In this essay there will be a critical analysis on the significance of scapegoating in Sula by Toni Morrison. Firstly explaining scapegoating, secondly showing the significance of scapegoating in Sula and finally a conclusion. A scapegoat is someone who is blamed for the wrongdoing, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency. Scapegoating is the bible in Leviticus where goat is cast into the desert with the sins of the community upon it. Scapegoating is one of the main themes of Sula. A community that feels beleaguered patrols its borders and reserves its cruelest punishment for “traitors”. It over-emphasizes centripetal belonging at the expense of centrifugal curiosity. “They were the ones who said she was guilty of the unforgivable thing – the thing for which there was no understanding, no excuse, no compassion. …show more content…
For example when a young boy (“Teapot”) comes to her house and falls down the steps, the mother of the child blamed Sula for the boy’s injuries and then starting taking care of the child for the first time. Here once again we are shown how Sula is made into the scapegoat. Later after Sula’s death the women no longer cherish and want to take care of their children so they abandon them once again. (Morrison, page. 113-115, 117) In the case of Sula, this ironically replicates the sexual shaming of African American women in slavery. Because in slavery African American woman did not have rights and white men would take advantage of these females and copulate with them, more often than not against their will. When Sula sleeps with the white men she shows she has no respect for her heritage and history and thus she becomes a traitor to her people in the “bottom”. While the community hangs on to its past and is ashamed and disgusted by Sula for sleeping with the white
Tiana described her father as a child molester who “would touch my little sister Rosie and kissed her on the mouth.” Tiana was very resentful at her father for “snatching” her sister’s innocence. She felt guilty for
“Killings”, Andre Dubus’ short story, revolves around a father who seeks vengeance against his son’s killer. The story is about the murders committed by Richard Strout and Matt Fowler in their attempt to get retribution and ease the pain in their hearts. The circle of killings is first caused by the murder of Matt Fowler’s son, Frank, by Richard, which leads to the retaliatory killing of Richard, by Matt. This infinite, unforgiving circle of killings and attempts at retribution is what Dubus portrays in a nonjudgmental view. The readers are left to see how the act of killing affects Richard and Matt and decide how much their retribution costs them.
Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? A scapegoat is one who is blamed or punished for the wrongdoings of others. When power is placed into the wrong persons hand it can cause people to isolate certain groups of people as shown in The Crucible, The Holocaust, and McCarthyism. On that note, in The Crucible, Abigail Williams a treacherous and fast girl blames Tituba their slave, for committing witchcraft. “She made me do it!
Scapegoats are an unfortunate aspect of life since many people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions, needing to place the blame on others. While Peyton does not quite fit this exactly, since he is paying for his own crimes, his death by public hanging expiates the surrounding populace from his possible sabotage. Dual archetypes, and more often more, are present within all people; no person is a but one single
The Scapegoat Problem and How to Fix It Humans have always found ways to exploit those lacking power and use them as scapegoats for problems that could not easily be fixed. This can be seen in Arthur Miller’s novel The Crucible, which is about the Salem witch trials in 1692, as well as today in many third-world countries. Witch hunts have been a problem for centuries, with many innocent people dying because others believe that they are or try to make it seem as if they are evil by blaming them for natural disasters, death of people and animals, illness, and much more. Witch hunts remain a problem today in third-world countries where superstition is common and the resources needed to identify and fix problems are not.
Responsibility often comes with the connotations of burden and sacrifice and most of the time, this is true. In The Wars, by Timothy Findley, the concept of responsibility is demonstrated in the character of Mrs. Ross whose duties as a wife and a mother may be viewed as cold, cruel, and purposefully isolating; the complete opposite of the archetype of a compassionate mother figure. However, like each unique individual in society, the way one responds and takes responsibility varies infinitely; Mrs. Ross attempts to dissociate from society when she feels she has not fulfilled her duties and responsibilities. However, her empathetic nature prevents her from completely isolating herself from all sentiment. Rather, she subconsciously internalizes the welfare and hardships faced by others while sacrificing her own well-being.
