Haejin Hwang
SOS Analytic Paper Final
12/16/2010
AP 12 Lit. Benton
Transcending the Worlds of Societal Expectations
Spirituality is the ultimate dimension of transcending the earthly world and enabling an
individual to discover the true essence of living. Toni Morrison, in Sula and Song of Solomon,
illuminates such journeys through the brilliant narratives of Sula, Shadrack, Ajax, Milkman, and
Pilate, who all find their own unique purposes in life. Morrison not only depicts spiritual
achievement, but she also incorporates traditional Gullah folklore and the water gods of West
African culture to greatly strengthen and individualize each character’s spiritual divinity. As she
creates an intricate fabric of self-discovery, folklore, and perceptions, she examines society’s
opposition to such a beautifully woven patchwork of identities. While the characters find purpose
in life, they are met with overwhelming disapproval from the surrounding communities, which
only heightens the stark contrast between the characters’ spirituality and the communities’
worldly attitudes. Morrison’s striking comparison of the Bottom and Southside to the spiritual
individuals further emphasizes these ironic differences with the inclusion of the most
materialistic and conforming characters like Macon Dead II and Helene.
The journey that Morrison incorporates into both Sula and Song of Solomon is the typical
one of self-discovery; but this journey is defined by the perils of racial discrimination and
subordinate feminine roles in both novels and African folklore in Song of Solomon. In the
intolerant and almost patriarchal community of the Bottom, Sula Peace is showered with
idiosyncratic perceptions that embody Eva and Hannah. In the Peace household, Sula adapts to
the chaos at home and slowly moves away from traditional societal behaviors often broken by
the two older women. She already begins to transcend the Bottom’s ordered world as a young
girl and after returning from her travels, she “rejects traditional ordering principles…she rejects
traditional notions of family…she rejects traditional sexual mores as well” (Lounsberry and
Hovet 128). By dismissing the weak, secondary female role in the Bottom’s established pecking
order as well as respectable images of sex, family, and marriage, she transcends the onedimensional perspective and views the Bottom in a multifaceted one. Thus, “she is able to
perceive realities that extend beyond the Bottom’s narrowly defined customs and thus, through
her eyes, the reader is given new perspectives on the old ordering principles” (Lounsberry and
Hovet 128), and achieves spirituality.
Similarly, Pilate in Song of Solomon embodies an eccentric but wiser version of Sula.
Pilate’s childhood, vastly different from Sula’s, forces Pilate to seek a completely new identity,
whereas Sula simply molds to the identity of her nonconforming household. Pilate is born with a
missing naval, an indication of her early divinity, which succeeds in alienating her from
comforting black company. As she acknowledges isolation from others, she creates an alternate
way of coexisting with the rest of society to battle a multitude of offensive, ignorant reactions.
“…Plus her alien’s compassion for troubled people ripened her and—the consequence of the
knowledge she had made up or acquired—kept her just barely within the boundaries of the
elaborately socialized world of black people” (SOS 149). By investing her time and observation
in precious and valuable human relationships instead of social status and property, she transcends
worldly greediness best exemplified by her brother, Macon Dead II. Her deep concern for a web
of human connections “represents the spirit of community inherent in the folk consciousness…in
her, vestiges of folk culture function in affirmation of kinship and community” (Blake 78).
Morrison’s portrayal of Sula and Pilate, both powerful black women, symbolizes the dramatic
rejection of society’s rigid perceptions and their victorious self-discoveries of true identities.
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Morrison also includes a journey of self-discovery in Song of Solomon for a male
protagonist, Milkman Dead. Milkman’s personal transcendence of worldly values is markedly
different from the transcendences of Sula and Pilate simply because he is a man who is
demanded completely different standards from society. As a man, he is expected to head a family
and hold a respectable head within his community; however, his family’s reputation tarnishes
first impressions on Milkman, which result in isolating him from the rest of Southside.
Additional pressures from his father force Milkman to chase after money as if Milkman’s life
solely depended on it. Unlike the journeys of Sula and Pilate, his discovery starts from a
rejection of his family’s perceptions on fulfilling happiness through greed and gradually taking
an interest in sincere affection. Interestingly, Milkman’s transformation is the most unique
because he uncovers traces of his family’s ancestral lineage to find his real purpose in life. In
recovering Solomon’s story and aspiring for the same flights of freedom, Milkman comes to
understand his self-significance through pride in his diseased family. Morrison incorporates the
well-known folklore of the Gullah people and their remarkable story of flight into the history of
Milkman’s people. In transcending his initial “lack of real involvement in life and an ignorance
of his true personal and racial identity” (Van Tol), “he ascends the throne or transcends
mortality” (Blake 80) when he realizes the crucial importance of his kin and the meaning of
brotherhood.
Surprisingly, Morrison’s primary characters are not the only ones who transcend the
world around them, but also the unforgettable supporting characters who experience minor and
implied journeys. In Sula, Shadrack literally transcends the eternal antipathy of life: death, from
the opening scenes of the book. After vividly watching the power of unexpected deaths, he
quickly becomes disillusioned with worldly expectations. “Shadrack began a struggle that was to
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last twelve days, a struggle to order and focus experience” (Sula 14), and in doing so, he devotes
one day in January to eradicate death’s spontaneity. He, like Pilate and Sula, possesses a view
into the world already questioned by society due to the implementation of National Suicide Day
and his isolated residence by the riverbank. Not to mention, “he is the only black who could
curse white people and get away with it” (Sula 15), another indication of his separation from the
Bottom. His peculiar nature due to his loss of interest in society’s primitive evaluations allow
him to acknowledge the presence of only Sula who achieves spirituality.
