토니 모리슨의 『술라』: 이항대립의 아이러니

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze an irony on binary opposition through Toni Morrison's Sula. Sula represents an irony on binary opposition through a newly changed model with an unique character of African Americans in 1960s-1970s. Especially, Morrison tries to demonstrate the essential identification between good/evil through two extremely opposite characters- Sula and Nel. She believes that the boundary between good and evil has been judged by traditional and conventional basis and it is hard to view and recognize what is lying inside as a substance. Sula is a symbol of the evil who behaves in her own philosophy and even has an inappropriate relationship with her community. Sula is an extremely free woman and Sula's sexual relationship with her friend's husband caused her to be almost exiled from the community. On the contrary, Nel, introduced as Sula's mirror image is a sincere puritan as well as an ethic black woman adapted by the long-established custom. Their different image on the binary opposition makes them find their alter-egos in each other even though they are not even aware of them themselves. However, their identity firmly constructed based on the circumstance of their family history leads two women to the different attitudes toward life. At the point of the characters' absolutely different perspective, Sula seems like a novel leaded by a woman like an evil because of her strong effect on an innocent community including Nel. However, readers become to realize that the boundary of the binary oppositions does not mean exactly what they are supposed to be and to acknowledge Morrison's intention that is to subvert the fixed idea on binary opposition. Sula also has a variety of ironical images such as characters' names, the name of the community, and even the symbols of events. What Morrison focuses on through the whole sets of images on binary opposition is to look into the signified meaning beyond what the thing signifies. Also, she emphasizes the binary opposition always does not function ironically on the standard of the custom or tradition.