Sula; a Motif of Guilt

577 Words3 Pages
In the novel Sula by Toni Morrison, the motif of guilt makes the thematic statement that good and evil are relative to each other and occur mutually. Throughout the novel, guilt is used to communicate the many contrasting views of what evil is. When Eva douses Plum in kerosene, it is described like a baptism: “[Plum] opened his eyes and saw what he imagined was the great wing of an eagle pour wet lightness over him… some kind of blessing…” Eva believes that she is saving Plum from his addiction to heroin and saving his soul. Her intentions were not for evil, but she intended to wash away Plum’s pain and end his life quickly rather than have him suffer and deteriorate slowly. When Sula returns to the Bottom after ten years she is “accompanied by a plague of robins”. The townspeople blame this, and several other incidents, on Sula and call her a witch. The other incidents she was blamed for was a child falling down the stairs and a man choking on a bone, both of which she is had nothing to do with. The town is in fear of Sula, but “in spite their fear, they reacted to… what they called evil days… Such evil must be avoided… and precautions must… be taken to protect themselves from it”. This shows that the town is quick to judge Sula out of ignorance and labels her as wicked and sinful. They label her these things because of her promiscuity and her independency. The community of the Bottom comes to the conclusion that Nel is a good, whole-hearted person, and Sula is a villainous person. Nel becomes an example of the town’s morals when she marries “one of them”, meaning a member of the community in the Bottom. Nel’s outrage at Sula’s actions is similar to the town’s reaction. While the community of the Bottom’s view of evil is really based on the disapproval of anything that would disrupt their society, Sula’s view of evil is different. She asks Nel, “How you know it
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