After teaching briefly at Texas Southern University in Houston, she returned to Howard University in 1957 to serve on its faculty for eight years. .
In 1970, her first novel The Bluest Eye was published under the name of Toni Morrison. Sula followed in 1973. It was her second novel, and deals with themes of race, womanhood, the effects of history, and the contingencies of love, examining how all four intertwine to affect the beliefs and actions of individuals. Several other novels followed in quick succession: Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), and Paradise (1998). Besides being a popular novelist, Toni Morrison has won almost every major literary award and honor, including the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, the Chianti Ruffino Antico Fattore International Award in Literature, and the Nobel Prize. She has also been recognized by numerous national and international literary organizations and served on several public commissions governing the arts and education. .
In 1984, Toni left her publishing job to fully devote her time to writing and teaching. Noting that black writers have often had to pander to a white audience instead of concentrating solely on the business of writing, Morrison has said that she wanted to help create a canon of black work. Her literary efforts can and should be considered in .
this light, but while her fiction certainly deals with the complex experience of blacks in America, Morrison's work also highlights the timeless and universal themes that exist within this specific struggle.
Sula has a very serious message and theme; the mood of the book is very varied; sometimes playful, sometimes serious, often reverent, and occasionally sarcastic. The story is told from the point of view of a wise narrator (omniscient / third-person), who is amongst the characters, celebrating their lives in a positive way. Although the details of the story are sometimes sad or upsetting, the narrative voice always gives the benefit of the doubt and tries to find the good in a situation or at least be objective.