Vashti Lewis makes an interesting comparison in his “African Tradition in Toni
Morrison’s Sula” by posing Shadrack as a divine river god from West African beliefs. His
horrifying experience of death already places him in the ranks of ancestral spirits. The fact that
his hands are different, that he resides besides a river, and that he goes fishing attribute to his
divinity as a river spirit. Sula is also depicted as an innocent water priestess marked by the
tadpole above her left eye that Shadrack immediately recognizes. Shadrack therefore becomes
Sula’s “spiritual protector and kindred spirit” (Lewis 93) by spiritually binding her presence to
his with the word “always.” Additionally, Sula’s painless slip into a dream of water is because of
Shadrack’s promise of a “sleep of water always” (Sula 149).
Personal transcendence is also depicted by Ajax’s continued journey for personal
enlightenment through flight. “Like Sula, Ajax has limited ties with community. Like Sula, he is
curious, and fearless, and adventuresome, and in the process of finding and knowing, he is also
himself” (Mayberry 527). His admiration in thoughtful and generous women like his mother
prove to him the ethical dismissal of established behaviors, which is exactly why “he is attracted
to and curious about the elusiveness and indifference to established habits of behavior that
constitutes Sula” (Mayberry 528). Upon hearing about Sula’s return, his interest in brilliant
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women like his mother arouses him to seek that same brilliance from Sula. His thirst for
intelligent conversations about plants and Lindbergh with Sula firmly establishes his presence
above materialistic attitudes. His control over his own destiny also places him on a similar
spiritual level as Sula, Pilate, and Milkman, except Ajax is a man who, from the beginning of the
book, already knew what he valued. He had already “transcended conflict in the form of flight as
a male exercise of power because men ‘always want to change things, and women probably
don’t’” (Mayberry 529).
As “Ajax is connected with the chaos and freedom of sky blue” (Mayberry 527), so is
Solomon, who leaves all else in the pursuit of freedom through flight. The recurring theme of
flight is shared between Morrison’s novels by Ajax’s fixed fascination with flight and Solomon’s
legend. Solomon perceived flight as the only avenue of freedom from brutal slave oppression
and like the Gullah people, he rose from Earth and flew. Morrison demonstrates how this
fantastical thought damaged the people Solomon and Ajax left behind like Ryna and Sula
respectively. Contrasted with the freedom achieved by men, the women suffer an imprisonment
of emotions and responsibility. Morrison’s explanations of Ryna’s mourning gulch and Sula’s
shattered affection solidify the perils of women as the men journey to transcendence. Morrison’s
great concern of women's powerless roles is further illuminated by the overarching theme of men
following their dreams while women are continually tied to the ground.
Morrison further distinguishes the extremes of those who transcend from those who fail
miserably. With the inclusion of characters like Macon Dead II and Helene, who live to become
“whiter” and hold the rest of society in contempt due to their dominating materialistic
preferences, the triumphs of Sula, Pilate, Milkman, Solomon, Shadrack, and Ajax are magnified.
Macon Dead II is automatically labeled as a man who values nothing but greed and an imposing
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social status. Unlike his father who is revered for vigorously protecting property, Macon II is
despised for valuing only objects and people that he supposedly “owns.” In the times of his
father, there was a united black opposition to white supremacy, which was epitomized by Macon
II’s father. However, in Southside, where societal attitudes have changed, Macon II is opposed
for his selfish ways. Helene in Sula is similarly concerned with her status on the social climb
toward becoming “whiter.” As Helene “sweets” up to the vile white man on the colored section
of the train, she displays the absolutely hated willingness to bow down to white power and
expose the “custard-colored skin beneath” (Sula 21). Helene illustrates a segment of the black
population that strives to achieve the same status as a white person as also indicated by her
periodic demand for Nel to pull her nose. Both Macon II and Helene represent those deeply
engrossed in materialistic endeavors who care to only advance up the social ladder. The
remarkable victories of those who defy society are further emphasized by the juxtaposition of
those drowned in its materialistic views.
Morrison crafts two compelling novels with recurring themes of spirituality and personal
transcendence in the light of conflicting societal values and characters, folklore, and gender
roles. A range of different factors contribute small portions to the journeys taken by each
memorable female and male character and Morrison combines all factors to make her story truly
and realistically penetrating. The relationship between society’s established principles and those
against them is interestingly complex due to the multitude of factors. Morrison’s effortless
novels illustrate the interrelatedness of all the characters’ perils and their overwhelming
influences on society. However, the one theme that she repeats and wants readers to know is the
journey of self-discovery no matter society’s expectations.
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Works Cited
Blake, Susan L. “Folklore and Community in Song of Solomon.” MELUS. 7.3 (1980): 77-82.
Print.
Lewis, Vashti Crutcher. “African Tradition in Toni Morrison’s Sula.” Phylon. 48.1 (1987):
91-97. Print.
Lounsberry, Barbara and Hovet, Grace Ann. “Principles of Perception in Toni Morrison’s Sula.”
Black American Literary Forum. 13.4 (1979): 126–129. Print.
Mayberry, Susan Neal. “Something Other Than A Family Quarrel: The Beautiful Boys in
Morrison’s Sula.” African American Review. 37.4 (2003): 517-532. Print.
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Vintage, 2004. Print.
Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Plume, 1973. Print.
Van Tol, Naomi. “The Fathers May Soar.” Spiny Design. Web. 06 Dec. 2010.
<http://spiny.com>.
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