Chelsea Dunn Sula pt 2

The passage that stood out to me the most during the second half of this novel was when Nel walked in on Sula and Jude. I think this scene in particular resonated with me because as I read the passage i could almost hear Nel's heart beating as she entered the room. I'm not sure if it was Morrison's descriptive language or the actual content its self, but i felt like i was in the room and could feel all the emotions. The thing that did not make sense to me, and this might be because ive never experienced the rush of something so shocking, but Nel's reaction was a bit strange in my opinion. i know she is a complex character, and that she was probably in shock when she saw her husband and her old best friend engaging with each other in such a way. In the passage Nel says, "And i did not know how to move my feet or fix my eyes or what. I just stood there seeing it and smiling, because maybe there was some explanation, something important that i did not know about that would have made it all right"(105) I could only imagine the immense shock Nel was feeling at that moment. People react differently and i could understand that she couldnt even fathom what was occurring so she told herself there would be and answer or explanation that would make what they were doing okay. Im confused with my own understanding of this passage because i dont know if i think Nel is brave for handling it the way she did, or was a coward for not unleashing on the two of them. I think this passage directly relates to the theme that women can be perceived as strong women but can be crushed in a matter of moments; it is not what happened to them, but how they dealt with it and grew from their experiences.

The next passage that i had a strong reaction to was when Sula is finally understanding that her passion and lust could quite possibly be more. Up until Ajax, Sula seemed to have sexual encounters with men because it helped her mask her pain. In my opinion. it wasn't so much that she thoroughly enjoyed the sex, but she was looking for an escape. An escape that would let her forget that she was alone and had caused herself the pain she was enduring. Sula and Ajax's relationship began to make her feel something different, "Sula began to discover what possession was. Not love, perhaps, but possession or at least the desire for it" (131). This quote is completely relatable to me, because I can understand how when you have not truly dealt with your own pain, and you experience something so refreshing and different that it can maybe add to your acceptance and make you willing to really look at yourself and evaluate your own life with a new perspective. Sula was unsure of her feelings, but she knew it was possible she felt this way, and of course the man, gets freaked out and leaves her. But my focus was primarily on Sula's own enlightenment to her own feelings.