Sula celebrates liberation from society's constraints on individuality and self-discovery and illustrates the negative impact of conformity. The novel follows the lives of several members of The Bottom community who refuse to give up their identities to meet expectations of how a certain race or gender should behave and the impact it has on their lives and their society. This society, influenced by 1900s American racial segregation, imposes specific standards and ostracizes anyone who challenges the cultural norm. While some characters choose to maintain their individuality and isolate themselves, they never fully establish their identity and are desperately searching for something to do so. The characters cling to certain aspects of their lives to create a sense of self, only to lose it and themselves, now forced to live aimlessly. Lynn Nordin's essay “'My Lonely Is Mine' Loss and Identity in Toni Morrison's Sula” discusses both the negative and positive impact of loss on the identities of the characters in the novel. Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead reflects a similar concept, as the title character stumbles fruitlessly through the play trying to discover his purpose, but ultimately loses himself. The ambiguous identities of the characters in the novel highlight the ambivalent impact that nonconformity has on the individual and on society itself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Morrison begins his novel by detailing the origin of The Bottom, a hilltop community of African Americans, as a community of deceit and white ascendancy. Although they dislike the blatant injustice, the members of The Bottom make no effort to change their circumstances and instead emulate such segregation within their own community: "They were greatly concerned with earthly things – and with each other, wondering… what that little girl Sula… was all about, and what they themselves talked about” (Morrison 6). Defined expectations and social norms limit residents' individuality, and the embrace of, and rejection of, identity conforming to the city's worldly morals and lifestyle results in ostracism, isolation, and fear. Initially, the challenge to their principles scares the residents and they go into hiding, but they eventually get used to it and incorporate these things into theirs. regime, “…they had simply stopped commenting on the holiday because they had absorbed it into their thoughts, into their language, into their lives” (Morrison 15), and eventually become dependent on them. Just as “Suicide Day has become part of the fabric of life in Bottom of Medallion, Ohio” (Morrison 16), Sula, a promiscuous and non-conforming individual, forces the town to develop a strong identity, which dissipates with her death . Throughout her life, Sula challenges society and aims to develop her own identity instead of conforming to orthodox rules, infuriating her city. Her stubborn rejection of the misogyny, racism, and classism of the 1900s intrigues everyone around her, sparking a benighted hatred and fear among her neighbors. However, despite the antipathy, love and camaraderie blended into the city's identity, "they began to love their husbands and wives, protect their children, repair their homes and generally unite" (Morrison 117). Sula's presence, though despised, becomes a crucial part of The Bottom, and once removed, the members of the town lose purpose and understanding. Although after Sula's death a brief tranquility permeates the city, without someone to hate and bond with each other, literally all color and warmth disappears, and thethe city returns to its cruelty and suffocating behaviors. Without an identity, or some form of motivation to live, the residents of The Bottom desperately search for one, ultimately finding solace in the incongruity of Aris 3.of Shadrack and Suicide Day, which ironically leads to their deaths. While most members of The Bottom find an identity through hatred of nonconformity, several characters find temporary identities in many aspects and choose whether to embrace or reject some of these aspects of themselves. Race plays a significant role in many characters' identities, as they challenge or accept society's perception of black inferiority. The fact that Shadrack finds comfort and stability when he first sees his face demonstrates the importance of embracing what society deems unfit and detestable. “He had harbored a nervous apprehension…that he didn't exist at all. But when the darkness greeted him with its unquestionable presence, he wanted nothing more” (Morrison 13). Shadrack does not feel the inferiority that segregation imposes, and instead basks in the beauty and richness of his race. Likewise, Sula expresses a firm belief in the superiority of blacks over Jude and Nel, claiming that all men, even whites, adore and envy blacks and their love (Morrison 105). Tar Baby, one of the few white people who interact with the black community, finds solace in The Bottom, where he can live and die peacefully without the expectations of white society. However, despite the positive perception of blacks, several characters try to eliminate all ties to their culture and inadvertently accept the oppressed role assigned by society. Helene Wright's compulsive cleanliness symbolizes her desire to shed her black and Creole roots and also suppresses her daughter's identity, "I don't speak Creole...and neither do you" (Morrison 27). Her desire for approval and fairness makes her passive in the face of someone she has accepted as superior, “A desire to please and an excuse to live meet in her voice” (Morrison 20). Even though her daughter Nel refuses to become like her mother, “I am me. I'm not their daughter. I'm not Nel. It's me. Me” (Morrison 28), ultimately imitates her life as a single mother Aris 4 and leader of the black community. Conforming to racial standards causes great pain to all who do so, while those who accept their race and origins have a greater sense of self and allows them to escape more social norms and prejudices. Racial norms connect directly to the gender roles assigned to men and women in black society, however, much ambiguity exists regarding the acceptance of sexual nonconformity in The Bottom. The city celebrates female leaders such as Eva Peace, Helene Wright and Nel Wright, other women despise immoral and promiscuous women such as Sula Peace and Hannah Peace. Furthermore, men who do not work and isolate themselves feel ashamed, while those who commit adultery experience no reproach. Morrison creates a world of female empowerment, where men do not dictate women's lives, but women dominate society and men have a passive role. Shadrack, Plum, and Tar-Baby isolate themselves and make no effort to produce, forcing the women around them to act as both caretakers and leaders. All husbands or partners exist predominantly as motivators for the female characters' action. Boy-Boy's departure causes Eva to become a prominent figure in society and care for her family and others, driven by her hatred for her ex-husband, which ultimately defines her identity, "... the consistency of that hatred as long as she wanted or needed it to define and strengthen her or protect her from the vulnerabilities of routine”(Morrison 36). Nel experiences a