Toni Morrison narrates the main character in her novel by coming to the real source of his post-traumatic stress disorder (Ibarrola). Home is set in the aftermath of the Korean war (Brockes). Toni Morrison writes in the novel Home about a poor man named Frank Money. Frank is introduced as a man from the South who goes off to fight in the Korean War. He goes to fight in the Korean War to escape his countryside town. When Frank leaves to the war he leaves behind his sister Cee. Cee is left alone and must learn how to survive in the town without Frank her big brother being there. While Frank is away he receives news that Cee is in danger. Frank sets out to find Cee.
In chapter two of Home, Frank is in a mental hospital and must escape due to him receiving a letter that Cee is in trouble in their home town in Georgia. The note stated “Come fast. She be dead if you tarry” (Morrison 8). To escape the hospital, he first must plan on how he will get out of the high security hospital. As he’s planning the escape in his head everything he thinks about reminds him of things and it brings pain. This is where Toni Morrison first introduces that Frank has post-traumatic stress Disorder. Frank manages to get out of the mental hospital before sunrise. He runs barefoot in the freezing snow. Frank arrives at the AME Zion Church were a poor African American clergy helps him. As the man is helping Frank with food and shoes he cannot remember why he was put in a mental hospital. The man asks Fran “How’d you get there?” (Morrison 15) The only thing he can think of why he was placed there was because maybe he became violent. (Morrison 15)
In chapter seven of Home, Frank describes his childhood. Frank describes Lotus, Georgia as the worst place in the world and that it is worse than any battlefield (Morrison 103). Growing up Frank only had his sister and friends that kept him sane. His parents were helpless to care about anyone or anything. The town was filled with people that did not strive for anything and Frank wanted more. That’s why he joined the army. The army helped him get out and see the world but it took a toll on his sanity.
Frank continues his journey to Georgia to find Cee. While heading back home on the bus and train rides, Frank spends most of the time thinking about his violent flashbacks he had since serving in the Korean War. Frank’s flash backs are not as bad when Lily, his girlfriend is around. Frank states that Lily helped him gain control over his life and described that when she was around his flashbacks did not haunt his as bad. However, now that he has left Lily behind to find his sister he is not sure if he can keep his PTSD under control. “…his anxiety become unmanageable” (Morrison 14). He then resolves to drinking little to try and help his anxiety.
In chapter nine of Home, Frank reflects on him time in Korea. He states, “You can’t imagine it because you weren’t there” (Morrison 119) He goes on to say that no one can imagine the place or the war he fought in Korea. Frank explains that Korea’s cold weather is painful. He also states, “Battle is scary, yeah, but its alive” (Morrison 119) By this he means that he felt alive when he had to follow orders, covering buddies, and when killing the opponents in the Korean War. The soldiers were not required to think deep thoughts when doing these commands.
As Frank continues his journey to find Cee. He has a flash back of his friend Mike dying in his arms in Korea. He reflects on the words that Mike said before he passed “Don’t tell Mama” (Morrison 126). When Frank talked with Stuff about Mikes death he stated that Mike died saying, “Kill the fuckers” (Morrison 126). He did not think what Mike originally told him was manly enough. However, apart from Mike’s dying words his death shook Frank up badly. Before Mike’s death he just followed orders in the War, he never portrayed himself as being brave. Until Mike’s death, soon after Mike became reckless about his own life. But it was not his who suffered consequences from being reckless it was another friend of Franks. Stuff, his arm was blown off and he bled to death before the medics arrived.
At the end of the book Frank states “I have to say something to you right now. I have to tell you the whole truth” (Morrison 173). He then states he has been hiding from telling the truth because he is ashamed of what he did. “I shot the Korean girl in the Face” (Morrison 174). Frank goes on to state that the little girl touched him and he was aroused by it which he was horrified. He did not think and just shot the little girl in the face. He killed her because he feared his actions on his desire.
