Spatial Form In Sula:An Analysis From The Perspective Of Space Theory

Toni Morrison is recognized as one of the world's most outstanding novelists,and won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.Her works mainly focus on the lives of the black people in the United States.Sula is her second novel and attracts the attention of critics with its sharp disclosure of the gender and racial problems in American society.This thesis tries to study the space in Sula from three aspects: the physical space of the background,the structural space of the text,and psychological space of readers.At first,Morrison chooses a number of special physical spaces in Sula.These spaces not only serve as the background of the story but also play an important role in demonstrating conflicts and bringing up the theme of the novel.On the structural level,the text presents a spatiality.In the novel,multiple stories of many characters are juxtaposed together,with each story showing an aspect of the lives of the black people.Besides,the stories are filled with narrative blanks,which facilitate readers' thinking and serve for the theme of the novel.Lastly,Morrison adopted effective narrative techniques which can facilitate readers' response and contribute to the construction of readers' psychological space.The thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter one is a brief introduction to spatial form theory,Morrison and Sula,as well as researches and achievements of this work at home and abroad.Chapter two focuses on the physical space and explores the relationship between physical space and race and gender.Chapter three analyzes the spatial structure of the text,trying to explore the relationship between structure and theme.Chapter four illustrates the relationship between spatiality and reader's psychological space.The fifth chapter is the conclusion,which concludes that Morrison's arrangement of the physical,structural space and readers' psychological space directly serves for the theme of the novel.The form and content are closely connected.The successful construction of different levels of space not only is an organic part of the content of the novel but also contributes to its rich themes.Therefore,readers' comprehension of the novel is inseparable from understanding its space.