How the Character Development Relates to Larger Theme in the Work Term Paper

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Character Development in Sula

"the friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other's personality."

~from Sula, "1922"

Toni Morrison is an African-American, female author with a well-respected and known reputation among literary and academic circles. The main characters of her novels often are African-American women caught in normative, yet arduous life circumstances. Her novel, Sula, will be the focus of this paper written by this prolific author who has, among the many accolades of her career, was nominated for the National Book Award for Sula, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature for Beloved. The primary characters of the novel belong to the Peace family, who live in a mostly black neighborhood called The Bottom, in Ohio. The novel traverses several decades in this town and in the lives of a number of the inhabitants. While Sula is the main character (protagonist) in the novel, as the title indicates, her relationship with her female friend, Nel is additionally significant. This paper will examine the character development of Nel referencing both her character as well as the relationships she has with other characters in the novel, primarily through her best friendship with Sula.

Nel was not raised with much freedom or love. Her upbringing is moderately typical of the African-American community, both in the past and in modern times.

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There is a long tradition of strict upbringing in African-American families, particularly when one or more of the adults in the family are very religious and likely conservative. Nel did not have much of a childhood experience as compared with other children, particularly Sula. Nel lived under many restrictions and lived with a mother who lived by the adage that "children should be seen and not heard." In Nel's case, her mother preferred she was neither seen, nor heard. Nel's life in childhood is full of order and propriety. She is always clean, always neat, and always following the rules. Despite her restrictive childhood, Nel retains an independent spirit. She is fully aware and mostly in control of her identity. She is confident is who she is as a person and part of the confidence comes from her closeness and trust with Sula. In early parts of the novel, certainly before the girls become adults, the reader may wonder as to the depth of Nel's independence or dependence on others. Her orderly childhood has a great deal of influence on the type of woman and adult she grow into later in the novel.

While Sula departs from The Bottom for her own adventures, Nel remains in the town. She marries a man named Jude, and begins a family of a few….....

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