Whereas the pristine manicured lawns of the course might seem to be a boon for Bottom, the encroachment of white culture onto African-American culture will prove devastating. The golf course signifies white control over newly-gained black property, the imposition of white culture on that of African-American culture, and also the reclamation and reformation of land, something that African-Americans had only recently been permitted to own. While it would seem that such a tragic possibility would serve to strengthen the tries between Bottom residents, by the end of the novel, black families are slowly edging their way out of Bottom and into Medallion, destroying the integrity of the African-American community. Added to the moral and ethical conundrums symbolized by Sula, the problem of American race relations threatened to shatter Bottom's fragile identity.

Sula becomes an unwitting martyr for her community. "In Sula, the character of Sula must sacrifice her 'self' completely...
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