Sula Summary
Description
Here you will find a Sula summary (Toni Morrison's book).
We begin with a summary of the entire book, and then you can read each individual chapter's summary by visiting the links on the "Chapters" section.
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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024
Chapters Sula Summary Overview
The Bottom, largely an African-American neighborhood located in the hills above the predominantly white, affluent zone of Medallion, Ohio, was deceitfully given to an ex-slave by his master, who convinced him that the hilly land was a blessing due to its proximity to heaven. Over time, the region became a thriving community, despite the deceit. Now, wealthy white individuals have their eyes on the land, threatening to demolish the community for a golf course. The war veteran, Shadrack, residing there, struggles to adjust post-war and invents 'National Suicide Day' as a way to cope with his fear of death, which the town eventually accepts. The book contrasts the lives of two friends, Nel and Sula, who come from different backgrounds. Nel is raised in a strict, conventional household by her mother Helene, but questions the rigid lifestyle after meeting her unconventional grandmother Rochelle, a former prostitute. Sula's family, on the other hand, is seen as odd and promiscuous by the town due to the behaviors of her mother, Hannah, and grandmother Eva. Their house also serves as a residence for three boys and various boarders. Despite their differences, the girls form a strong bond during their teenage years. However, their friendship is tested when a tragic accident occurs, leading to the drowning of a local boy during a game initiated by Sula. They never disclose their involvement in the accident and start to drift apart when Sula's mother succumbs to fatal burns from a dress fire. Following high school, Nel conforms to societal expectations, marrying, and becoming a mother. Sula, on the contrary, leads a life of fierce independence and open disregard for societal norms, leaving the Bottom for ten years and having several affairs, including ones with white men. Upon her return, she is stigmatized as evil, especially after having an affair with Nel's husband, Jude, who subsequently leaves Nel. Ironically, her presence unifies the community. A strained reconciliation occurs between Nel and Sula before the latter's death in 1940. The harmony in the Bottom dissolves with her death. By 1965, the threat of a golf course looms. Nel, visiting Eva in a nursing home, is accused of being complicit in the drowning of the local boy. This accusation prompts Nel to reevaluate her judgment of Sula and admit that she had too hastily adhered to societal norms to claim moral superiority. The narrative explores the themes of morality, relationships, race, and gender, resisting easy solutions and emphasizing the ambiguity and complexity of life.
prologue
The Bottom, an originally all-Black neighborhood in the hills above Medallion, Ohio, undergoes significant change as wealthy white individuals move in. The buildings, once the heart of a lively African-American community, are demolished to make space for a golf course. According to local lore, the Bottom got its name when a manipulative slave owner tricked a slave into believing he would gain freedom and good "bottom land" if he completed challenging tasks. Instead, the slave owner gave him a plot of land on the hills, deceptively calling it the "bottom of heaven" as it was closer to God. The slave accepted this "gift," only to later discover the land was hard to farm. In 1917, Shadrack, a 20-year-old war veteran, has a disturbing experience during World War I. After waking up in a veteran's hospital, he is terrified to see his hands grow in size and fights a male nurse who attempts to feed him. He is placed in a straitjacket, which he finds comforting as he no longer has to look at his hands. He wishes to see his face, but cannot due to his confinement. Shadrack is released from the hospital a year later due to space limitations and is arrested when he is found crying by the roadside. In his jail cell, he confirms his existence by looking at his reflection in the toilet bowl. He is then sent back to the Bottom with a farmer. Haunted by the fear of dying suddenly, Shadrack establishes National Suicide Day on every January 3rd as a way to cope with his anxiety. Initially disturbing to residents, this ritual eventually becomes a normal part of their lives. Helene Wright, the daughter of a Creole prostitute named Rochelle, was raised by her religious grandmother, Cecile. At 16, she was married off to Wiley Wright, Cecile's great-nephew, and they led a respectable life in the Bottom. After nine years, they had a daughter, Nel, whom Helene raised under strict rules. When Cecile falls sick, Helene prepares for a trip to New Orleans for the funeral. Despite her elegant attire, she is humiliated by a racist train conductor. Upon reaching New Orleans, Helene is disturbed to find Rochelle at Cecile's house. Nel is deeply impacted by her brief interaction with Rochelle. Helene is initially unhappy when Nel becomes friends with Sula, a girl with a birthmark over her eye, due to Sula's mother's notorious reputation. Nonetheless, Helene begrudgingly accepts their friendship as Sula behaves well at her home.
