Both Morrison novels have characters who are not a part of
the acceptable community. Using Beloved or
Sula, identify the role your selected
character has with the “decent” or “normal” community. What do we learn about
the character through his/her actions? In other words, why is s/he labeled as
an outlaw, outcast or pariah. Consider how the town’s response affects the
character. Make sure you begin your text by identifying the character(s) and provide
evidence that illustrates the topic focus.
In the book Beloved Sethe was an outlaw after she ran away from Sweet Home. Not only because she ran from slavery but because of her actions when School Teacher came. Against her he wanted to take her back to where she didn't want to be, Sweet Home. Many people throughout the community hated her for trying to kill and killing her children. Not knowing her reasons or feeling her pain they judged her. Am I saying what she did was right, No, but as a mother myself she knows what's best for her children. With all that she had been through with School Teacher from stealing her milk to rape why would she let her children endure such pain. She did what she did because of love and for protection to her children, an idea any parent can agree with. The community helped torment Sethe's life. Leaving her and Denver in a life of shame. My advice is to act questions don't judge.
ReplyDeleteKatrina Cotton
It was quite obvious throughout the novel that all three of the Peace women were outcasts. They lived lives outside of the standard norms of the community that caused for the community to basically exclude them. This was evident by the way the community talked about the Peace family behind their backs, and how they treated the women. In reality the women, especially Sula helped hold the community together. This would not be discovered until the death of the youngest Peace girl when relationships between the community began to fall apart without the glue, that was Sula.
ReplyDeleteI think the major reasoning for why they were outlawed was their unique view on men and relationships in relation to the rest of the Bottom. This view on men stemmed from Eva's random and open encounters with men that shed down to her mother and granddaughter. They basically used men as sexual objects. Plus many of the men that Hannah and Sula slept with were married which caused a lot of controversy with the women living in the bottom. They were out casted by the community because they were viewed as home wrecking hussies.
I see a few similarities between Karina's post regarding Sethe from the novel Beloved and Sula in the novel our class read, Sula. Sethe ran away from Sweet Home, which caused her to become an outlaw by her community. The very same thing happened to Sula with her dismissal from Medallion for many years. Upon her arrival she was viewed as an independent women with no cares. The biggest issue that created the pariah outlook on her was the rumors of her sleeping with white men. This was one of the prevalent sins a black women could commit in the eyes of her community. Therefore she lived a lonesome life in the unconventional home that her family had lived before her, outlawed by those around her.