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Discussion 1

Even though Nel is displayed as from a chaotic family as the novel begins she later has a great friendship with Sula. Sula is from a completely different family and she contributes to the character formation of Nel. It is true that since the novel is titled Sula it talks and focuses more on Nel. This is because she is the girl who would have followed in the footsteps of her family members like mum however she changes and becomes a better person while on the other side the person expected to be very good that is Sula does not retain her goodness rather she becomes the unexpected. Sula changes so much and she decides to live an independent life. This independent life makes her get into problems with her best-friend Nel after she sleeps with her husband Jude.

Due to her independent life, she never apologizes as Nel tries to talk to her about it. “And you didn’t love me enough to leave him alone. To let him love me. You had to take him away” (Morrison, 128). Here Nel tries to talk to Sula however she is already destroyed and she is not ready to change. In the final chapter of the book, Nel is displayed as a middle-aged woman who even though having gone through a lot can change and be a good person. Sula dies at an early age due to her very ambitious life of self-discovery whereby she does anything possible to make herself feel good. On the other side, the self-discovery of Nel makes her life better every day even though silently.at the end of it, all Nel is a middle-aged woman who is grown up and she is far much better. Therefore it is true that Nel is the main protagonist because she is the one who gets transformed at the end.

Discussion 2

The Nobel peace prize is such a special kind of prize that had not been awarded to an African American writer in acknowledgment of their work. Morrison was the first to be awarded this prize for her work of art. She was not only happy that she got it but she was also happy that it was received by an African American writer. This shows pride in her work and the role her work of art takes to change American society. Morrison was also the 8th woman to receive this prize and it had a lot of meaning to her. This is because in her novel; Sula, she talks of African black women surrounded by white people and this makes it difficult for them to stay normal lives as they are viewed as weak and a kind of people of the lowest standard in the society as at that time. Therefore the recognition of women, as well as the recognition of African American writers, makes her happy to a great extent as stated by O’Brien who works for Publishers Weekly.

Apart from the issue of race and gender, Morrison also recognizes the importance of family and especially her mum. This is because she is happy to have received the award when her mother is alive so that she can know it and make her proud as her daughter. This displays how the family is important as Morrison suggests. Morrison as well did not only receive the Nobel peace prize but also received other prizes like the national book foundation medal. This she was awarded as her special contribution to the American letters. Therefore these two awards are very special to her and it helps her realize that her work of art and especially the novel Sula is making a big difference in the lives of a lot of people and not only locally but also internationally. Works cited

Morrison, Toni. Sula. SPERLING & KUPFER, 2012.