The metaphor I chose to focus on in Sula is seeing or looking as a metaphor for not knowing, and assumptions. One example of this metaphor is when Nel and Sula accidentally cause the death of Chicken Little, and they believe that Shadrack sees them; “[she felt] his gaze turning, turning with her” (56). As a result of this, Sula believes that they will be caught, and she holds this anxiety with her as an adult, when years later she sees Shadrack and quickly turns away. The reader discovers later that Shadrack didn’t see Chicken Little dying at all, and he saw Sula as a visitor. Both Sula and Shadrack thought that they saw what was truly going on, but they both were mistaken. Another example of this metaphor in the novel is when Dessie gossips to her friend that she saw Shadrack tipping his hat to Sula, so Sula and Shadrack must be devils that were conspiring with each other. Their preconceived notions about Sula and Shadrack blind them so they don’t really see the truth.
Sula is a novel that takes place in a small town where everyone knows each other, and everyone has assumptions about other people based on what they’ve heard, and what they think they’ve seen. These assumptions don’t allow them to see clearly, but instead to mold what they see to fit their existing worldview. Sula and Nel would have already been afraid of being caught, so when they saw Shadrack they assumed he’d seen what they’d done. They also had likely heard the stories about Shadrack and his scary shack in the woods, so they assumed he’d bring them harm based on what he’d seen. Additionally, Dessie already saw both Sula and Shadrack as two people who didn’t fit in with the town, so when Shadrack tipped his hat to Sula she took that to mean that they were evil and conspiring together because it fit into her pre-conceived ideas about them. These assumptions are detrimental to the characters, and prevent them from seeing reality.