tried to provide consistency to a little girl whose life was filled with chaos and disorder.
Nicole Scott:
ReplyDeleteShadrack’s is essential to this novel because through his tumultuous life he actually restores a since of normalcy and routine in the Bottom. After further research I found that the name Shadrack is from the Old Testament and the Book of Daniel meaning “survivor of a fiery furnace.” This name was clearly chosen by Morrison because of its meaning. Shadrack rose from the horrors of war an unstable man on the outside but kept very orderly on the inside, noted by the surprisingly impeccable neatness of his shack. Shadrack actually notes that the less orderly his home becomes, the more lonely he feels.
When Shadrack is released from the hospital he cannot even untie his shoes (page 12) and he breaks down in tears from his lack of control. When he returns to the Bottom (only with the help of police) he realized that it was the unexpectedness of death that frightened him, not the actual act of death. Therefore, Shadrack creates National Suicide Day to be celebrated on the third January of each year so that people can die if they want, thus removing the surprise. At first National Suicide Day ignites terror and chaos in the Bottom but eventually the people get used to it and dismiss the event. As odd of a concept as National Suicide Day was, it fulfilled his expectations on January 3rd, 1941 when many of the people of the Bottom join Shadrack’s parade for the first time and drowned in the tunnel as they marched through. Despite the chaos of the event Shadrack stood on the bank continuously ringing his bell. This symbolizes Shadrack keeping order in times of turmoil throughout the novel.
In addition to National Suicide Day, Shadrack symbolizes unchanging normalcy when he tells Sula “Always” when they meet in his shack after the drowning of Chicken Little. At the time Sula does not understand what this means but later from Shadrack’s loneliness we learn that he had meant it to convince her and assure her of permanency (page 157). Sula was born into an unstable home and continued her unstable life by leaving the Bottom as an adult, never settling down and leading a promiscuous lifestyle. Sula was Shadrack’s only visitor and by saying “always” he hopes to reassure her that he would always be there to keep her life stable.
A. In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, the nature of Nel and Sula’s relationship is their stagnancy in childhood, as well as, the burden that their innocence brings to others later in life. As children, financial, social, and racial commonalities strengthen of their friendship. Many children find comfort in a best friend, someone whom they can relay secrets to and keep promises for, because it broadens their identities. “Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personalities” (53). Both Sula and Nel know from the ages of twelve that, in adulthood, their freedom is unobtainable; however, in childhood, they are at the liberty to “make believe”, play, and discover without objection. Their actions are not meant to cause harm, but often times have tragic effects.
ReplyDeleteAt Chicken Little’s funeral, Sula and Nel understand the tragedy of the boy’s death; however, they, like children, do not take responsibility for the accident of his drowning. “And they saw the Lamb’s eye and the truly innocent victim: themselves” (65). Morrison eludes to the Christian savior, Jesus Christ, as an innocent and forgiving entity. After a child acts out or is punished for their actions, she is forgiven. The girls are similarly forgiven for their mistakes at the river, because their sins are washed away.
After Sula returns to The Bottom in 1937, she becomes powerful. Children mimic their parents’ behavior. Sula threatens the other women in town with her loose sexuality just as Eva had in the prior generation. Nel, on the other hand, creates the illusion of a child who is playing house. She marries a loyal husband and has children for whom she provides; however, Sula takes the foundation from underneath Nel’s feet. “Here she was in the midst of it, hating it, scared of it, and again she thought of Sula as though they were still friends and talked things over” (110). Despite Nel’s feelings of betrayal and frustration towards Sula, she desires the emotional closeness she once had with her best friend. It is not until Sula’s death that Nel realizes that she is no longer a child. Morrison presents Nel’s indirect dialogue to Sula in the past tense. “’We was girls together’” (174). As children, they were innocent. Their responsibilities to each other took precedence over every other priority. Nel and Sula as a unit shared everything and protected each other; however, without Sula, Nel realizes how unbearably alone she is as an adult.