Tituba was slave of Reverend Samuel Parris, Reverend Parris called a doctor to examine his daughter and his niece and the doctor told him that the girls were “victims of witchcraft”. Tituba was later accused of being a witch, she was one of the first three women to be accused. Tituba was from an island in the caribbean called Barbados, Reverend Parris purchased Tituba on the Island. Many people thought that Tituba was a Native American because of her skin color. Her skin color can also be the reason why she was accused of being a witch, some may say that Tituba was used a scapegoat.
In An Ordinary Man, Rusesabagina describes his first-hand account of the mass murdering of the Tutsis. He talks about his experience and what he did to keep over a thousand people safe. First off, his thesis and purpose will be clarified through examining different quotes and passages. Next, his strategies for getting across his points will be scrutinized. Rusesabagina uses many different points to get his purpose across to the readers.
In Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns , Nana tells Mariam that a man always finds a way to blame a woman. This mistreatment of women is depicted in the novel by utilizing multiple examples. Throughout the novel, men were able to use women as scapegoats in the Afghani society that deemed women as unequal to men.
Andre Dubus, short stories contain a common theme of revenge, morality, and justice. In “Killings” published in 1979, Andre displays the theme of revenge and justice through the development of characters, the title of the story, and the thrill of the suspense. Dubus neglects to take sides with the characters in the “Killings”, which leaves it upon the readers to make assumption whether the killings were justifiable. Dubus has a very unique style of writing, the main characters in “Killings” were given a choice that could’ve led them to a completely different outcome. Dubus keeps the readers on their toes because the opposite usually ends up happening.
The Custard Wrights The novel Sula by Toni Morrison depicts the unified and conflicting lives of two childhood best friends, Sula and Nel. In their childhood, the two girls act as two halves to a nearly single entity: Sula being the more impulsive and wild of the two, and Nel acting as the mature and proper figure. Their friendship, however, is destroyed after Sula sleeps with Nel’s husband, making apparent the qualities of the women which had been concealed by their friendship. In Nel, a vulnerability, one that Nel saw in her mother Helene, began to show: a vulnerability to yield.
Vengeance has been an ongoing problem for many centuries. In the long run, with the new generation, they have been following the same pattern to get revenge, without knowing the reasons why. If no one is willing to stop and think it over, to evaluate if it’s worth the risk, then the act of vengeance will be ongoing at the cost of many lives. Many people do not realize that having to avenge the death of a loved one will take so much time and patience in their lives. In the short story, “An Act of Vengeance,” by Isabel Allende, the issue involves a young girl who gets raped by Tadeo Cespedes, whom also killed her father on the same day.
Imagine having to live without a mother or a role model. This is what life was like for the lost boys ever since they had fallen out of their baby carriages and were never found again. In Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Peter and the lost boys spent their lives in Neverland without a mother or an adult role model. This is why they took Wendy Darling in as their mother. This was a big thing throughout the book which can be seen through the theme: loving mothers are important for individuals to have.
In Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, Morrison utilizes the racist incidents within the Bottom to illustrate the submissive, degrading, and foolish influence of racist America on African Americans, while still successfully capturing the dignity and sense of community of the African Americans, ultimately demonstrating the stupidity of racism. Morrison first depicts African Americans as wanting to conform and assimilate into the white American culture through Helene’s Wright behavior towards her daughter, Nel Wright. By disliking Nel’s physical appearance, Helene represents the discrimination many African Americans have against their heritage and roots; therefore, she submits to the racism. The stupidity also becomes apparent because of Morrison’s
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 1981 novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the narrative recounts the events leading up to the eventual murder of bachelor Santiago Nasar, a man accused of taking the virginity of the defrocked bride Angela Vicario despite the lack of evidence to prove the claim, and the reactions of the citizens who knew of the arrangement to sacrifice Nasar for the sake of honor. This highly intricate novella incorporates a range of literary techniques, all of which are for the readers to determine who is really to blame for Santiago Nasar’s death. Marquez uses techniques such as foreshadowing and the structure of narrative, along with themes such as violence, religion, and guilt to address the question of blame. Although Santiago