Sula Peace- Seen as a "wild and defiant- girl. She is born with a birthmark over her eye. The shape of it seems to change according to the perceptions of the person looking at it, it is mentioned to look like a tadpole, a rose, a snake and even her own mothers ashes. It darkens, as she grows older. She is the best friend of Nel, daughter of Hannah and Granddaughter of Eva. .
Hannah Peace- Sula's mother. She has a reputation for being "loose- and having affairs with.
many men. She says she doesn't love Sula then, she catches on fire and burns to .
death while Sula watches and fails to help her. .
Eva Peace- The mother of Hannah and Grandmother of Sula. She only has one leg and is rumored to have amputated it for insurance money to care for her children after her husband leaves her. She allows many borders to stay in her house and adopts several children. She sets her son on fire, killing him after he returns from World War I addicted to heroin and throws herself out of a two story window in an attempt to help Hannah when she catches on fire. .
Nel Wright - Seen as conventional and quiet. She is Sula's best friend. Sula has an affair with her husband, Jude and he then leaves her. She perceives herself to be "good- while seeing Sula as "evil-.
Basic Novel Summary: .
Toni Morrison's novel Sula chronicles the lives of influential woman living in the mostly black community of "the Bottom- from 1919 to 1965. "The Bottom- is located in the hills overlooking the mostly white town of Medallion, Ohio. The "Bottom- started and got its name from a trick that was played on a slave by a slave owner. The slave was told that since the hilly land above town was closer to heaven that it was more fertile and he was promised the land once he completed difficult tasks for his owner. The soil is actually difficult to seed and the soil washes away in the winter. .
We are promptly introduced to a young Nel Wright. Her mother is very conventional and proper; she is a regular church attendee and is well respected by the community.
