Sula

            Toni Morrison's Sula chronicles the unlikely friendship of two very different women. Nel Wright represents the archetypal mother and wife, a conformer who never leaves her hometown. Sula refuses the bonds of marriage and children, and sets out into the world, refusing tradition's version of woman. Despite their differences, the two women have a deep affection for each, but their very natures conspire to rip them apart. In the last chapter of the novel, Nel finds herself surrounded by a new and changing world that she is not familiar with; it is a world that Sula, the consummate rebel, would be more at home in. In the final pages of Morrison's book, Nel decides to accept and understand how Sula chooses to interpellate herself.
             The title of the final chapter, 1965, is significant for a few reasons. It represents a leap of twenty-six years from the preceding chapter, a noteworthy amount considering that previously the largest time gap between chapters was just ten years. This immediately indicates to the reader that this chapter is going to be distinct from the others, and indeed the novel concludes itself here. Because of this large time gap, the question arises as to why Morrison specifically chose to resume the story in 1965 - why not 1964 or 1966, for example? While this question is suggested by the text, it clearly does not answer it (Hermeneutic Code, Course Pack 102). Considering that the work concerns itself with black America, it would follow to look to history to understand what was happening in black America in 1965. One of the most significant events of that year took place in Alabama and has come to be known as Bloody Sunday (Ashkinaze). State troopers attacked a peaceful march of black protesters, causing not only unjust bloodshed, but also enabled national exposure to the plight of black Americans everywhere. Another important event of 1965 was the Vietnam War. Blacks in the military were subject to "unequal punishment, offensive and inflammatory language, prejudice in assignment of details, [ ] harassment by security police under orders to break up five or more blacks in a group and double standards in enforcement of regulation" (Jackson).