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guidance from her mother or her grandmother to lead her to choose the right partner in life.
c. Sula’s Feeling of Insecurity
Mother is a primary and a major nurturing figure for a child, particularly a small child. She is an expert in child-rearing technique Lidz, 1968: 58. Mother’s
behavior affects the child’s personality very much, for exa mple, when a mother gives advice about the problem rather than solve the problem, the child will feel
that his mother is a good friend to share their problems. It is the role of an advisor. Hannah Peace is a single parent. As a mother who has only one child, she
should care about her daughter’s problem but she does not. She never asks Sula about the problem she has in her school or among her peers. She never praises
Sula when Sula does something good or scorns Sula when she does bad thing. She never gives Sula any direction about which things are good and bad.
As for Nel, she preferred Sula’s wooly house, where a pot of something was always cooking on the stove; where the mother Hannah, never scolded
or gave directions; where all sorts of people dropped in. p. 29 One day, Hannah and her friends discuss about their children. They share
their feelings toward their children. Sula hears that her mother does not like her. As a child, Sula feels sad that her mother rejects her existence. Sula feels rejected
by her own mother. “Sure you do. You love her, like I love Sula. I just don’t like her. That’s the difference” p.57. The rejection of Hannah Peace towards her
daughter makes Sula feels insecure. Her insecure feeling grows into hatred toward
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her mother. When her mother is burned, Sula does not help her. She enjoys watching her mother burned.
Sula was probably struck dumb, as anybody would be who saw her own mamma burn up. Eva said yes, but inside she disagreed and remained
convinced that Sula had watched Hannah burn not because she was paralyzed, but because she was interested. p.78
A child who was rejected develops feelings of insecurity and inferiority
because it seemed to him that if he were unworthy of parental love, he was evidently worthless. A low conception of the self resulted from a low view of the
child by his parents Hurlock, 1969: 359. Also, according Hurlock, when she describes about some typical parental attitudes, she explains that rejection of the
child by his parents can be shown by parents’ attitude. They will never pay attention to the child and never care about their child’s needs. This leads to
resentment, feelings of helplessness, frustrations, nervous mannerism, and hostility to others, especially those who are smaller and weaker 1974: 497.
Her insecure feeling continues until she is an adult. It can be shown when she puts Eva Peace, her grandmother into Sunnydale, a place for old folks.
Besides it shows Sula’s insecure feeling, it also shows of Sula’s irresponsibility. She is afraid that someday Eva will burn her like what she does to her own son.
Sula thinks that she should protect herself by putting Eva there. “Scared ?of Eva ?”
“You don’t know her. Did you know that she burnt Plum?” “Oh, I heard that years ago. But nobody put no stock in it.”
“ They should have. It’s true. I saw it. And when I got back here she was planning to do it to me.p.101
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d. Sula’s Disrespect to Others
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