Nel's Character In 'Sula' By Toni Morrison

Sula’s Friend
In Sula, Toni Morrison addresses the differing influence of a person’s surroundings on their overall character. Morrison shaped the environment of Nel in order to show how she had the potential to grow, but was limited by the environment she was in. Her aspirations arose in spite of prejudice. Morrison used Nel to represent the entire band of black women who are limited by the norm. Even though Nel had dreams to alter her circumstances, she was confined to a stereotypical role by her cultural, physical, and geographical surroundings. The culture Nel was born into was full of prejudice. As a result of that prejudice, she was greatly motivated to direct her own life, but she was still faced with obstacles. Her mother was adamant that Nel conform to the same life as other community members, but Nel wanted a path to freedom. Although she had inclination, her ethnicity had a detrimental effect on her dreams. Her marriage to Jude was the end to “any sparkle or splutter she had,” which conformed to all she had been taught (Morrison 83). The black community had put a limit on the potential of Nel. This was an extension of the hardships many African Americans faced as they tried to move up in the world. The bottom can be compared to the situation of Nel. The land is “high up in the hills,” but “it was lovely” which
Nel’s mother, Helene, wanted her daughter to have an accepted role as a wife. As she was pressured into a stereotypical life, Nel secretly desired the life of Sula. At Sula’s house, she could escape her reality but her mother frowned upon her hopes. On Nel’s only trip out of Medallion, she was on a train faced with blatant racism all around her. The experience left her with a “new found meness” that gave her the capability to change the direction her life was going in (29). She could have led a life like Sula, but it was her surroundings that would not permit the