B. Similar to the way that Helene Wright had decided that she would remain “far away” from the Sundown House and reject any of her mother’s “wild blood” (17) that lingered within her, Nel also makes the decision to carry out a life much different than her mother’s. After being pressured by both Helene and her grandmother, Wiley Wright proposed to Helene, “put[ting] her in a lovely house with a brick porch and real lace curtains at the window.” (17) Helene so desperately yearned for stability and continuity in her life that she was willing to allow men to degrade her while she played the role of subservient housewife in her safe and protected home. Appalled by her mother’s lack of independence and self-respect, Nel comes to the realization that she desires something more out of life declaring, “I'm me. I'm not their daughter. I'm not Nel. I'm me. Me.” (28) Throughout Morrison’s novel, Sula, the relationship between mother and daughter inherits a central role in the story, and the dichotomy between mother and child fades with the maturation of the younger generations as they enter adulthood.
ReplyDeleteNel’s vision of autonomy is interrupted by her union with Jude. The aspirations she once had for herself, as a child, are stunted by Jude’s own dreams and need for affection. “He chose the girl who had always been kind, who had never seemed hell-bent to marry, who made the whole venture seem like his idea, his conquest… The two of them together would make one Jude.” (83) When Sula arrives in Medallion after ten years apart from Nel, she is saddened by the realization that her childhood companion had become “one of them.” (120) Nel’s marriage to Jude suppressed her desire to become a complete woman singly, filling the gap that had once so boldly differentiated Nel from her mother. “Now Nel belonged to the town and all of its way…One of the spiders whose only thought was the next rung of the web…” (120) Even though I do agree with the other comments that emphasize their marriage as the epitomizing factor of Nel’s transformation, I feel it is largely Nel’s own momentary loss in sight of herself as a person which prevents her from holding true to her words.
Although Nel temporarily falters from her childhood determination to become a complete woman when she marries Jude, I do believe she develops according to plan. Nel conveys her strength, as an individual, by reaching out to Sula after her ultimate betrayal of their friendship. Nel returns to Sula, the only person she was allowed to be true to herself with, “where [her] quality had free reign.” (83) It is Nel’s acknowledgment at the conclusion of the novel that it was Sula that she had truly missed, that causes me to believe that Nel had developed into a woman in her own right, as she had planned so many years ago in front of her mirror.
B. The black women living in Madallion all live their lives the same way; they marry black men, have children, and never gain the independence of an individual. Nel’s mother was this way exactly. She married a man who was never around and once she gave birth to Nel, she became what she believed to be a good mother, yet she only loved the idea of finally having authority over an individual. Helene Wright, Nel’s mother, “…loved her house and enjoyed manipulating her daughter…” (18). However, when around white men she succumbed to their dominate role over black women and accepted it with her smile. After the confrontation with the conductor of the train and his power presented over Helene, she “Smiled dazzlingly and coquettishly…” as if there was nothing to be ashamed of (21).
ReplyDeleteAfter this specific experience Nel had with her mother she then states, alone in her room, “I’m me. I’m not their daughter, I’m not Nel. I’m me. Me” (28). With desire to be distant from her family she asks Jesus to, “make me [her] wonderful” (28). Nel longs to be transformed into someone opposite her mother. She does not even want to be “Nel” because that was the name given to her by her mother. Nel also “imagined other trips she would take, alone though, to faraway places…Leaving Madallion would be her goal” (29). This idea contrasts with the women of Madallion, but specifically Nel’s mother. Nel desires to be “alone” meaning to not marry and be attached to a man like her mother had done. She wants to be free and leave the town her mother brought her into.
