In the novel, Sula, author Toni Morrison utilizes the symbol of the grey ball to show the trauma that follows Sula around in order to shed light on the idea that Sulas trauma plays a bigger role in her life than anticipated; ultimately Morrison uses this idea to highlight the effects of the ignorance towards trauma and how it eventually leads to greater pain. This is seen in the novel after Sula sleeps with Jude, her best friends husband, and describes, A gray ball hovering just there. Just there. To the right. Quiet, gray, dirty. A ball of muddy strings, but without weight, fluffy but terrible in its malevolence. She knew she could not look, she closed her eyes and crept past it out the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Sweating with fear& (Morrison 74). In this quote, readers are able to see that Sula is afraid of the gray ball. Instead of simply picking it up and tossing it away, she covers her eyes and crept past it showing how much it has traumatized and affect her. By creeping past it she continues to be afraid and hides from it, rather than overcoming it. In addition to Sulas desire to run away from the ball, she describes it with the color gray, symbolizing times of sadness and depression. Morrison also describes the ball as fluffy making it seem as though, externally, it is a force that Sula should not be afraid of, however she further describes i
t by using the word malevolence, ultimately showing that the ball represents a strength that is more dangerous than Sula thinks. Morrison uses this parallel to suggest that often times those facing depression or trauma, do not seek help, rather they close their eyes and rush past it, without time to conquer the fear making the experience more burdensome than it should be. Overall, Morrison uses the gray ball to show the effects that trauma has on ones life as they often times tend to run away from their trauma and feared moments, rather than being educated on ways to solve the issue. Similarly to how Morrison suggests that a person typically runs away from their trauma instead of facing it head on, the analysis of Trace, Trauma, and Home by Evelyn Jaffe Schrieber and Cherall Wall allows readers to see how this fear is exhibited through the marginalization of the black community.
Together with the novel, Schrieber and Wall use their journal Trace, Trauma, and Home in parallel with Morrisons essay Home to call to attention the effects of trauma in minority communities. Ultimately, it is argued that Morrisons novel, Sula, works to highlight the importance of trauma, and the role that society places on those suffering through mental health. In the Chapter Trauma, Memory, and Subjectivity, Evelyn Jaffe Schrieber and Cherall Wall discuss Morrisons essay, Home, saying: