Sula by Toni Morrison

   This week, i continued to read "Sula" by Nobel prize winner, Toni Morrison. Sula is similar to "The Bluest Eye", the other novel i've read by her recently. It focuses on the struggles of black people in America duting the 20th century. It follows Sula and her friend Nel Wright living in a town known to most people as "The Bottom", an area right past the rich white part of town. Sula is much more about the characters themselves then the message, contradictive to the bluest eye. Sula is sort of an odd little girl growing up with her grandma, Eva, a strong, sort of manipulative black woman with one leg, and her mother, hannah. Hannah and Eva are sort of opposites however they love eachother. Hannah is similar to her mother in the way that she can get most men to do what she wants, however i wouldnt say as brutal as eva. Even though Hannah has admitted to not liking her kids, Eva on the other hand set hers on fire. Fire actually plays a big role in the book.
    Not one, but two of Evas children are burned to death. One day, Eva witnesses a series of "strange things". It starts out with Hannah asking her mother, "Mamma, did you ever love us?" Eva answers a truthful no, but angrily explains how she clothed her and fed her and kept her alive. Next, Hannah asks about Plum, evas sons death. Eva's explanation is sort of odd however. She explains how difficult Plums birth was, and when he came back, Eva felt as if she wanted to crawl back up her womb. She couldnt allow that, so she set him on fire. The nect event is a dream Hannah had about a red wedding dress, which we later realize means death and fire. However the dream is forgotten because of Sula acting up. Next, the day Hannah dies, Eva cant find her comb. Which is unusual because "Nobody moved stuff in Eva's room except to clean and then they put everything right back". Shortly after, she sees Hannah running around on fire from her window. In an effort to out the fire out, she tries to fall 12 feet onto Hannah. This attempt at saving her doesnt work. Finally by the time the fire is out, its too late and she dies on the way to the hospital, however Eva survives. The last "strange thing" eva remembers is sula. She recalls when Hannah was running around trying to put her fire out, and she was lying there, bleeding she saw sula. Staring there watching her mother burn and her grandmother suffer.
   After that, we fast forward to Sula and Nel grown up. Sula suddenly disappears for to where we find out was college, to just return 10 years later and sleep with Nels husband. So far, I'm stilling trying to figure out what Sula's oddness really means and what the whole book symbolizes.