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David's Question. Why does Morrison begin by describing the destruction of the Bottom?

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David's Question. Why does Morrison begin by describing the destruction of the Bottom?

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Morrison sets up expectations in the preface of the novel. By beginning with the destruction of the Bottom, she tells the reader that everything she will describe will soon fall away. The preface explaining the destruction of the Bottom also buffers the harsh introduction to Shadrack’s plight.

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What do the fathers have in common in the novel?
Many of the men who were fathers abandoned their kids and their families. Even the ones who stuck around weren’t very present in their children’s lives.

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How is motherhood portrayed in the novel?
The relationship with mother hood throughout the novel is tense between mother and daughter. Sula delt with strict rules made by her mother in the novel.

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How does Sula represent feminism in relationship to the stories of Kate Chopin?
Sula is seen with many men throughout her adulthood, she went to college, went from city to city doing so much. I think Chopin tries to in some ways advocate for that in her short stories like "A Pair of Silk Stockings", "The Storm", and in "A Respectable Woman" They were all having these fantasies and even doing them to pleasure themselves.
Why does Shadrack appear in the book if he doesn't even do anything too important?
I think Shadrack just set the stage at the beginning of the book. Throughout time we don't really know what is going on with Shadrack, until some parts like when he makes a living for himself, and not bothering anyone. Morrison probably included him in the story because that could've been Plum in the end of the story if he were to survive the fire, since he also was living through the same circumstances of Shadrack. Or she could've showed through him the loneliness Shadrack was going through very similar to the characters in Sula.
Is it morally right or wrong for Eva to kill Plum?
It's neither or, yeah it was wrong, but you also have to understand that Eva did it for the sake of her child, whom she deeply loved. I don't think it's about morality as well, I think that Eva didn't even think about what was viewed as right or wrong, she cared very little of what other people thought of her. So what if people talked about her, she wouldn't care and would stand firm on her position.
Is Plum and Shadrack's lack of medical treatment because of race?
Yes, but not only entirely because of race. We need to remember the time period this book was supposed to be in. Shadrack went to war, returned with PTSD, at the time it was looked as something really bad and people were scared of the lunatic going around. It wasn't common for a person with mental illness to go around, so that's why Shadrack wasn't getting any many medications, nor did people know of such problems. As well as race, it was also a factor, people treated them differently, and if living at the Bottom isn't a reason, than of segregation happening in the book, I don't know what is.

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Was Eva morally correct in killing Plum? -Parker

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Was Eva morally correct in killing Plum? -Parker

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Eva was in the wrong, she killed plum in a selfish act of love due to not wanting to deal with Plum and his addiction. He regressed to a child like state and could not do anything for himself and she did not want to have to deal with him.

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Why did Toni Morrison decide to include Shadrack in the story? -Dorian

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Why did Toni Morrison decide to include Shadrack in the story? -Dorian

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Shadrack serves as an anchor for the town, one who is unchanging and the example of a person who couldn't cope with loss, something that every character in the story deals with. While characters like Eva and Hannah had men to surround themselves with, Shadrack had nothing to cope with the loss of his troop.

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Richard Grandich Response to Why Shadrack is in the Book proposed question.

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Richard Grandich Response to Why Shadrack is in the Book proposed question.

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Shadrack is present in the book to demonstrate what someone who experiences massive loss and doesn't have someone to fall back on. Loss is a prevalent theme of the book, and we as readers get many examples of people who lose a great amount very quickly. These people generally had someone to fall back on. Shadrack however didn't, and it shows the results of that in his reputation and role in the town.

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What does Shadrack contribute to the story? 

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What does Shadrack contribute to the story? 

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Shadrack is used to show how time passes in Medallion. The town views him as a permanent fixture and stops paying attention to his actions, so when Toni Morrison describes a way in which he has changed, it shows how the town is changing.

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I like what Abdalla said about the reason that Shadrack was included in the story. He said that Shadrack was added to the story to show what Plums life could have been if he was not killed. From the story writers standpoint it would be smart to make the reader think about what could have happened or what happened for things to end up the way they did. In this case Shadrack was included to show the reader a different perspective on what could have been in the story.

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is shadrack what plum would've turned into?

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is shadrack what plum would've turned into?

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This question makes you think a lot. I think there is a large connection between both men. Each of them had PTSD from war. Both started going crazy, however Eva put Plum out of his pain and issues. It is possible that if Eva let Plum live, he would've turned into Shadrack.

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I believe that Eva losing her leg created mystery in the story because it showed us that she was driven to do what is the best for herself and her family. She did what she believed was best for her family, even though some of her actions are seen as immoral such as setting her own son on fire because he was a drug addict. The lost leg played one of the bigger factors in the book even though it was somewhat looked over.

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Natalia's question on what if the gender roles were changed in Sula-

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Natalia's question on what if the gender roles were changed in Sula-

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If Sula was a man he would still be seen as promiscuous and have a bad reputation with messing around, but Sula as a man wouldn't have dealt with the same amount of hate as Sula would as a women.

