Sula

Part 1, Preface-Chapters 3 (1919-1921)

Reading Check

1. Medallion was leveled to make room for the Medallion City Golf Course. (Preface)

2. National Suicide Day (Chapter 1, 1919)

3. Helene rejects her mother Rochelle because she is a Creole sex worker. (Chapter 2, 1920)

4. Eva douses Plum in kerosene while holding him and then sets him ablaze. (Chapter 3, 1921)

Short Answer

1. A white man promises freedom and bottom land to an enslaved man he controls in exchange for some chores. When the man completes the tasks, the white man doesn’t want to give away valley land. So, he tells the enslaved man that the hills are “bottom land,” and Medallion comes to be called “the Bottom.” (Preface)

2. It is intended to get death out of the way so the remainder of the year will be safe and free. (Chapter 1, 1919)

3. Nel and Sula become friends after Nel’s return from her great-grandmother’s funeral down South. During the trip, Nel discovers that she isn’t her mother and doesn’t have to follow her mother’s rules. (Chapter 2, 1919)

4. Along with Eva’s family, she houses boarders, including newlyweds, and a collection of children who come from poor circumstances.