Toni Morrison’s Sula is a study of racism, segregation, feminism, identity seeking, protest and reaction. A novel primarily focusing on female characters as the protagonist, it is also a story of friendship between two characters from unprivileged backgrounds starting from the formative years of their lives. Nel and Sula are quite the opposite in characteristics but share mutual affection and dependency in a racist, patriarchal society where they are neither ‘white nor male’. They take care of each other and help each other in their own ways, and thus their friendship becomes the source of their empowerment and marks their presence in the world in the early stages of their lives. They get separated because of their contrasting ideologies, lifestyles and interests, but they are indeed the ‘other self’ of each other and complement each other to create their own identities.
Citation: Shovon A. A. (2022) Friendship and Identity: A Study of Relationship between Nel and Sula in Toni Morrison’s Sula, European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, Vol.10, No.8, pp.62-69
Keywords: Sexuality, friendship. identity, marriage. race
