Sula

            The plot of Sula consists of two parts set within a frame narrative. The novel opens around 1965 with a prologue; after the first section, it jumps back in time to the year of 1919. From that point, the plot moves forward chronologically until the very end of the novel, which is also set in 1965. Each section, in between the frame narrative at the beginning and end is titled by a year. Although the book spans a lifetime, the plot is not hard to follow because of the time designations. The story begins with an introduction to the community of Medallion, Ohio. This particular area is known as The Bottom. The Bottom is a normal and close Black community with the exception of one person. This person name is Shadrack. Shadrack is a 20-year-old who suffers from a traumatic experience in World War I. Through his insanity, he is terrified that he might die unexpectedly. Therefore, he institutes a self-proclaimed National Suicide Day as a means of coping with his fear. One of the most outstanding and upright people in The Bottom community is Helene Wright. She has move to Medallion from New Orleans, where her grandmother Cecile raises her because of her mother's prostitution. Helene is married to a respectable man at the age of 16 years old to her grandmother's great nephew Willie. After they are married for nine years, Helene gives birth to her only child Nel. Helene carefully and successfully raises her daughter, Nel, to be like her, living a life free from shame and immorality. Sula Peace is one of Nel's good friends. Sula live in a house with her grandmother, her mother, and several staryboarders including a white alcoholic named Tarbaby and three young boys all named Dewey. Her grandmother Eva is a strong black woman who is willing to cut off her leg to collect insurance money just to raise her three children. When Eva's son Plum, returns from the war, he has became a changed man.