similar event, in which she becomes the sole source of income and support for her children, uses pain as motivation, and, like Eva and her mother, becomes a leader in the black community. While Nel emulates her mother's life, Sula imitates Hannah's. HannHannah shamelessly flirts and sleeps with men, regardless of marital status, attracting them with her attractiveness and magnetic personality, "Hannah didn't rub any edges, she didn't make demands, she made the man feel like he was complete and wonderful just like 'was” Aris 5 (Morrison 43). Men appreciate her company because, although she breaks the stereotype of the role of a modest and moral wife, she behaves in an elegant and feminine way. Although her daughter follows her model of promiscuity, methodology Sula's is more masculine, as sex exists solely as a personal pleasure rather than an emotional experience. She lacks Hannah's kindness and generosity and infuriates both men and women: "Hannah had been a nuisance, but she complimented women. women...Sula was trying them on and discarding them without any excuse for men to swallow" (Morrison 115). prominent role in the development of the characters' identities, as the passivity of the men in the novel allows for the creation of strong and powerful women who challenge traditional gender roles and have a great impact on their society. While Sula imitated her mother's lifestyle, Morrison emphasizes the strong impact that friends and family have on one's identity and individuality. The Deweys, three boys from different backgrounds and all nicknamed Dewey by Eva, grow so close that they eventually become one entity, where one cannot exist without the others. Despite very different physical characteristics, no one can distinguish the boys with whom Eva has no problems: “What do you have to distinguish them for? They are all Dewey” (Morrison 38). Despite aging, boys never mature and remain infantile and inseparable until death. The kids don't conform to the city's expectations and instead find their identity with each other. Helene Wright also establishes her identity through her daughter. Not wanting her daughter to also live a life of disorder and unnecessary ambition, Helene inhibits her imagination and tries to discourage any bad influences on her daughter. Helene wishes to pass on a part of herself to her daughter and seems to succeed in instilling decorum and a desire for control and order in her daughter. Helene wishes to conform her daughter to the ways of society and almost wishes to impart her Aris 6 beliefs to her daughter. Although Nel does not experience an assimilation of identity with her mother, she firmly roots her identity with Sula as a child, and more late with her husband when Sula leaves. However, once she loses him, she believes she is gone too, and grieves the loss of control and stability in her life. She feels incomplete, and despite her cold, perfect demeanor, the menacing “ball of muddy threads” (Morrison 109) symbolizes her inner turmoil and chaotic nature, similar to Sula. Until she visits Eva, Nel doesn't realize that it's not her husband's betrayal that causes her sadness despite having used him for years to fill her incompleteness. When Eva confronts Nel about the accidental murder and claims to have witnessed it, Nel realizes that she enjoyed it because she truly desires chaos and lack of control, just like Sula. Nel realizes that Sula is her counterpart and that they exist as a single person. However, Sula's death has separated the couple forever, and Nel finally releases the gray ball as he mourns his lost friendship. Sula recognizes long before she feels incomplete, “her longing for half of hersequation" (Morrison 121), and tries to fill it with sex, which she observed as a child as a pleasurable experience that temporarily replaced loneliness and emotional relationships. .Both women struggle throughout the novel to find their identity, but they are unable to do it without each other. As Sula embraces difference and refuses to conform to society's standards and expectations of a black woman, “Why? Because I can't do it all, because I can't have it all” (Morrison 142), Nel inversely tries to establish an identity by conforming to expectations, “You are a woman and a black woman at that. Morrison 121) Both have enormous effects on their society, as they both instill a strong communal connection in different ways Aris7 Because Nel and Sula exist as one entity, searching for their own identity, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead contains a similar concept. with its two title characters. The characters, while possessing unique character traits, essentially fulfill the needs of others and together fulfill a whole person. They spend the play searching for meaning and their own identity as the characters themselves even confuse their names and eventually lose all sense of individuality, “Ros: We are Guildenstern and Rosencrantz. Guil: Which is which” (Stoppard 121). Just as Nel and Sula can never fully establish their identity together due to separation due to transcontinental distance, anger, and death, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will never discover themselves and their purpose in life. Similarly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern imitate the people around them and fill certain roles. as many Sula characters do to fit into society. In both works, characters try different activities in hopes of realizing a sense of purpose, but fail to do so. Stoppard's play's discussion of characters' identity and mutual completion is very comparable to Morrison's bilateral protagonist: Sula and Nel. Sula and Nel's search for identity through the choice to join or reject society parallels the desire for peace implied by the title character's name, which translates to peace. The search for identity throughout the novel by all the characters portrays a society's desire to achieve peace and purpose. Many of the characters experience hardship and have no control over whether or not they participate in the society around them. Although Nel and Sula choose two different approaches to achieving the inner peace they desire, neither finds the identity and meaning they desire when they are apart. As girls they comforted and protected each other and, despite suffering from family problems, they had the peace that they try to restore as adults. When Sula returns, that tranquility is restored for a brief moment, until Sula, believing that the bond in which the couple shared Aris 8 everything, including romantic partners, still exists, inadvertently betrays Nel. As Sula lies dying, she believes for a moment that the childlike peace they had achieved still exists as she longs to say to her friend and death counterpart, “Well, I'll be damned…it didn't even hurt. Wait, I'll tell Nel. Meanwhile, at the end of the novel Nel cries both for her friend and for the knowledge that she will never achieve peace without Sula. The loss of their friendship has a great impact on the characters and their lives. Once separated after years of friendship, Sula and Nel must explore who they are apart from each other. When Sula leaves, she freely explores the world. According to Lynn Nordin's essay “'My Lonely Is Mine' Loss and Identity in Toni,.