An Archetypal Interpretation Of Toni Morrison's Sula

Since Toni Morrison's second novel Sula was published in 1973, critics have done a lot of research on it from various angles. Although mythical and archetypal elements in the novel have attracted much critical attention, few critics have done comprehensive and in-depth studies upon it.This thesis analyzes the characters, motifs, narrative patterns and imagery in Sula from an archetypal perspective. It attempts to discuss the racist and sexist practices represented in the novel and explore the causality between these practices and the tragic fates of the Afro-American people. My employment of archetypal criticism will be illustrative rather than theoretical and it will be subordinate to the textual analysis. The thesis consists of three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.The Introduction includes a brief introduction to Toni Morrison and her novel Sula, a general survey of the criticisms on Sula so far done, and the basic theoretical ideas of archetypal criticism I plan to use in the thesis.The body is composed of four chapters. Chapter One is an analysis of the archetypal characters in Sula. Eva's image bears some resemblance to God and the Great Mother. The archetype of Sula Peace is a mixture of Ulysses and Satan. Finally, the archetype of Shadrack can be found in the biblical Shadrack and Cassandra in Greek mythology. Chapter Two deals with the archetypal motifs. Three biblical and mythical motifs are embodied in Sula, namely the quest motif, the sacrificial scapegoat motif, and the rebirth motif. Chapter Three discusses two archetypal narrative patterns of the novel: the U-shaped pattern, and the inverted U-shaped pattern. Chapter Four is an examination of the dominant archetypalimagery in the novel, with emphasis on the images of snake, water, and fire.The Conclusion summarizes the thesis and stresses the significance of Morrison's employment of archetypes in Sula, which not only adds to the readability and profundity of the novel but also intensifies its indictment against the prevailing racism and sexism in American society. While various factors should be responsible for the tragedies of the Afro-American people, racist prejudice or the double oppression of racism and sexism are the root causes.