1921
Eva Peace, abandoned by her spouse BoyBoy, survives on the goodwill of her neighbors while caring for her three children. Her infant son Plum, who suffers from a life-threatening bowel issue, is saved when Eva manually clears his constipation. Unexpectedly, Eva leaves her children with a neighbor, Mrs. Suggs, assuring her she'd be back shortly. She comes back after a year and a half, now mysteriously affluent but missing a leg. Gossip suggests that she traded her leg for insurance money. When BoyBoy reappears briefly, apparently wealthy, Eva shows no hostility. He doesn't inquire about the kids, and leaves with his city-dwelling girlfriend. Eva anticipates the immense loathing she will harbor for him. With her unexplained funds, Eva constructs a large house where she lives as a dignified matriarch with her daughter and granddaughter, Hannah and Sula. The house also shelters three adopted boys, all named Dewey, and a continuous flow of lodgers. The Deweys form a tight bond and start school together despite their age difference. A white alcoholic, Tar Baby, also stays in the house. Both Hannah and Eva appreciate male company. While Eva flirts but abstains from sleeping with men, Hannah freely sleeps with any man she likes, but avoids long-term relationships. When Plum comes back from World War I, he's a shadow of himself, haunted by war and battling heroin addiction. One night, Eva smothers him in kerosene and sets him on fire, killing him.
1922
Nel and Sula are two friends with contrasting natures: Nel is subdued and discreet, while Sula is impulsive and assertive. The girls view themselves as complementary halves of one being. Their adolescent bodies catch Ajax's attention leading him to comment, "pig meat." A bunch of Irish Catholic boys start tormenting Black kids and Nel becomes their target. To avoid these boys, Nel and Sula start taking a detour on their way back from school. When the boys cross their paths again, Sula pulls out a knife and chops off her finger's tip as a warning. This frightens the boys, causing them to back off. In an unexpected turn of events, Sula overheard her mother Hannah confess that she loved her, but didn't like her. A nearby boy, Chicken Little, stumbles upon Sula and Nel during their private time. When Nel starts to make fun of him, Sula steps in to defend him. In a playful mood, Sula swings him around by his hands, but he accidentally slips and falls into a river, leading to his death. Sula seeks comfort from Shadrack, unintentionally leaving behind her dress's belt. Nel remains calm and assures that no one witnessed the incident. They mutually decide not to reveal the accident to anyone. Chicken Little's body is discovered by a bargeman. The white authorities show indifference towards the black boy's death; one even suggests discarding the body back into the water. Sula and Nel are present at Chicken Little's funeral. Nel, weighed down by guilt, stays silent while Sula weeps openly, though she feels no remorse.
1923-1927
A savage windstorm ravages the Bottom, uprooting trees and leading to a severe heatwave. Hannah questions Eva about her love for her children, which enrages Eva. She argues that her struggle to provide for their basic needs left no room for affectionate play. When Hannah questions Eva about Plum's death, Eva breaks down, explaining that Plum had regressed to a childlike state, recalling a previous time when his life was threatened by a severe bowel issue. Hannah has a dream about a red bridal dress, which she shares with Eva. However, Eva is more concerned about Sula, who is acting like a typical teenager. Eva witnesses Hannah's dress catching fire from her window and jumps out to smother the flames with her own body. The Suggs family manages to put out the fire, but Hannah is severely injured and later dies at the hospital. Eva survives, thanks to Old Willy Fields, an orderly, whom she later resents for saving her. Eva believes Hannah's dream foreshadowed her fiery death and remembers seeing Sula observing the horrifying scene with apparent interest. Jude Greene, a 20-year-old waiter at Hotel Medallion, aspires for a more masculine job. When he learns about a new road construction project, he hopes to join, but his hopes are dashed when only whites are recruited. He proposes to Nel to fulfill his desire for manhood. Following her graduation, they marry in an extravagant ceremony. Nel, who has adopted her mother's traditional views after the traumatic death of Chicken Little, willingly becomes a submissive wife. After the wedding, Sula departs for college and doesn't return for a decade.
1937
Upon Sula's return to Bottom, she surprises the locals with her lavish attire and the arrival of a "plague of robins." She visits Eva and the two quickly clash over Sula's single status. Sula retaliates to Eva's criticisms by bringing up Eva's self-mutilation for insurance money. When Eva hints that Sula was a neglectful daughter, Sula retorts by accusing Eva of killing Plum. Sula even threatens to kill Eva as she believes Eva did to Plum. Eva, terrified, starts locking her door every night. Later on, Sula takes over as Eva's caretaker and moves her to a nursing home, causing a stir in the neighborhood. They label Sula as wicked, even though Sula confesses to Nel that she did it out of fear of Eva. Sula and Nel begin to reconnect. When Jude returns home one day, he and Sula bicker, which eventually escalates into an affair. Nel accidentally uncovers her husband's infidelity with her best friend, leading to Jude leaving Nel and their children. Nel is left heartbroken by her husband and friend's betrayal.
1939
The townsfolk contemplate over the flock of robins that arrived before Sula, and the tale of her reaction to Hannah's deadly mishap. They conclude that the birthmark on Sula's eye symbolizes Hannah's ashes. They are even more horrified to learn that she's been intimate with white men. They blame her for random misfortunes in the town. For instance, when Mr. Finley chokes to death on a chicken bone upon seeing Sula, the town views her as the cause of his death. When a neglected child, Teapot, falls from Sula's porch by accident, his mother accused Sula of causing it. The townsfolk unite against the malice they believe exists among them, and they intensify their efforts to lead virtuous lives. Sula's many affairs are all transient. Unbeknownst to her, she engages in sexual activities due to the vulnerability and sadness it brings. Ajax is attracted to her unpredictable nature. He treats his lovers kindly, leading to disputes over him, but he finds all of them dull. He and Sula engage in a passionate romance, relishing each other's independence. Sula, for the first time, desires to have possession over her lover. However, when Ajax senses her domestic aspirations, he ends their relationship, leaving Sula shattered by his departure.
1940
Once seriously sick, Sula is visited by Nel, who hasn't seen her in three years. Nel offers aid and Sula requests a pharmacy run. The question of why Sula was intimate with Jude arises, leading to a discussion about ethical standards and duty. Sula counters Nel's belief that black women cannot be solitary and self-reliant. Comparing women she knows to "stumps" slowly perishing, she likens her own situation to a redwood's downfall. Sula asserts her solitude is authentic, unlike Nel's "secondhand" isolation. Jude merely occupied a place in her mind, Sula claims. She leaves Nel with a question: how does she know Sula wasn’t the virtuous one? In extreme agony, Sula reflects on her past. She recalls her exhilaration when she witnessed her mother aflame, musing that all feelings, deeds, and speech are merely "something to do." Curling up and sucking her thumb, she suddenly becomes aware that her heart is still and she isn't breathing. Understanding she's dead, she is eager to inform Nel that death is devoid of pain.
1941-1965
Sula's death is initially seen as a positive sign by the Bottom community. They attend her funeral to confirm she is truly dead. Expectations of employment opportunities for black laborers and a new racially integrated nursing home uplift the community's spirits. Yet, tragedy strikes, a severe frost destroys crops and livestock, pushing the community into a severe economic crisis, compounded by illness and a breakdown in social order. The harsh weather subsides by New Year's Eve. Shadrack, the war veteran, feels a sense of loneliness for the first time since his return from service. He recalls a young girl who once visited him, whose presence comforted him. The girl bore a similar birthmark to one he later sees on Sula's corpse, which makes him question the permanence of things. Despite his change in perspective, Shadrack carries on with his National Suicide Day tradition. Many from the Bottom community join him in a protest at the construction site, resulting in a fatal accident that claims several lives, including the Deweys. Fast forward to 1965, Nel reflects on the changes she has witnessed over the years, including the Bottom community's migration into Medallion city. Despite better job opportunities, she misses the sense of community they once had. Nel, now without her children and Jude, feels lost and alone. A visit to Eva in a nursing home doesn't bring comfort, but rather a shocking accusation, that Nel and Sula were both equally responsible for Chicken Little's death. This revelation disturbs Nel, forcing her to confront her own guilt. Finally, Nel visits the cemetery where Sula lies. Leaving the cemetery, she encounters Shadrack, who struggles to recognize her. Overcome with grief, Nel calls out for her departed friend, Sula.