-Makoto

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I think Sula's birthmark is open to people to decide her character and her personality. Like if people see her as evil they can say it is shown as a snake.

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Richard Grandich Response to Carolina Text to Author 

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Richard Grandich Response to Carolina Text to Author 

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The tadpole shaped birthmark is something that sets Sula apart from everyone else. As a defining characteristic, it is prominent in the story. The birthmark becomes more and more present as the general perception of Sula amongst the town becomes worse. Even after Sula has passed, the birthmark is brought up.

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Despite Eva believing that she was doing the right thing, burning her own son is inhumane and truly wrong. Even though there were not other options to help him with his addiction, her action was still wrong.

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There could be many different factors that effect why Shadrack and Plum were treated poorly medically after their return from war. A large factor would definitely be their race, as segregation still occurred and black people could've been forced into low quality medical treatment. I believe their gender was not much of a factor because if PTSD was a known issue, at the time the military was dominated by men, so seeing a PTSD case wouldn't be prioritized by female victims. The final factor would be how modernized hospitals were and what their capabilities were at the time. It's possible that hospitals couldn't recognize a PTSD case and could've viewed Shadrack and Plum as people who are crazy.

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Women are portrayed differently throughout Sula and Kate Chopin's story because extreme modernization occurred between the time periods of the writings of the stories. As time progress society has grown and matured in a way.

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From Eva's perspective Plum was regressing as a human in society and with drug abuse paving the way for Plum's downfall, Eva decided to do what was right from her perspective and kill him.

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I feel even with plum having PTSD he didn't deserve to die. She could have just kicked him out and made him go live that independent life style. Max

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Eva lit plum on fire because she felt that Plum was falling too deep into addiction and slowly he was giving up as he tried to crawl back into her womb. She did it out of love and felt that he deserved to die as a man.

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Someone made a comment that the mark may have been a way to set Sula apart from others. The fact that it darkens as she ages could represent the mental burden she carries more and more as she grows.

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I agree that the mother/daughter relationships in Sula aren't very healthy. This can be seen through Sula and Hannah's relationship, Hannah and Eva's relationship, and Helene and Rochelle's relationship. All there relationships are a bit of a rocky road.

-Makoto

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Why did Eva light Plum on fire?

She was caring and wanted he best for children and truly believed he had no way out in his life because of the heroine addiction

Why is the blame placed on the woman for infidelity?

Women have been oppressed for a long time and this is just another way this shows in the novel

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I agree it was harder to like the characters because they all negatives too their positives. Which is probably what Toni Morrison wanted her readers to feel about her characters.
Max

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I wouldn't say that the lack of treatment is entirely based on race but I wouldn't say that it is not a factor. The main reason that Plum received little medical treatment is due to the norms of that time period. Mental illness in that time period was really misunderstood and the town they were in really did not offer many good medical services.

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I think Sula started crying because she never felt love and was alone. While she did sleep with many people, she was never attached with them. She grew up with this idea of love because she saw her mom often sleep with many men. She realized she truly did not have it.

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Sula and Nel are very symbolic of the duality between order and chaos. They represent the push and pull between conventionality and strangeness. Their incredibly close relationship is telling of the fact that these two extremes can't really exist without the other.
- Anna S.

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Why did Morrison give Sula the birthmark 

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Why did Morrison give Sula the birthmark 

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To show symbolism and to get the reader to see different meanings behind the birthmark. But the main one was that it shows she's becoming more corrupt.
Max

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Why Hannah was not more present for Sula?

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Why Hannah was not more present for Sula?

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I believe due to her child events. That can be like trauma of when Eva abandoned then for about a year. This could be can of justify of Hannah's action when growing up and action when being a mother. Due to her past experience it could felt normal to her.
-Brayan

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Is Plum and Shadrack's lack of medical treatment because of race? (Ms. Butler's Question)

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Is Plum and Shadrack's lack of medical treatment because of race? (Ms. Butler's Question)

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I would argue that the reason they lack treatment is primarily not because of race, but because of both social and economic factors. Mental illness overall was very poorly understood during this period, and so-called "battle fatigue" was merely casted off as a man's poor will to cope with the stress. Plum and Shadrack's problems are not unique because of their race, as the combatants of every conceivable army during the war were subject to this. The German Army carried around 350, the British and French 300 each, and the United States 60 death sentences for men accused of cowardice, all majority white combatant nations. As well, bringing on the economic factor, both our characters, taking into account the setting, would have no conceivable way of receiving what little treatment would be available considering their situation in Medallion, that is not even considered a proper town, with little prospects.

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I think that Toni Morrison made Sula's character act irregularly to really set the whole tone of the book. No one in the book acts "normally", or as most people would do. This make the story more interesting in my opinion.

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She lit him on fire because she was upset she didn't grow up and move on with his life and become a man. Instead he returned home and got on drugs. So Eva felt she was setting him free
Max

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Why did Eva light plum on fire?
- Because she was a caring mother who    wanted the best for her kids.

