Sula

Part 1, Preface-Chapters 3 (1919-1921)

Reading Check

1. Medallion was leveled to make room for the Medallion City Golf Course. (Preface)

2. National Suicide Day (Chapter 1, 1919)

3. Helene rejects her mother Rochelle because she is a Creole sex worker. (Chapter 2, 1920)

4. Eva douses Plum in kerosene while holding him and then sets him ablaze. (Chapter 3, 1921)

Short Answer

1. A white man promises freedom and bottom land to an enslaved man he controls in exchange for some chores. When the man completes the tasks, the white man doesn’t want to give away valley land. So, he tells the enslaved man that the hills are “bottom land,” and Medallion comes to be called “the Bottom.” (Preface)

2. It is intended to get death out of the way so the remainder of the year will be safe and free. (Chapter 1, 1919)

3. Nel and Sula become friends after Nel’s return from her great-grandmother’s funeral down South. During the trip, Nel discovers that she isn’t her mother and doesn’t have to follow her mother’s rules. (Chapter 2, 1919)

4. Along with Eva’s family, she houses boarders, including newlyweds, and a collection of children who come from poor circumstances. The Deweys are three such children. (Chapter 3, 1921)

Part 1, Chapters 4-6 (1922-1927)

Reading Check

1. Ajax (Chapter 4, 1922)

2. He says, “Always.” (Chapter 4, 1922)

3. Hannah asks Eva, “Did you ever love us?” and “What’d you kill Plum for?” (Chapter 5, 1923)

4. Hannah burns to death when the winds cause her to catch fire while lighting a yard fire. (Chapter 6, 1923)

Short Answer

1. Sula swings Chicken Little by the hands round and round. She loses her grip, and he flies into the river, where he drowns. (Chapter 4, 1922)

2. Sula and Nel do not try to save Chicken Little. Rather, they accept his death and worry whether anyone saw what happened. (Chapter 4, 1922)

3. Sula stands and watches her mother burn. Sula is not shocked but “interested.” (Chapter 5, 1923)

4. Nel accepts ownership of Jude’s pain and anger. Previously, Ajax explained, “all they [women] want, man, is they own misery.” (Chapter 6, 1927)

Part 2, Chapters 7-8 (1937-1939)

Reading Check

1. A plague of robins accompanies Sula. (Chapter 7, 1937)

2. The break occurs when Sula takes Jude from Nel. (Chapter 7, 1937)

3. Sula believes Ajax is made of gold, alabaster, and loam, making him seem more like a statue than a real man. (Chapter 8, 1939)

4. Ajax leaves Sula when he perceives she is “nesting,” or trying to possess him. (Chapter 8, 1939)

Short Answer

1. Sula’s reunion with Eva is hostile and accusatory. As a result, Sula has Eva committed to a home for old folks. (Chapter 7, 1937)

2. Nel’s pain comes from the abandonment she feels over being separated from Jude, and even more so from Sula. (Chapter 7, 1937)

3. Ajax is different because he talks to Sula. Thus, she keeps him longer than the others. (Chapter 8, 1939)

4. For the people of Medallion, Sula is to blame for everything that goes wrong. By having someone to blame, the people are able to appreciate each other more. (Chapter 8, 1939)

Part 2, Chapters 9-10 (1940-1941)

Reading Check

1. Sula and Nel reunite briefly prior to Sula’s death. (Chapter 9, 1940)

2. Sula challenges Nel’s notion that Nel is good and Sula bad. (Chapter 9, 1940)

3. Because Sula, his only visitor over the years, is dead (Chapter 10, 1941)

4. The people of Medallion join the parade for the first time. (Chapter 10, 1941)

Short Answer

1. Sula remembers Shadrack’s promise of “always” as she dies. (Chapter 9, 1940)

2. Sula’s final thought is of Nel. (Chapter 9, 1940)

3. Sula’s death causes Medallion to experience bad weather and tense and irritable feelings among the people. (Chapter 10, 1941)

4. The parade results in the deaths of many residents as they storm the unfinished tunnel. (Chapter 10, 1941)

Part 2, Chapter 11 (1965)

Reading Check

1. Eva accuses Nel of killing Chicken Little. (Chapter 11, 1965)

2. Eva says that Nel and Sula are one and the same. (Chapter 11, 1965)

3. Eva says she is getting her information about Nel from Plum, her dead son. (Chapter 11, 1965)

4. Shadrack (Chapter 11, 1965)

Short Answer

1. Eva mentions oranges to show her awareness that she is being drugged. Oranges are also often a symbol of death. (Chapter 11, 1965)

2. Eva addresses her as Sula, supporting the idea that Nel and Sula are one person. (Chapter 11, 1965)

3. Nel and Shadrack both remember “gone things” as they pass on the road. One “gone thing” they have in common is Sula. (Chapter 11, 1965)

4. Nel’s final realization is that she didn’t spend years missing Jude. She missed Sula. This realization finally allows Nel to cry for her loss. (Chapter 11, 1965)