Everything about Sula as a character reflects her ungodliness. She’s certainly not anti god or against him, but her free way of thinking and acting and her wild and random emotions that she accepts of herself are not what one would think of when they discuss what a follower of christ is. That’s why it is so fascinating the amount of biblical references regarding the book Sula. The references that were made are often of unholy and “bad” people, the author uses these references to compare the characters to these people, to emphasize to you as the reader how unholy and horrible the “bottom” was and the citizens that lived there.
Eva is Sula’s grandmother, and commonly referred to in the book as the head/starter of the family. She is what is known to the reader as the beginning of the generation, and her name is even close to that of “Eve” from the Bible. Eve is known to be the first sinner, she also deceived Adam into taking a bite of the apple. Eve doomed mankind and made them all sinners by her act. Eva is somewhat the form of Eve, from her mistakes, her foolishness, and her distinct and somewhat chaotic personality, the rest of her children and grandchildren, particularly Sula, were doomed from their birth.
In the bible, Shadrach was an Israelite who was taken captive by a Babylon king. He was an avid follower of christ, and one of his most faithful servants. The king, named King Nebuchadnezzar, built a golden statue of himself, and whenever a musical herald played, he required anyone to worship him on their knees. If they refused, they were thrown into a huge burning furnace. One of the ten commandments of the bible is to never worship another God. Shadrach, and a few other of his companions, refused to bow down and worship, and therefor were thrown into the furnace. However, according to the Bible God appreciated their bravery and loyalty, and saved their lives, and as King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he saw the four men walking about in the flames, alive and well. Shadrack, a character in Sula, could also be considered a reference to Shadrach from the Bible. The second chapter of the book begins by describing Shadrack’s history. Here, it explains why Shadrack celebrates “National Suicide Day”. Shadrack is similar to Shadrach in the Bible as he was brave when fighting in World War II, and he stood by his comrades, even though he got severely severed and torn apart from the battle, such as “But stubbornly, taking no direction from the brain, the body of the headless soldier ran on, with energy and grace, ignoring altogether the drip and slide of brain tissue down its back.” (pg 13) Shadrack is a reference because of his bravery and spirit, and loyalty to his comrades in the army, similar to Shadrach’s feelings towards God.
The last great example of a biblical reference is Nel’s husband, Jude. In the Bible, Judas did not quite believe that Jesus was God. This is similar to Jude, Nel’s husband. He wasn’t quite in love with Nel, or truly believe he ever could be. He just wanted someone to be with, as Judas likely wanted just someone to follow as a safeguard. Jude in Sula married Nel because he wanted a wife, he wanted that image. He had no personal affections or ties to her. This is the same relationship between Judas and Jesus, Judas never had a personal connection with Christ or any intimate affections of companionship for him. Before Jesus’s crucifixion, Judas gave away where Jesus was hiding, and said to the priests that he would kiss the man that was Jesus. He immediately went up to Jesus and kissed him, and from there Jesus was arrested to be crucified. Jude from Sula did not quite get Nel crucified, or pick out Sula, but he did deceive Nel and Judas is typically referred to a deceitful person because of Judas’s actions in the bible. Therefor, Jude’s name being so close to Judas can only be assumed that the reader should’ve known he would’ve deceived Nel because of his name.
The biblical references of Sula are fascinating and deep, but what’s more interesting is how dark many of them are, such as with Jude and with Eva. The dark references help to represent the story as the depressing book it is, and how the characters and the “bottom” are living in a time full of deceit and sin.
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