In 1923 opens lines, "The second strange thing was...." -- what are the other strange things that happen? How does this line establish the tone for this chapter?
The first strange thing that happens is a lot of wind and clouds come indicating that it is going to rain however it does not it just is dry and extremely windy, then Sula begins to act up and bothers everyone, Hannah has a strange dream about her being in a red wedding dress dancing, and then Eva cannot find her comb even though she never moves it and finds it in her drawer. This establishes the tone for even stranger things to happen and is very morbid. It gives a clue that there are more bad things to happen and is leading up to something big, Hannah's death. It is just another way Morrison uses old superstitions and molds them into her work to foreshadow events.
Why does Hannah ask if Eva loves them; if she loved them as children? What is Eva's answer? Does she love her children?
Hannah asks Eva if she loves them because she does not know if Eva does. She wants to know whether or not she has feelings for her because she and Eva are detached They do not share a bond with each other."Well?Don't that count?Ain't that love?You want me to tickle under your jaw and forget about them sores in your mouth? Pearl was shittin' worms and I was supposed to play ring-around-the-rosie"(pg.69). Eva tells Hannah that she did not have time to sit and play with them because she was working too hard to keep them alive. She gets angry at Hannah because she thinks that her handwork and dedication to them should prove her love to them. That she did not let them die so surely that is love. However, Eva is not able to come right out and tell Hannah that she loves her. Showing the detachment between Hannah and Eva. Although, Eva does love her children she is unable to show them affection beyond basic care.
What was the reason Eva gives for killing Plum?
Eva says that she killed Plum because "he wanted to crawl back in my womb...I would have dont it, would have let him if I'd've had the room but a big man cant be a baby all wrapped up inside his mama no more; he suffocate"(Morrison pg, 71-72). Plum wanted to be a baby again and to be taken care of by his mother; however, Eva could not bear to have him as a baby and go through the whole process again. She looks back and sees how difficult it was for her to keep Plum alive like when she had to take him to the outhouse when he was a baby. She sees him struggling again as a grown man and cannot bear to see him die like that again. She could not afford to try and save him as she once did in the outhouse; nor did she know she would be able to. She says that she could not birth him, and bring him back up again because he was a grown man.
How does Hannah catch on fire? What does Eva do? What does Sula do? What do these characters' actions reveal about their feelings for Hanah?
Hannah catches on fire when she is trying to light a yard fire and her dress is ignited lighting her whole body on fire. "Eva knew there was time for nothing in this world other than the time it took to get there and cover her daughter's body with her own. She lifted her heavy frame up on her good leg, and with fists and arms smashed the windowpane."(pg. 75). Eva does not even take time to think about what she is doing she knows that she has to save her child and jumps out of her window to try and cover her and put the fire out. Even after she misses she crawls to Hannah still trying to save her. Eva's actions prove that she does love Hannah even though she could not outright say it. She does not think about whether or not she will die or get seriously injured but about the well-being of her daughter. Sula on the other hand was "standing on the back porch just looking"(pg. 78). Sula is fascinated by the way Hannah is jerking and dancing, and finds it interesting. "I never meant anything. I stood there watching her burn and was thrilled. I wanted her to keep on jerking like that , to keep dancing"(pg.147).Sula admits that she watches Hannah out of entertainment and did not realize what was going on. She does not feel the same panic and terror as Eva does because they are not attached Sula and Hannah do not share the same love and relationship as Eva and Hannah do. Since Sula heard the truth about her mother's attitude for her she no longer felt attached to her, and has emotion towards her which is whys she is able to let her burn.
'1927' end with the wedding of Jude and Nel. How does this ceremonious ending parallel the other incidents in the novel-- Cecile's at the beginning of the novel, Chicken Little's funeral, etc. How is Nel and Sula's friendship impacted by such ceremonies?
The wedding of Jude and Nel parallel the other incidents in the novel because it is the ending of Nel and her friendship with Sula. "The two of them together would make one Jude"(pg.83). Through marriage Nel sacrifices herself and her own identity and takes on Jude's. She is no longer seen as her own person, but an extension of Jude. She is no longer living, her old self dies and she takes on a role of a mother and wife and does not have her own life anymore. She is almost owned by Jude. Since she is with Jude Sula is left out now, and she no longer has her friend. She is hurt by this and decides to leave the Bottom to find herself; since she has not lost her other half to marriage.
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