Emasculation of male characters as seen through Sula by Toni Morrison

Emasculation is a drawback of slavery as it was practiced in the Americas. Men are limited in their power in order to be exploited without strong reactions. This aspect appears in Sula where female characters play the main roles. Male characters are shaped to be absent, irresponsible or insane. Female characters take care of the household and fight for their own survival. Children are educated by the female characters, male characters are regularly absent, some of them have deserted the household. The objective of this paper is to explain, through the emasculation system, the behaviors of some male characters such as Shadrack, Plum Peace, BoyBoy, Jude and Ajax (Albert Jacks) in Sula in order to provide deeper understanding to Toni Morrison’s skills to deal with the conditions of Blacks in the South of the USA.  This can help to understand more Sula which is deeply rooted in the black community with its traditions and realities.