Sula, Part One

1. fastidious (page 7): having high and often capricious standards; difficult to please.


2. This novel begins with Eva's abandonment by her husband and she had to rely on the kindness of her neighbors for things like food for her family. She also has a son who is called Plum, who at a very young age had problems with his bowels and it was up to Eva to cure him. After this, she left her children under the care of a neighbor, promising to return later the same day but did not end up coming back until eighteen months later. Upon her return it is discovered that she has come across a lot of money and also has lost a leg. Her ex-husband, BoyBoy, comes for a visit and she is able to be a polite host, but when he leaves with another woman she looks forward to being able to hate him. Eva creates a boarding house with her money where she, her daughter Hannah, granddaughter Sula, and three adopted children whom she calls "The Deweys" live. When Plum returns from the war, she comes to his room in the middle of the night, covers him in kerosene and burns him to death. In 1922, it becomes evident how Nel and Sula are such good friends, they are complete opposites but fit together quite well. Sula stands up for Nel when she gets bullied, cutting off the tip of her finger in order to scare off the boys who were bullying her friend. She also stood up for a little boy named Chicken when Nel picked on him, she was playfully swinging him by the arms but he came loose from her grip and flew in the river where he drowned to death. Hannah begins to question Eva about if she ever loved her or any of the other children. She gets angry and retorts with the fact that she did in fact clothe them and feed them, Hannah also asks about why she killed Plum. Eva cries and says she had to do it because he wanted to be a child again. Later, Eva sees Hannah catch on fire and tries to jump out the window to cover her body and save her, they both are severely burned but Hannah dies on the way to the hospital. Meanwhile, there is a man named Jude Greene who longs for a manly job as opposed to his job as a waiter at a hotel. He is rejected from a so-called "man's job" because he is black. He and Nel get married and Nel has decided to take the role of a wife who needs her husband to take care of her. Sula leaves for college, and does not return for ten years.


3. I think that Morrison's style of writing in this section is very interesting. I am not sure if it was intentional or not, but it seems that Morrison is almost mocking symbolism. For example, when Hannah tells her about the dream she had where she was wearing a red dress at the wedding, and then she dies in a fire, and then it is concluded that it "must mean something." As in, the fact that she was wearing a RED dress and then died in a FIRE is supposed to be symbolic of something. Also, I find Morrison's technique of characterization to be very intriguing. The way that she describes Sula and Nel as two different people physically, and also their personalities are complete opposites. This becomes especially evident when Nel is being teased and Sula steps in to defend her. Sula has a very bold personality, where as Nel prefers to keep to herself. It is through this way that Morrison seems to suggest that together the two girls could almost be one person.


4. a) After Chicken's death, when Sula goes to Shadrack's house and he simply says, "Always." What does he mean by this?

b) Is there any significance or meaning to the fact that Sula left her belt behind at Shadrack's house?

c) Is there any significance to the way that the characters in this novel react to death? Such as, Sula and Nel with Chicken or Sula with Hannah?