Binary Oppositions In Sula

As the second novel written by Toni Morrison, Sula attracts many attentionsand has been heatedly discussed since its publication both at home and abroad. Thereason not only lies in its creator’s double identities as female and afro-American,but also in its impressive feature of distinct structure. Like a print that is only coloredwith black and white, the conciseness is also shared by Sula’s structure and plot. Thebinary opposition is applied all through the novel, including its themes,characterization, as well as the background information, thus vividly showing theopposition between the blacks and whites which confines the oppressed.The term “binary opposition” refers to a pair of terms differentiated by theiropposition to one another which is often used as a technique in evaluating literaryworks. Instead of being mutually exclusive, the oppositions are often complementaryto each other. This thesis is to give a detailed analysis of the binary oppositions in thetext from different perspectives.The thesis consists of three parts. Part one is the introduction, brieflyintroducing the writer, the critical responses to the novel and the concept of binaryopposition. Part two is the main body of the thesis which is composed of threechapters. Chapter one focuses on binary oppositions in the theme. In this chapter, theoppositions hidden in the whole text will be abstracted into three binary oppositions:good and evil, seeking and losing, death and rebirth. Chapter two mainly deals withthe binary oppositions in characterization. In this chapter, the oppositions betweenthe protagonist—Sula and her bosom friend—Nel, her family and the wholecommunity is to be discussed. Chapter three discusses the binary oppositions inbackgrounds which will reveal the oppositions in setting, race and gender. Thischapter will reveal the oppositions in places as well as the clothing of the characters.Part three is the conclusion. After analyzing the themes, characters and the settingswith the theory of binary opposition, the thesis concludes that the black females are facing a dilemma when they pursue self-identity, and neither being confined to blackcommunity nor accepting white culture is a way to solve the racial problem and theblacks still have a long way to melt into the mainstream of American society.