Unfortunately, the goals Nel had set for herself died when she accepted the life she was given and married. She does not develop according to her plan as a child. Jude, Nel’s husband, married Nel to satisfy his own needs of requiring a women to “care about his hurt” (82) asking, “How you feel? You all right?” (82). Jude saw in Nel that it was possible that “The two of them together would make one Jude” (83). Jude’s desire for this allows him strength over Nel and succeeds when one day, years later, he comes home from work very moody and “…Nel, high-tuned to his moods… [asked] Bad day, honey?” (103). The major question is how did Nel come to stray away from her childhood goals and conform to what her husband expected her to be? What prevents her from being true to her words is that, “Her parents had succeeded in rubbing down to a dull glow any sparkle or splutter she had” (83). An example of this in the making is Nel’s mother constantly letting her daughter know how much she hates her nose and that it must be changed. How Nel is, naturally, is not good enough. This idea falls into her marriage. She is not q good enough how she is, and so Jude must transform her into what he believes she should be.
After Nel’s husband cheated on her with Sula, “Now Nel was one of them” (120). She was now part of society she wished to leave and leave “alone”. “Now Nel belonged to the town and all of its ways…the flick of their tongues would drive her back into her little dry corner…Nel behaved the way the others would have” (120). This observation by Sula of Nel reveals that Nel, after seeing her husband with another woman, reacted in a way all other women of the town would. Nel became part of society because she accepted what they told her; she can never look at another man again, even with hers gone. “…what those women said about never looking at another man made some sense to her…” (110). She is now part of society and alone.
Throughout the book I wished for Nel to escape the norms of the town and stick to her dreams as a young girl. It is upsetting to know that society is very strong and not many people can make it out. Nel is just another example of a young girl with dreams of being her own person and failing. Her failure demonstrates how much the evils of society have over people. Society abducts Nel and plants her as just another seed within their soil.
In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, Shadrack is the first character we are introduced to in the prologue. He has just come back from World War I and has seen numerous fatalities while at war. In the prologue we get a sense of fear of death and a pattern of order displayed by Shadrack. When Shadrack has awoken up to a hospital bed he immediately get frightened as to where he is and what has happened to him. While in the middle of his freak out the nurses put him in a straight jacket to contain him. Shadrack prefers to be in the straight jacket because it gives his life order and predictability. Being in the straight jacket can control his destiny.
ReplyDeleteShadrack is an essential character in this novel because of his order. Even though his appearance is limited in the story his means for order operate how the towns people go about their lives. When Shadrack first meets Sula there is an instant bond between the two. With very limited to hardly no conversation between the two at first meeting they had a connection that will return later in the novel. Shadrack is a harmless character in this novel, but is completely obsessed with death and the thought of death. With that he made his own holiday called National Suicide Day which happens every January third. If people in the town feel the need to die or no longer keep going that day is the day to die instead of anticipating the act of death.
Shadrack is like a crutch for Sula. He somehow knows what she needs in her life which is confirmation. He meets her the day Chicken Little dies, but that memory of her stays with him throughout his life as a good and happy memory. Sula has touched Shadrack’s life somehow and someway even if it was at the death of a young boy. Shadrack is like the towns behind the scenes guy. He remains quiet and hidden in his small shack by the lake but knows about everyone and everything. He is the most observant person in the town and acts as a voice of reason. Although Shadrack isn’t mentioned so much in the story he plays a major role in the novel to keep order and peace in the town and to keep Sula in her order while shes living in a chaotic household.
When Nel says those words, “I'm me”, I thought that she was on her way to be an independent woman. Her own being. Not defined by her mother, her family or men. However, after she agrees to marry Jude, those words became just words. She instead became an extension of Jude. Even Jude believed this as thinks about marrying Nel on page 71, “The two of them together would make one Jude”. Nel didn't seem to have the assertiveness to fight the life lshe was born into. As the people of Medallion believed, “her parents had succeeded in rubbing down to a dull glow any sparkle or splutter she had” (pg 72), thus making her not very aggressive. Instead, she became just like all the other women in Medallion. She got married, had kids, did everything for her husband and never looked at another man again. Even after he cheated on her with Sula. The one person she considered a true friend and felt understood her and that she could be herself with. “Only with Sula did that quality have free reign”. (page 72)
ReplyDeleteNel's biggest fear seems to be that she does not want any man to look at her the way the man on the train looked at her mother. That experience as a child stuck with her and seemed to be a driving force behind her wanting to be different from her mother, wanting to leave Medallion and become a strong, wonderful woman. However, when Nel walks in on Jude and Sula naked on all fours, he looks up at her and his “eyes looked like the soldiers' that time on the train when her mother turned to custard”. (page 91) Instead of saying anything, showing any emotion or even having a reaction, Nel just stood there and smiled. Just like her mother.