“Day and night, he held on to that suffering because it let him off the hook, kept the Korean child hidden. Now the hook was deep inside chest and nothing would dislodge it. The best he could home for was time to work it lose” (Morrison 176) By this, Frank has acknowledged that he shot the little Korean girl and he cannot run away from what he did. He also must learn how to deal with it slowly. Frank’s PTSD was bad at the begging of the book because he was holding in something that was tugging at his heart. When he came clean he felt a relief. But he knowns that he will slowly deal with his emotions regarding the little girl her killed.
The Book Sula,Toni Morrison
In the book Sula,Toni Morrison use the duality of light dark to criticize the choice to do with concepts of self identity and self determination. Each character in the novel, like each person, has a path for themselves and how their actions make them unique.
The Duality of self identity and self determination.Self identity is the recognition of one’s potential and qualities as an individualSelf determination is an understanding of one’s strengths and limitations together with a belief in oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination towards their ideas.The universal idea that I am exploring is that self identity because everyone has a an uniqueness
About them and how they operate by it as well.I would say this would be expectations based on social norms.In sula women are more judged than mean,they are supposed to be wifes that are loyal and have kids and don’t mess with anyone else.Also,they are supposed to be the day carers of their kids and stay and watch the children while their husband works the money for the family.
Character analysis:This duality manifest in this character’s life which would be eva.For example,”with the exception of baybay,those peace women loved all men.It was manlove that Eva,bequeathed to her daughters.”(41)Basically,Toni Morrison is saying that eva has left the responsibility of their daughter t do the same thing and find the love that she didn’t have which would be beneficial.This shows that Eva had self identity of society norm by wanting tier daughter to have those good stereotypes for her daughter.I would judge her self identity as being an independent strong mother because she didn’t have that manlove that she is given her daughters to get for when it their type of role in their life.
Fourth section:Considering the dualities existence and importance in the lives of these characters,Confidence and morality is the key to the motivation.Sula didn’t have to listen to the norms,whatever she doing she can keep doing it as long as it makes her happy and not being holded to do certain stuff that would make her fit in instead of being herself.Also,talking about eva,her morality was making sure her daughters had the chance to have a mother that would give them guidance on what she she her norm of and daughters realizing what they have to do to step up to the challenges.They key thing is your inner self.
In the book Sula,Toni Morrison use the duality of light dark to criticize the choice to do with concepts of self identity and self determination. Each character in the novel, like each person, has a path for themselves and how their actions make them unique.This matter because everyone ones and their unique quality.Eva wanted to be able to teach her daughter perseverance that she ad when she didn’t fit the society norm while following what she believed in and for sula when she does what she cares,and isn’t bothered by how the town she her.
Toni Morrison’s Novel, Sula
In Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, many deaths has occurred which impacted society and their decision to how they want to handle each person’s death. The novel uses the duality of apathetic and sympathetic to compare society’s reaction to the different deaths that took place in the bottom land. Society was more drawn to a specific death in their town, but more passive on other deaths as if they didn’t matter, which they should because the death of a person overall is a devastating experience and everyone should mourn for that victim. Further in the book, you can also see the duality between good and evil amongst the characters and how their actions and behavior takes a role in society.
As the novel continues, you can identify various situations that involved the community expressing apathy and sympathy. When Plum, Sula’s uncle, had died in the novel, the people in the Bottom Land showed apathy towards his death. When childhood friend, Chicken Little, had died, it only drove the people into the mindset that there was a loss of child innocence and that everybody is gonna die soon which also shows an example of apathy. When Hannah, Sula’s mother, had committed suicide in front of the townspeople, everybody witnessed her burning to death and this death received the most sympathy out of everybody else’s death. Each death had different reactions and opinions in the novel.
