Folklore, Womens Issues, and Morals in Toni Morrisons Sula Essay

The Themes of Folklore, Womens Issues, and Morals in genus Sula Toni Morrison has asserted that she likes to indite the kind of books that she would like to read (Harris 52). By this we can assume she favors scorch folklore, womens issues, and discussions of accepted moral standards. These be nigh major themes in Sula. Folktales are a type of oral prose that is passed from one person to another. Listeners may chose to add up or subtract from the main story lines, embellishing with experiences and wisdom from their own lives. It consequently takes on the collective morals, or conscienceness, of that culture. From those individuals who we normally would not consider cultured, big gems of knowledge and wisdom are passed down through folktales. This is done without the traditionalistic use of written language or use of proper organisational style. Yet these oral traditions are not without power they reach into the rattling heart of what it is to be human. Typically, folktales are set in believable purlieu with extraordinary people. We see the same in Sula. The setting is in a common Negro village called the Bottom where it is said that it is the bottom of paradise (Morrison 6). The wider historical settings are kept intact in the novel as the events of World War I swirl around and capture some of the residents of Bottom. It is people, however, that makes up the surreal in Sula. Eva is a tireless grandmother who controls her line of business of a large boarding house Shadrach is a war-shocked veteran who invents an pardon day for people to kill each other Hanna and her daughter Sula are shameless adulteresses. In this tale, Toni Morrison takes liberty to change the style of folklore (Harris 53). or else of happy endings, violent ... ...net.10 September 2001. <<http//www.viconet.com/ejb/bio.htm>> Harris, Trudier Fiction and Folklore The Novels of Toni Morrison. Knoxville The University of Tennessee Press, 1991. Hedge, Holly. Toni Morrison. Empire Zine <http//www.empirezine.com/spotlight/toni-morrison/toni-morrison.htm> (accessed on September 6, 2001) Morrison, Toni Sula. New York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1973. Morrison, Toni. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000. <http//encarta.msn.com> 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. (accessed on September 26, 2001) ONeill, Cynthia. Goddesses, Heroes and Shamans. New York Larousse Kingfisher put up Inc., 1994. Toni Morrison. Contemporary Authors, Gale Research, 1993 abstracted at <http//www.cwrl.utexas.edu/mmaynard/morrison/biograph.htm> (accessed on September 26, 2001)