Both Plum and Sula return to a state of infancy prior to their deaths. Reverting back to very childish ways, Plum, “opened his eyes and saw what he imagined was the great wind of an eagle pouring the wet lightness over him. “Some kind of baptism, some kind of blessing, he thought.” Plum’s naive description and observation of Eva pouring kerosene over his body represents the thinking of an infant. Similarly, Sula assumes the fetal position prior to her decease, “that she might draw her legs up to her chest, close her eyes, put her thumb in her mouth and float over and down the tunnels.” The images of Plum swaddled by his mother, and Sula curled up in the fetal position, illustrate how Plum and Sula approach death in positions associated with birth. What is the author’s intent in doing this? Is Toni Morrison emphasizing the theory of rebirth?
KELSEY