Why is the blame placed on the woman for infidelity?

- because women have been oppressed and treated as objects for ages and this is just another way this shows.

Was Shadrack denied medical treatment because of race?
- I think that race was a factor but it was primarily economic and social reasons.

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I think that Eva's personality was shown in the way that she wants the best for her children. Although it might or might not be moral, she believes that she helped her son by killing him.

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I disagree with parker saying it was not morally correct when she killed her own son, because it could be seen as Eva putting her son out of his misery even if it's in a horrible way. As a mother, she probably couldn't see her son like that and also the fact that it was affecting the people around them.

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I think that Hannah set the example that sleeping around was acceptable nd the way that things should be. Since that was what she grew up around I think that influenced her to not see the negative impact that sleeping with Jude had.

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Why was Hannah not more of a present mother to Sula?

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Why was Hannah not more of a present mother to Sula?

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Personally I feel that Hannah was less of a present mother to Sula, because you can argue Hannah didn't have a consistent mother figure either as Eva left the kids when they were younger. Although Eva left to make her families' situation better Hannah still could of felt the feeling of abandonment.

-Holly

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I agree that the Bottom in "Sula" is connected to real world issues like redlining and gentrification. The Bottom could also be seen as representative of racial discrimination in general, as it's an isolated, impoverished community of African Americans.
- Anna S.

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I think that Eva's reasoning for killing plum is out of love in a way. She wanted to end his suffering and have him die in a "manly" way. He was a heroine addict that was suffering from PTSD and was barely even living a life. Eva did not have the means to take care of Plum, so she took things into her own hands.

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how does lighting up plum of fire reflect on Eva's personality?

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how does lighting up plum of fire reflect on Eva's personality?

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I  believe that Eva had good intentions. To help Plum on his addiction, and for the better of the community. As she notice that he was driving himself into a hole that he could never get out of. However, i believe she handle this situation in a worse way possible.
-Brayan

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What is Eva's reason for lighting Plum on fire.

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What is Eva's reason for lighting Plum on fire.

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Eva lit Plum on fire because she felt that he metaphorically was crawling into her womb. Personally I think this means that Eva felt that Plum was unable to function in society, and that he was taking up space or unworthy of life.  Eva perhaps viewed that she was saving Plum from a life of nothingness.

-Holly

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I believe that although it is morally wrong, the intent behind the killing of Plum is justified from a mother's perspective. The execution of the killing overshadows the reasoning behind the decision.

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How are women portrayed differently in Chopin vs Sula?

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How are women portrayed differently in Chopin vs Sula?

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All of the women in Chopin's work while they rebel against the system they are still all for the most part in traditional relationships and a part of the systems. While Sula is never a part of it. She doesn't try to escape from the system because she is never in it.

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In both of the stories, it is portrayed that sleeping around can be a way for women to be free and happy. Sula shows how relationships with men can be an exercise of independence and a way to go against the town. Similarly in Chopin's works, the women use sex as a way to take control of their lives and be who they want to be.

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Parker said that Eva was not morally correct in when she killed her own son. I would disagree she can be forgiven for her actions because firstly she was in an incredibly stressful situation, and Plum was become a hindrance and hurting the people around him.

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Richard Grandich Response  to Parker Text to World

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Richard Grandich Response  to Parker Text to World

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Eva isn't a morally good character. Love is a unique emotion that can make acts inspired by them be seen as selfish and selfless at the same time. Regardless of the, the killing wasn't in self defense, which is the only time murder is justified in my opinion. Plum was helpless, and could in no way advocate for himself in this decision. One could say that Eva had good intentions, which were making sure Plum died like a man, but good intentions don't equate to morally correct.

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How does Sula represent female relationships with men in Kate Chopin's work? -Amelia 

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How does Sula represent female relationships with men in Kate Chopin's work? -Amelia 

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Sula is shown as being promiscuous similar to Mrs. Baroda in Kate Chopin's "A Respectable Woman" showing that it is okay to be sexually active and promiscuous. This is a very common message in Kate Chopin's work that Sula reflects.

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Richard Grandich Response to Amelia Text to Text

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Richard Grandich Response to Amelia Text to Text

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Amelia's Question: The way that Sula portrays woman compares to the way that Kate Chopin's stories portray women through the aspect that independence and freedom is seen of out of reach, and is desired. Sula is the epitome of this, as she is someone who doesn't care about other's opinions, and pursues her own happiness regardless of restrictions. The women Kate Chopin's books all strive to reach this ideal in some way.

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How does Boyboy from Sula connect to Madame Celestine's divorce? -Makoto

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How does Boyboy from Sula connect to Madame Celestine's divorce? -Makoto

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He is abusive and does nothing but drink and fool around with other women.
I agree with the answer because the husband in Madame Celestine's divorce is very similar treating Celestine horribly.

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Madame Celestine's husband is very inattentive and not their for her husband. This is very similar to how Boy Boy left Eva and was very inattentive.