You re Ugly By Toni Morrison Essay - 1888 Words

What makes an interesting and impactful novel often revolves around conflict, obstacles, and adversity and how the characters within the fictional universe cope with or triumph over these challenges. The manner in which characters choose to interact with adversity in their own ways enlightens who they are as a character and can help illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. The character of Sula in Sula by Toni Morrison as well as the character of Zoe in Lorrie Moore’s You’re Ugly, Too both face the adversity of isolation through sexual and social rejection, but they handle it in radically different ways. Sula challenges this adversity by facing it directly, experiencing and therefore empathizing with and respecting the possessive relationship she is trying to avoid. Conversely, Zoe deals with this adversity in the same way she always has, barricading herself from growing as a character. Through their interactions in the face of their own adversities, these charact ers reveal a central message that dropping what is expected of one’s self sexually will eliminate isolation and perhaps lead to a healthy relationship. A large source of adversity that both Sula and Zoe face is sexual failures, which leads to social and societal rejection. In Sula, Sula is characterized by her lack of adherence to conventional sexual norms. She subscribes to a personal philosophy that she must be free, that a monogamous relationship is boring and restricting and she must reject that to remainShow MoreRelatedThe Bluest Eye Revision Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesBluest Eye Revision In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison shows that one’s family determines a character’s feeling of self-worth. According to Morrison, the world is teaching little black girls that they are not beautiful and unworthy of love. 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I found her a fine woman, in the style of Blanche Ingram: tall, dark, and majestic† (352). Ugly (probably due to her animalistic qualities and her insanity) â€Å"In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled, seemingly