I think that we are a product of our upbringing and a lot of how we learn to behave, think and how we interact with others, especially the opposite sex stems from our parents. However, I also think that if a person really wants to be different or change, they have to really do it. Make the changes and work towards it. Nel said she wanted it, but in the end, she seemed resigned to living her life just like her mother did and most of the women in Medallion did, as a serveant to men. I come from a very patriarchal family where the men are dominant and the women are subserveant. So I can relate to how Nel and her mother are and how difficult it can be to break free from that when it is all you know.
I am calling time on this post.
ReplyDeleteNel has a moment of enlightment when she "lit the lamp" to look at herself in the mirror, which is a metaphor for self-reflection. She does want to break away from the powerlessness her mother has commited to, by bowing down to the male authority, and the domination of the white people. Morrison mentions that Nel never left Medallion again after that last trip to her great Grandmother's funeral. Initially, Nel's natural impulse and goal was to leave and travel to different places, knowing that leaving Medallion would change her life. "The many experiences of her trip crowded in on her. She slept. It was the last as well as the first time she was ever to leave Medallion" (29). Nel, like her mother gave up on herself by staying in the town and settling in a life similiar to her mothers.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that Prince Charming would come and rescue her was engraved in her head as a child and a convenient place to surrender when she became a woman. "...she studied the poplars and fell easily into a picture of herself lying on a flowered bed, tangled in her own hair, waiting for some fiery prince. He approached but never quite arrived. But always, watching the dream along with her, were some smiling sympathetic eyes. Someone as interested as she herself in the flow of her imagined hair, the thickness of the mattress of flowers, the voile sleeves that closed below her elbows in gold-threaded cuffs" (51). The desire for Nel to have Prince Charming come and rescue her appealed to her lonely heart and need for intimacy. Nel notices men, watches their eyes and is intimated by them. She never had a chance to escape the powerlessness of her world because she had given in to her need to be seen.
Nel does not develop according to the plan she set for herself, “to be me.” Nel witnessed throughout her childhood her mother bowing down and accepting male authority. Her mother refused to stand her ground and stand up for herself. When Nel was saying “I am me” she is promising herself that she will not allow herself to be degraded by men or not allowed to do what she wants because men will not allow herself. What prevents her from allowing her to be herself is her marriage to Jude. Juda had hinted about marriage to Nel but she was not really receptive of the idea. “ he spoke to Nel about getting marriage. She seemed receptive but hardly anxious”(82). Jude wanted to be married, he wanted to settle down and start a life with Nel but Nel wanted to be her own woman. That’s why I believe that she was receptive but not anxious. Every little girl dreams about their big wedding day and how they want to look but they also dream of being their own woman and traveling and just living life without the need to help someone constantly. Jude’s seems that he has a need to have someone to care for him and he was persistent to have Nel for his wife. And Nel conforms to that standard. The standard that women will grow up, get married and have a family. And once they were married “the two of them together would make one Jude” (83). Once Nel married she lost her identity. She lost who she was and who she worked so hard during her childhood to become. I think that Nel is pressured into marriage Jude pushes it and pushes it. Without someone Nel was Nel she was herself. But Jude could not go without some one in his life. Living alone and without a significant other he was a no body. Which I feel is still a characteristic around today. I think some men feel that they need to have a woman in their life, or a partner to be satisfied. That they cannot just live alone and be there own person. Women can and have it just when push comes to shove they will choose marriage because it is the standard in which they have been raised. Nel wants to be her own person and live her own life but because of the culture and the time she is pushed into marriage.
