Explore the symbolic resonances of the Peace family? Is there really peace in the Peace family? How is the name symbolic? How is Sula's name different?
There is truly no Peace in the peace family. Their name is ironic because they are all searching for it instead. No one in the family is truly happy or on one accord; they are all are detached from each other. They all long for something they do not have. Sula and Hannah both desire to be loved and fill the void that their mothers created. While Eva is looking for companionship and the attention she should have received from Billy Bob, Hannah is looking for it due to the death of Rekus. Plum searched for it after he comes home from the war. They all long for something. Sula's name is different because it translates into peace. Her name is Peace Peace. She is separate from her family because they are able to find some form of peace in their distractions from life. Hannah and Eva with men and Plum with drugs. However, Sula feels great despair during her remedies.
Why does Eva leave her children? Why does she come back with one leg?
Eva leaves her children because she is unable to provide for them. Her husband deserted them and they do not have enough resources to keep her family going. "Eva had $1.64, five eggs, three beets....the children needed her; she needed money, and needed to get on with her life"(pg. 32). She leaves because she knows she has to get money in order for her children to survive. Eva is said to come back with one leg because she made the ultimate sacrifice and "stuck it under a train"(pg. 31) to collect an insurance claim and make them pay it off. She loves her children enough to sacrifice her body so that they can live without struggle. It is a great display of love.
Why does Eva take Plum to the outhouse? What does she realize in asking herself this question? Why does she set Plum on fire? How does the narrator describe the scene? Why is the description important?
Eva takes Plum to the outhouse because he has been wailing for sometime and is unable to make a bowel movement. She takes him out to save his life and remove the stool from his behind. In asking herself why she did it she realizes that she loves Plum and that he is her favorite. She sets Plum on fire because she cannot bear to watch him suffer and continue to be an addict. "She was thirsty and reached for the glass of strawberry crush...and discovered it was blood tainted water"(pg. 47). She is horrified to find that Plum is killing himself and does not want him to continue down the path of destruction. Eva believes that it is better for Plum to die than to go down the path of addiction. It is both a selfless and selfish act of love by her.The scene is described with "the kerosene-soaked Plum lay in snug delight"(pg. 47) and being happy knowing that everything will be okay. He seems to be at peace at the time of his death and is easily able to fall into a "bright hole of sleep"(pg 47). The scene is important because it shows that Plum did not suffer and it was not a horrific scene but the reader sees how hard it is for Eva to do commit the act. "Eva lifted her tongue to the edge of her lip to stop the tears from running into her mouth"(pg. 47). This shows how
What does Hannah say to upset Sula?
Hannah is talking to some of her neighborhood friends about how difficult it is to raise children. They discuss how they do not think that they love their children when Hannah interjects and says, "I love Sula. I just don't like her"(pg.57). Sula is crushed to learn that her mother does not like her, and it seems to her that she does not love her either. It is the same thing to Sula as Hannah saying that she does not love her. This really shows how detached Hannah and Sula are from each other.
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