Analysis of Social and Inner Conflicts of Two Female Major Characters in Toni Morrison's 'Sula'.

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ABSTRACT

Penulisan tugas akhir ini dimaksudkan untuk memenuhi persyaratan kelulusan di jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Kristen Maranatha dengan menganalisis konflik sosial dan konflik di dalam diri dua karakter wanita utama di dalam novel Sula, karya Toni Morrison. Toni Morrison adalah seorang novelis wanita Amerika kulit hitam pertama yang mendapatkan perhargaan Nobel di bidang kesusastraan pada tahun 1993.

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APPENDICES

Summary of Sula

Set in early 1900s in a small Ohio town called Medallion. Sula comes from a controversial family. Eva, her grandmother, who cut off her own leg in order to get insurance policy to feed her children, but she also killed her own drunken son. Hannah, Sula’s mother, is known in Bottom for her affairs with many married men. Sula becomes a very independent woman and wants to be different from other common women because of it. When common women are forbidden to have a high education, Sula dares to explore her knowledge in college. Sula has a best friend named Nel; they become friends since they were children. Nel grows up in a disciplined and a well-mannered family. Her politeness makes people adore Nel. Their friendship grows stronger although they come from a different family background.

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After the absence of ten years, Sula returns to Bottom looking like a movie star. When Nel meets Sula, she finds that Sula has not changed. Sula still wants to be an independent woman, who can freely choose her own way of life. But Sula misuses Nel’s trust. One day Nel finds Sula and her husband in bed together. Nel is very sad and disappointed. And Nel does not want to know anything about Sula anymore. Nel leaves her husband and Sula.

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Biography of Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio on

February 18, 1931. She was the second daughter of four children of Ramah and George Wofford. She has showed her interest in literature since she was a little girl. Chloe changed her name since many people couldn’t pronounce her first name correctly. She changed it into Toni, a shortened version of her middle name.

Toni Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953 with B.A. in English literature. She got her master’s degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After she received her master degree, she is back to Howard University, where she met Harold Morrison, who later became her husband.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Every individual who lives in the world will always be familiar with conflicts. Conflict happens because there are two opposing forces; the two contradictory elements will cause many situations, from war, betrayal, until jealousy. Conflicts affect people’s life; they mainly cause the suffering to those who experience it. Literature, which often acts as reflection of life, also raises conflicts as one of its important elements. As conflict is one of the most important elements in theory of literature, I am interested to analyze the conflict in one of the literary genre; a novel, written by Toni Morrison entitled Sula.

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material from which a plot is constructed”. (Shaw, 1972:289). So the plot of the story will be more interesting if there are conflicts inside the story. If there is no conflict, the plot of the story will be less interesting.

I decide to take this novel because it is easy to read and understand. I like the style of language because it is helpful for me to have a deeper understanding of the story.

There are three types of conflicts, which are social conflict, inner conflict, and physical conflict. Social conflict is the struggle between man and man. Inner conflict is the struggle between desires within a person. And physical conflict is a struggle between man and the physical world. (Shaw, 1972:91-92). Because this novel deals with social norms and betrayal, I choose to analyze only the social and inner conflict.

Toni Morrison is one of the great novelists who won a Pulitzer Prize in Literature in 1988, and she is the first African-American writer who receives the Noble Prize for literature in 1993. Her works are dominated by social issue themes, moral issues, racism and the suppression of African-American. One of her greatest novels entitled Beloved becomes a bestseller and is adapted to be a movie.

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Statement of the Problem

After reading Toni Morrison’s Sula, I would like to analyze :

1. What are the social and inner conflicts experienced by the two female major characters in Toni Morrison’s Sula ?

2. What are the causes of each conflict experienced by the two female major characters in Toni Morrison’s Sula?

3. How are the conflicts resolved?

Purpose of the Study

Based on the statements of the problems above, it will be my aim to answer the following points above :

1. To show the social and inner conflicts experienced by the two female major characters in Toni Morrison’s Sula.

2. To show the causes of each conflict experienced by the two female major characters in Toni Morrison’s Sula.

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Method of Research

The method applied in this thesis is library research. I begin by reading the primary text, Toni Morrison’s Sula. In addition, I read some reference books and internet study guide to help me in analyzing the novel. Besides, I also get some valuable information about the book and the biography of the author from the internet. Finally, I draw the conclusion from my analysis.