ReplyDelete-Megan Scully
" I'm me. I'm not their daughter. I'm not Nel. I'm me. Me."
ReplyDeleteNel's declaration is something that remained in my mind throughout the novel. I can't imagine how it must've felt to be so young and to recognize the liberty in individuality. I believe that the first act of Nel's new found individuality is the befriending of Sula. "The trip, perhaps, or her new found me-ness, gave her the strength to cultivte a friend in spite of her mother."(29) However, I do believe that with time age she loses this me-ness and becomes so wrapped in the motions of life particularly with Jude. Pg 83 of the novel discusses how Nel loses her indifferences with Jude when she realizes his pain. This is where Nel begins to lose sight of herself and begans to take on for others. "Her parents had Succeeded in rubbing dwn to a dull glow any sparkle or spluter she had. Only with Sula did that quality have free reign, but their friendship was so close, they themselves had difficulty distinguishing one's thoughts fom the other's" (83) This quoute also shows that in time, Nel's me-ness has lost it's shine and it's spark has been smothered by her parents. Here we also learn that the friendship that officiated Nel's new me-ness may have brought Nel full circle to her old self. The point is that Nel does begin a slow spiral down that eventually picks up speed and it's not until the affair does Nel get to stop and see that she has made her own footprints but instead she's filled in the footprints of others.
A.
ReplyDeleteNel and Sula’s relationship is defined by Nel. It is clear that regardless of circumstance, Sula knows she will always love Nel; Nel doesn’t always realize her love for Sula, thus defining the nature of their friendship.
Nel is the leader from the start of their relationship. Beginning with their play in the grass, “Sula lifted her head and joined Nel in grass play…Nel moved easily to the next stage…Sula copied her…Together they worked until the two holes were one and the same. When the depression was the size of a small dishpan, Nel’s twig broke. With a gesture of disgust she threw the pieces into the hole they had made. Sula threw hers in too” (58). It is interesting that it seems as though they are working in sync, their holes are the same size, and their actions are the same, but Morrison clearly shows Nel acting first and Sula following suit. Sula is comfortable to play along with Nel’s game.
The break in their friendship is chosen by Nel as well, Sula didn’t actually see a reason for it. “‘We were friends.’ ‘Oh, yes. Good friends,’ Sula said. ‘And you didn’t love me enough to leave him alone. To let him love me. You had to take him away.’ ‘What do you mean take him away? I didn’t kill him, I just fucked him. If we were such good friends, how come you couldn’t get over it?’” (145). When Sula and Jude sleep together, Nel chooses to see it differently then their childhood sharing. Sula viewed it the same and because of her view of the strength of the relationship between her and Nel, she assumed they could share everything. I don’t think Sula saw her actions as hurtful to Nel, she saw Nel’s actions as hurtful to her. And yet, through this she always loved Nel, it wasn’t as if Nel abandoning their friendship made her stop caring, she always wondered why Nel couldn’t let it go. I think that if Nel had ever forgiven Sula, or realized the lack of intent behind Sula’s actions, Sula would have been ready and waiting for Nel to come back to her. If only Nel had realized sooner the strength of her love for Sula.
“‘All that time, all that time, I thought I was missing Jude.’ And the loss pressed down on her chest and came up into her throat. ‘We was girls together,’ she said as though explaining something. ‘O Lord, Sula,’ she cried, ‘girl, girl, girlgirlgirl.’ It was a fine cry—loud and long—but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow” (174). Sula always recognized the strength of her relationship with Nel. She recognized that through anything, she would love Nel and share everything with her. Their friendship falls apart because Nel doesn’t realize this, she feels it but doesn’t know it, and she lets her mind guide her heart. It is so interesting to see how Sula’s heart guides her and Nel’s mind guides her, and how while that works within their friendship as children, it ruins their friendship as adults.