Marginalization and Oppression of Afro-American Women in Toni Morrison’s Sula

ABSTRACT: Within the Modern Feminist Movement, white women have been accused of focusing on oppression in terms of gender while ignoring issues of racism, and sexism. Unlike white women, black women suffered from multiple oppressions by being Black and woman at the same time. In resistance to this marginalization, the theory of Black feminism was forged. This theoretical concept was developed to call attention to the multiple oppressions experienced by black women, reflecting and defining their everyday experiences in their own terms. This paper is concerned with the depiction of black women’s marginalization and oppression in Sula by Toni Morrison. It examines the quality of black women’s suffering through racism, and sexism in the American society. Sula is studied as the basis for this analysis, because it depicts the oppression towards the black people in different forms, especially on women’s marginalized life.