Nel vs. Sula
Give one word to describe Sula & Nel’s relationships.
Sisters: “daughters of distant mothers and incomprehensible fathers” (52)
In-sync: “Neither one had spoken a word” (59 )
Comforting: “they found in each other's eyes the intimacy they were looking for” (52)
“Intense” and “Sudden” (53)
And many more…
How does Chicken Little die?
“She picked him up by his hands and swung him outward then around and around. His knickers ballooned and his shrieks of frightened joy startled the birds and the fat grasshoppers. When he slipped from her hands and sailed away out over the water they could still hear is bubbly laughter. The water darkened and closed quickly over the place where Chicken Little sank" (60).
How did Hannah Die?
Hannah died from her dress being caught on fire.
Who is Nel’s new husband?
Jude Greene
What do the men call Sula and Nel as they walk past them?
“Pigmeat” (50)
Name one difference between Sula & Nel’s appearances.
“Nel was the color of wet sand paper” (52)
“Sula was heavy brown” (52)
Sula’s birthmark “that spread from the middle of the lid toward the eyebrow, shaped something like a stemmed rose” (52)
What is one example of the Bargeman’s racist thoughts shown in the novel before he arrives at Porters Landing?
“he suddenly became alarmed by the thought that the corpse in this heat would have a terrible odor, which might get into the fabric of his woolen cloth. He dragged the sack away and hooked it over the side, so that Chicken’s body was half in and half out of the water” (64).
“Will those people ever be anything but animals, fir for nothing but substitutes for mules, only mules didn’t kill each other the way niggers did” (64).
What was Sula doing when her mother Hannah was on fire?
Sula stood by watching her mom catch fire and did not do anything.
Why did everyone at the party seem to be overly happy (marriage ceremonies aside)?
Someone spiked the punch with cane liquor.
What does Shadrack say to Sula?
“Always” (62)
Name one difference in Sula & Nel’s personalities.
“Nel seemed stronger and more consistent than Sula, who could hardly be counted on to sustain any emotion for more than 3 minutes” (53)
Nel- reserved, cautious (60)
Sula- Brave, rambunctious (61)
What was the reaction to the death of Chicken Little at Porters Landing (using at least one point of textual evidence)?
Indifference:
The Bargeman: “he couldn’t go all the way back there, it was every bit of two miles.” and “he never shoulda taken it in the first place (64).
The sheriff: “whyn’t he throw it back into the water” (64).
Ferryman: “Finally they got the ferryman to agree to take it over in the morning” (64).
How did Eva try to save Hannah?
Eva tried to put out the fire by jumping out the window and covering Hannahs body with her own.
How does Sula feel about Nel’s wedding?
She is happy that for Nel and supports the marriage.
What filled the air in Bottom leading up to winter?
"Peeled fruit and boiling vegetables" (75)
What is one way Sula changes Nel? (hint: pg. 55)
She becomes braver. “After she met Sula, Nel slid the clothespin under the blanket as soon as she got in the bed” (55).
What was the communities reaction to the death of Chicken Little?
By facing the death of their innocence embodied by Chicken Little “they acknowledged the innocent child hiding in the corner of their hearts, holding the sugar-and-butter sandwich. That one. The one who lodged deep in their fat, thin, old, young skin, and was the one the world had hurt" (65).
Why did Eva believe she could have predicted Hannahs death?
Eva believed that the dream Hannah had about the red wedding dress was a forwarning of Hannahs death
Why are full, traditional weddings rare among the people of Bottom?
They are expensive and most people just go to the courthouse or have a preacher come and say a few words.
What does Hannah ask Eva at the beginning of 1923?
“Mama, did you ever love us?” (67).
What does Sula do to stop the boys from bullying Nel?
“Holding her knife in her right hand, she pulled the slate toward her and pressed her left forefinger down hard on its edge… She slashed of the tip of her finger” (54)
What were Nel and Sula’s reaction to the death of Chicken Little?
Nel “felt convicted and hanged right there in the pew” (65).
“Sula simply cried. Soundlessly and with no heaving and gasping for breath, she let the tears roll down into her mouth and slide down her chin to dot the front of her dress” (65).
“Nel and Sula stood some distance away from the grave, that space that had sat between them in the pews had dissolved. They held hands and knew that only the coffin would lie in the earth; the bubbly laughter and the press of fingers in the palm would stay aboveground forever” (66).
In what ways did the narrator hint that Eva might be responsible for Hannah's death?
The heat on the day Hannah died.
"Hannah died on the way to the Hospital. Or so they said." (77)
Aside from romantic attraction, why does Nel’s husband want to marry her?
He feels the need to take on a “traditional” man’s role (82).
What do the Dewey Boy (not) do at the end of the section?
“The deweys would never grow” (84).