Sulas Web Essay, Research Paper

Sulas Web

Their is a pattern of promiscuous activity running threw the Peace

household. Because of a terrible marriage Eva dates many men since she

dosent want to have her heart broken ever again. After Hannah s marriage

ends when her husband dies, she decides to mimic her mothers style and

date lots of different men to aviod being close just to one. After Sula

grows up she is so confused from having grown up in a house full of broken

marriages that she can not stick with one man her self. This is a sad

pattern that in the end leaves all the woman to die either lonely or tragic

deaths

Eva was married to BoyBoy and together they formed a prime

example for a relationship that didn t work. During the time they were

together he was very much preoccupied with other women and not home

much (32). Marriage is all about two people being together so if one of the

partners is never around and spends all his affections on other woman then

how can that lead to a happy relationship. He did whatever he could that

he liked, and he liked womanizing best, drinking second, and abusing Eva

third (32). Its good for a man to have priorities but when they

are all negative that can cause a huge strain on a loving relationship. After

five years of sad and disgruntled marriage BoyBoy took off. When he left in

November, Eva had $1.65, five eggs, three beets and no idea of what or

how to feel (32). November is probably one of the worst months to

leave your wife back in the times before electronic or gas heating. He left

her right at the beginning of winter with only a few scraps of food for his on

kids. You cant grow anything in the winter so what is a woman with only a

few scraps and three kids to do. BoyBoy most have been a heartless father

to just not only walk out on his wife but also to leave his three young

children hungry without any plan on how they were going to be feed.

When plum was three years old, BoyBoy came back to town and paid

Eva a visit (35). All this time he had not written to his kids or talked to his

wife. How can a person go three years with out contacting his family

especially since he left them in such daire straits. When he finally came to

see his family he did not bring any gifts instead he just brought his new

girlfriend a woman in a pea green dress. He opened the door and stood

smiling, a picture of properity and good will. His shoes were a shiny orange,

a gooolehum he had on a citified straw hat, a light-blue suit, and a

cat s-head pin (35). If he was wearing clothes that nice then coudnt he

have sent a little bit of money for his kids to have some nourishment to

have something to eat. BoyBoy didn t ask to see the children, and Eva

didn t bring them into the conversation (36). He probably didn t ask to see

the children because he new that it was a rough subject. If he had done so

Eva probably would have gone off into a furious tangent about how he just

abandoned them. Eva probably choose not to bring up the subject because

she probably felt that her kids were no longer the property of BoyBoy. .

Eva, old as she was, and with one leg, had a regular flock of gentleman

callers, and although she did not participate in the act of love, there was a

good deal of teasing and pecking and laughter (41). Because BoyBoy broke

Eva s heart she probably never wanted to get married again or be with just

one man out of fear of having her heart broken. Because of her marriage

she indirectly taught her kids that being with more than one man is okay.

Hannah marriage to Rekus did not last very long since he died around

the time of their child s Sula s third birthday. So Hannah and Sula moved

back into her mothers house. Since Hannah s husband died she was free to

love as many men as she wanted which she always did. With the exception

of BoyBoy, those Peace women loved all men (41). It was manlove that Eva

bequeathed to her daughters. Probably, people said, because there were no

men in the house, no men to run it. But actually that was not true. The

Peace women simple loved maleness, for its own sake (41). Hannah had

been around her mother having many men drop by all the time so it was

understandable for her to follow into her mothers pattern and have many

lovers. Hannah simply refused to live without the attentions of a man, and

after Rekus s death had a steady sequence of lovers, mostly the husbands

of her friends and neighbors. Without ever a pat of the hair, a rush to

change clothes or a quick application of paint, with no gesture whatsoever,

she rippled with sex (42). It didn t matter if the men were married or not,

Hannah loved all men and probably had a distaste for marriage since her

marriage and her mothers marriage ended so negatively. The men,

suprisingly, never gossiped about her. She was unquestionably

a kind and generous woman and that, coupled with her extraordinary

beauty and funky elegance of manner, made them defend her and protect

her from any vitriol that newcomers or their wives might spill (44).

Sula Hannah s daughter was never married. She probably never

wanted to after being raised hearing about BoyBoy and her fathers death.

Sula probably believed that relationships didnt work and as a result never

allowed herself to take the next step. Like her mother and grandmother

she was passionate with many different men. Jude describes her as A

funny woman, he thought not that bad looking. But he could see why she

wasn t married; she stirred a man s mind maybe,but not his body (104).

This time the men who slept with Sula were not a favorable to her as they

were to her mother. It was the men who gave her the final label, who

fingerprinted her for all time. They were the ones who said she was guilty

of the unforgivable thing- the thing for which there was no understanding,

no excuse, no compassion. They said that she slept with white men (105).

This made the whole town turn against her and close her off from their

world. Towards the end of Sulas life she meet Ajax and for a bit she found

comfort with his presence shortly before her death.

The Peace woman went threw a lot. Eva s terrible marriage lead to her

to have many partners. That lead to her daughter following her pattern after

her on upset with marriage ultimately lead to Sula being castigated by

society and the way up to her pitiful death. Maybe if Sula had not died a

such an early age she could have eventually broken the pattern. But pattern

are hard to break especially when dealing with matters of the heart.

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