Final Examination

  Sula Essay Topics

American Literature A

 

Your well-focused, clearly-stated, intriguing thesis statement should occur at the end of the introductory paragraph.  An underlined, effective topic sentence should govern each fully-developed, well-supported body paragraph.  Each body paragraph should contain adequate evidence to support your insights. Make sure that you supply necessary transitions between and within body paragraphs.  The conclusion should bring closure to the essay without merely repeating the introduction and without starting a new topic.  Your essay should demonstrate close reading of the text and original thinking that extends beyond our class discussions.  Four of the six topics below will occur on the final exam.

 

1.         The last time she sees Nel, Sula wonders, "...who was good.  How do you know it was you?...I mean maybe it wasn't you.  Maybe it was me" (p. 146).  Examine two of Sula's positive qualities that Nel (and other Bottom residents) lack.

 

2.            Although Sula contains several male characters, the book is in many ways a novel that celebrates women.  Sula looms so large in the reader's mind because Morrison strips away the power tradition­ally given to men.  Examine the deficiencies of two male characters that suggest contrasting strengths in female charac­ters.

 

3.            Amorality and "manlove" (p. 41) are two of Sula's gifts from Hannah and Eva.  In fact, we can find the clues to much of Sula's behavior by studying her mother and grandmother.  However, Sula has conflicts with both women and is indirectly responsible for her mother's death and directly responsible for her grandmother's eviction.  Analyze the essential differences between Sula and Hannah on the one hand and between Sula and Eva on the other hand.

 

4.            Addressing Sula's spirit at the end of the novel, Nel utters a "fine cry…that [has] no bottom and [has] no top, just circles and circles of sorrow" (p. 174).  Just as Nel's cry has no bottom or top, Sula has no center:  "She [has] no center, no speck around which to grow" (p. 119).  Discuss the significant causes and consequences of Sula having no center.

 

5.         Sula ends with "circles and circles of sorrow" (p. 174).  Both structurally and thematically, cycles take precedence over linear time in this novel.  Explain the significance of two cycles or recurring images.

 

6.         Toni Morrison once said, "I know evil preoccupied me in Sula…"  Examine the nature of evil in Sula, especially as it occurs in the protagonist.  To what extent is Sula evil and how does she manifest this trait?  What are the sources of her evil and what is its ultimate significance in terms of her relationship with the Bottom residents?