Plum was murdered by his mother Eva Peace when she set him on fire, barely feeling any remorse for her actions which highlights the duality of evilness. Eva felt apathetic towards the situation based on how she reacted after she had done it. Plum was recently a participant in the war which had destroyed him mentally and when he got home his family realized he had a drug addiction. Eva loved her son Plum so much that she didn’t want him dying an unbefitting death so she burned him alive while he was sleeping. Hannah, Eva’s daughter, rushed up to Eva’s room screaming, “‘Plum! Plum! He’s burning, Mamma! We can’t even open the door! Mamma!’”(Morrison, 48). Eva looked deeply into Hannah’s eyes and replied, “‘Is? My baby? Burning?’”(Morrison, 48). At this moment it highlights how unbothered Eva felt after she did something so tragic of killing her own flesh and blood. Morrison criticizes Eva as an evil person because she didn’t feel any guilt for lighting her only son on fire despite her “reasons” she had for doing so. Eva didn’t even realize the hurt she put Hannah through when she had done so which shows she is very selfish, only caring about what she feels at the moment and doing what she feels needs to be done. This proves how apathetic Eva really is and how she comes off to the readers. Plum is a human being just like everyone else and he didn’t deserve to die the way he did. In the real world one wouldn’t just kill a family member just because they have serious issues because that’s just isn’t normal. If one really loves that person there is other ways to handle it.
As Chicken Little’s death approaches in the book, there is a sense of evil and good that manifest in his death. As the townspeople begin to find out about Chicken Little’s death, they showed mixed emotions towards it. They expressively showed sympathy just for the simple fact that people gathered at his funeral. However, they showed apathy as well because people didn’t really realize Chicken Little was gone and no one went out looking for him. He had been missing for days. Sula was playing with Chicken Little Swinging him around when she accidentally let go of him and he flew into the water. In the novel, it states, “the water darkened and closed quickly over the place where Chicken Little sank. The pressure of his hard and tight little fingers was still in Sula’s palms as she stood looking at the closed place in the water. They expected him to come back up, laughing. Both girls stared at the water”(Morrison 61). When Sula and Nel witnessed Chicken Little’s death, they were more concerned about if people had seen him drowning him. We discover that Chicken Little’s death scares Sula and makes her upset as to Nela, she takes his death differently and feels a strange sense of satisfaction. Later in the novel we see how Nel actually felt about Chicken Little’s death. Nel says to herself, “why didn’t I feel bad when it happened? How come it felt so good to see him fall?”(Morrison, 170). Here, readers learn that when Nel had watched Chicken Little drown at that moment she felt thrilled which is not normally what someone is supposed to feel. Readers can also interpret Sula as feeling apathetic as well because she didn’t do anything to help the poor boy or call for help. Overall, readers feel a sense of apathy from these characters and the townspeople because they didn’t really mourn for Chicken Little’s Death and the people who were there to witness it which is Nel and Sula, didn’t do anything about it.
Hannah, similarly to her brother Plum, died by a fire, however, she set herself on fire after Eva had told her why she had killed Plum. Hannah’s death was the most impactful on the society since the townspeople witnessed it first hand. They felt sympathy for Hannah as “she lay there on the wooden sidewalk planks, twitching lightly among the smashed tomatoes, her face a mask of agony”(Morrison, 76). Even Eva, her mother, risked her safety by jumping out her top floor window when she seen Hannah on fire. She tried to put out the fire herself but it was too late. People surrounded Hannah shocked about what they had just witnessed. That’s when “somebody covered her legs with a shirt. A woman unwrapped her head rag and placed it on Hannah’s shoulder. Somebody else ran to Dick’s Fresh Food and Sundries to call the ambulance”(Morrison, 76). At this point the town is concerned with what has happened to both Hannah and Eva. They take action to call the ambulance and cover the horrible sighting of Hannah’s body as she lays on the ground. It was a very devastating scene for the people and they showed a lot of sympathy. This highlights how compassionate the townspeople felt for these two victims. This death was the one that most impacted the society forcing them to realize how devastating death is and a change must come.
Overall, Sula uses the duality of apathetic and sympathetic to compare society’s reaction to the different deaths that took place in the bottom land. Society was more drawn to a specific death in their town, but more passive on other deaths as if they didn’t matter, which they should because the death of a person overall is a devastating experience and everyone should mourn for that victim. In the real world, if one dies it supposed to make everyone realize that life is too short and everyone deserves a chance to live out their full life span. It shouldn’t take the death of a specific person to make society realize that this is wrong and there needs to be a change. Chicken Little’s as well as Plum’s life were as important as Hannah’s life. It took the townspeople too long to realize that which is wrong and they should feel ashamed.