Human Struggle in the Novel Sula by Toni Morrison
The novel Sula by Toni Morrison is one of the most impressive works that appeals to human emotions. The story allures the audience by the challenges of misconceptions, biases, and stereotypes. It presents the lives of two black female friends, Nel and Sula who search for self-identy in a cruel unsympathetic world. The story presents the lives of Nel and Sula, who have differing views on life perception. An examination on their true friendship will prove how their true friendship is preserved despite the stereotypes and class discriminations in the novel Sula by Toni Morrison.
The novel, Sula, illustrates the intersection of stereotypes and free will to the audience. The character, Nel Wright, is considered to be an ordinary mother and wife, an individual who never leaves her hometown. She was brought up in a family that appreciated social conventions. Nel was under control of her strict mother, “Under Helene’s hand the girl became obedient and polite. Her mother calmed any enthusiasms that Nel showed until she drove her daughter’s imagination underground” (Morrison 18). On contrary, Sula refuses to get married and have children. She has control over her own life and could care less what others do or what she is supposed to do. She has her own mind and her own way of how to go about living in the world. When Nel was getting married to Jude, Sula “was no less excited about the wedding” (Morrison 84). Sula lived with her grandmother Eva and mother Hannah, who were accepted as unconventional and loose. The population of “The Bottom , including Helene, saw Sula’s mother, Hannah, as “sooty” (Morrison 29). Therefore, it is obvious Sula dwells in the different world. Her character is far from stereotypes. She declines to be a traditional woman.
Having strong differences, these two characters are connected by true friendship. The girls complete each other. “Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personality (Morrison 53)”. The author creates an impression that these two girls were connected by supernatural bounds. “Sula lifted her head and joined Nel in the grass play. In concert, without ever meeting each other’s eyes, they stroked the blades up and down, up and down (Morrison 58)”.  Evidently, this illustrates that the characters became one mind. However, Morrison also depicts the other side of their relationship. Sula betrays Nel by sleeping with Jude. The loyal, true friend becomes viewed as a cheater of the best friend. Yet despite all the difficulties the girls live through, Sula thinks about her best friend in the end of her life. “Sula felt her face smiling. “Well, I’ll be damned,” she thought, “it didn’t even hurt. Wait’ll I tell Nel” (Morrison 170). Thus, the biases in the story keep the readers in hesitations and curiosity. At first, Sula is depicted as a positive hero, then she changes into negative one. When the plot of the novel illustrates Nel did not take Sula’s affair with Jude as betrayal, and the character is still devoted to Nel, the impression about the main heroine remains positive.  Therefore, the novel illustrates that true friendship can be everlasting despite all stereotypes and various life challenges.
It cannot be omitted that Morrison appeals to a question of gender. It helps to analyze how deep the relationship between males and females are. Hence, the story illustrates relationship between males and females as dishonest, weak and without love. The examples of such affairs are Nel and Jude, Sula and her lovers. Jude betrayed Nel and consequently proved he was a weak character. He did not have true love for his wife. On the contrary, relationship between Sula and Nel are depicted as stronger than those between women and men.
Sula is representative of a new type of woman, one who does not want to obey the common rules. Thus, she is rejected by society.  Sula’s best friend, Nel Wright, tries to persuade Sula to confirm in the community, get married, and have children. She states,  “You can’t do it all. You a woman and a colored woman at that. You can’t act like a man. You can’t be walking around all independent-like, doing whatever you like, taking what you want, leaving what you don’t”( Morrison 62). On the other hand, Sula suggests men are unreliable. She says, “ ‘…if I had children’ ‘Then I would really act like what you call a man. Every man I ever knew left his children’ ” ( Morrison 105). Thus, males are depicted as incapable of having strong affairs with their wives or lovers. Moreover, they cannot be expected to fulfill the role of a father.
Throughout the entirety of the novel, each chapter has its year that underlines particular manner to express events according to social changes. The structure and the style of Morrison’s novel helps the audience to transcend categorization. The author portrays stereotypes can be wrong. Sula chose her particular life path and was judged by people, though her intentions and inner world were good. The story illustrates the strength of true friendship that is preserved despite stereotypes and class discriminations of that period of time. Morrison underlined that females were to become stronger as they could not rely on males. The novel pointed out the value of morality, community, love, peace, and freedom. Sula evokes emotions. Readers cannot blame Sula for her deeds. Moreover, the tragic end of the protagonist’s life is the saddest as it is late to regret. Thus, the novel opens for imaginations to discover Nel’s character closer.

Works Cited
Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: New American Library, 1987. Print.