Organization of the Thesis

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having discussed the social and inner conflicts in Toni Morrison’s Sula, I would like to give the conclusion from what I have analyzed in Chapter Two. Sula and Nel come from different family backgrounds. In Sula’s family, they are very liberal. I also find that they are not well civilized. In contrast with Nel, she comes from a very well behaved family. The two female major characters here are having a close friendship. Sula likes to have a friendship with Nel because she is able to control Nel. In other words, Sula likes to show her authority. Besides, Sula does not get enough attention from her family since she was a child and it makes Sula become independent and dares to express more her thinking and ideas. Nel’s admiring Sula makes Nel enjoy being Sula’s friend.

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Nel is submissive in her family and society. Nel just knows to obey what her mother’s says and advices without telling her mother whether she likes it or not. And in the society, Nel just follows the norms and rules because her mother teaches and tells her so. She chooses to remain in the place of her birth, to marry, and to raise a family.

It helps Nel’s mother and the family to keep the family’s pride and not to be separated from the society. That is the reason why Nel feels unhappy; she is locked by the rules.

From the explanation in the paragraphs above, I find Sula experiences more social conflicts than Nel because Sula dares to challenge the family and social environment. The social conflicts are experience by Sula and her society; between Sula and Nel; between Sula and Eva, her own grandmother; also between Sula and Ajax, the man who loves her seriously. The social conflicts above, which are mostly experienced by Sula, are not well resolved because of Sula’s death. Sula dies, without anybody comes to her funeral ceremony, except Nel. I think if Sula would respect the social norms a little bit, the resolution of the conflicts will not be that tragic.

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Nel meets Sula for the first time, Nel seems to have found a new picture of herself in Sula. Yet, Nel’s mother forbids Nel to have a friendship with Sula. This conflict is solved with Nel keeping in Sula by her side. Sula’s having an affair with her husband makes a dilemma for her. But the inner conflicts resolved by Nel end-up her friendship with Sula and she is divorced from Jude, her husband. I like Nel’s way of solving the problems. In my point of view, Nel’s decision to solve the problems without any violence and harassment is much honorable.

Nel cannot take her own decision before. After she experiences the conflicts above, I can see that the conflicts have shaped Nel. She becomes tougher, dares to have her own decisions and voices it. She also thinks more maturely than she used to be. Nel blames Sula for nothing even she is disappointed with what Sula has done to her.

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future life will be, but her dream to have a happy family was not changing at all. She has a faith that she will have a wonderful life after. Her dream becomes real by marrying Jude, yet she has to accept a bitter reality because of Jude’s betrayal. Even though she faces such reality, she keeps her positive thinking that she will have a better life afterward.

Black cultures that are common to happen at the time are unbeneficial for women. The men are not responsible to their family. They will go home only if they have a need; such as having sexual intercourse with their wives. After their need is fulfilled by their wives, they just leave their wives at home.

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Through the main character, Sula, Morrison shows how to face with racist situations; some people has to plead to whites simply to get by, as Helene does on a train heading through the South. And she also wants the readers to be inspired and motivated to find jobs against whites’ population; value their independence. Besides, I believe that Toni Morrison wants to encourage the readers, especially the women, surviving to get their freedom. It is good for a woman to have her own will or ambition, but it has to deal with the norms too.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text

• Morrison, Toni. Sula. London: Picador, 1991.

References

• Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Mc Draw hill Book Company, 1972.

Internet sites

• “Biography of Toni Morrison”. October 6th, 2006. <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tmorris.htm>

• Toni Morrison Essays and Biography. October 11th, 2006.

<http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/morrison/morrison_toni-bio.html> • Penguin Reading Guides / The books of Toni Morrison. November 22nd,

2007.

<http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/toni_morrison.html> • Sula Summary and Essays – Toni Morrison. October 20th, 2006.

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<http://www.talkaboutculture.group.com/group/alt.culture.african.american. isues/messages/17416.html>