Find your favorite phrase from the reading (one sentence maximum) and say why. If someone else has taken your phrase, find a different phrase that you like, unless you have something substantively new to say about the first phrase. Good luck!
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Hey Guys,
I must say that my favorite line in these passages would have to be the first. In my opinion, the first sentence of every book is one of the most important because it almost opens the door to a this new world or literature and imagination. I feel that the first sentence really gives me a sense of what I'm about to read into. The first sentence gave me a setting and unintentional and/or intentional description of what I was about to encounter.
My favorite phrase from the reading that caught my attention was on page 5. "But when God looks down, it's the bottom. That's why we call it so. It's the bottom of heaven-best land there is." This phrase is my favorite because even though the Bottom is up in the hills there is still something good about it. The good thing about the Bottom is that God is looking down and when he is looking down he is looking at the Bottom. Yeah...
I thought the phrase on page 5 was interesting.
"Her bare feet would raise the saffron dust that floated down on the coveralls and bunion-split shoes of the man breathing music in and out of his harmonica." page 4
This is my favorite sentence because of the imagery it creates. The description of the woman and the man are completely different but connect them to different things, while their actions connect the two together. The woman with her bare feet kicking up dust creates a sense of her being close to the earth. The man on the other hand is one with his music. I particularly like the usage of the word breathing, as if playing the harmonica was an act close to breathing air for the man.
Hey Everyone,
My favorite sentence in this part of the story is "Her bare feet would raise the saffron dust that floated down on the coveralls and bunion-split shoes of the man breathing music in and out of his harmonica. The black people watching her would laugh and rub their knees, and it would be easy for the valley man to hear the laughter and not notice the adult pain that rested somewhere under the eyelids, somewhere under their head rags and soft felt hats, somewhere in the palm of the hand, somewhere behind the frayed lapels, somewhere in the sinew's curve." on page 4.
I really like this sentence because when I or the reader reads it they can really see the sense of culture and reality that comes with it. What I mean is when people hear of black people they think of their hard past times and for me I immediately think of their unique dances and music that helped them through. For me this sentence really helps the reader re-capture what these people would do when the sung and danced for each other. It seemed so realistic and easy to imagine. It creates a kind of setting and feel for the culture and lives of these people. The sentence helped me understand the some of the background information of these people.
I look forward to reading everyone's favorite sentences!
Oh, I am so sorry guys my internet is so slow I pressed publish my comment and at the same time both mine and Sarah's comment popped up at the same time. I apologize, I will do another comment.
My other favorite sentence was on page 5 "The nigger got the hilly land, where planting was backbreaking, where the soil slid down and washed away the seeds, and where the wind lingered all through the winter."
THis sentence was my second favorite because when the reader reads it, they get the feeling of sadness for the black person. For me when I read this I made the connection of the black person always loosing out in the end. Black people where always treated poorly even from the very first time they ever encountered other human beings not from their country or village. So, I first felt bad for the black person because once again they were getting small changed. They were the ones who worked hard for a promise and then ended up on hilly, hard/bad soil, and many other things. By the end of the chapter you realize that they didn't really mind all of that stuff, they didn't let it get to them and they started to think of it as a good thing. Overall, the sentence made me realize that you shouldn't let the small things get to you and only hope for the best.
I'm sorry that I used teh same sentence, I was typing it for a while so I guess Sarah beat me to it. Sorry and have a great night.
Hey everyone!
So my favorite phrase is "Men in khaki work clothes will pry loose the slats of Reba's Grill, where the owner cooked in her hat because she couldn't remember the ingredients without it." I really enjoy this sentance for the obvious reason. It's very funny! Of course she COULD rmember the ingredients but it adds the element of humore that is needed in this story. There are many few quirks in this story however when one finds them, it is very laughable. I also like the fact that her food really is so good, that even grown men are breaking beams to eat it!
I really look forward to reading all of my classmates entries.
My favorite phrase was on pages 3-4. "There will be nothing left of the Bottom... but perhaps it is just as well, since it wasn't a town anyway;..." While it may seem odd that I have chosen this phrase because it is not incredibly "flowery" with adjectives or interesting words, I really felt that it portrayed a strong emotion that I could pick up on. I feel as though the narrator feels defeated in a way-- as if this place so valuable and so much of a home to this community was not technically a "'town," but rather a mere neighborhood deemed unworthy and unimportant by the white people. All of the other descriptions of this community seem cheerful, positive, and proud. They had their family businesses and a quaint footbridge, and even though they had pain, they knew how to laugh through it. Personally, I feel that they qualify as a town and should not be subject to the whims of powerful and greedy people who want their land. The narrator just sounds so defeated and as if he had to be convinced that it was not a town, rather than by his own recognition. In a way, it is almost a bit sarcastic, which supports the idea that it was not originally his opinion, but rather one he had been told by people who don't care for a sense of community spirit, and instead only have money and expansion in mind. I don't know if I am making sense, but I just really felt it was an emotional line and pulled me into the story.
Good Night!!
"Which accounted for the fact that white people lived on the rich valley floor in that little river town in Ohio, and the blacks populated the hills above it, taking small consolation in the fact that every day they could literally look down on the white folks" (Pg. 5).
I really appreciate this quote because it brings a sense of power to the black people in the story. Though they may have been raised and adapted to the idea that they were the "inferior" race, this small token of being able to look down upon the white people makes the black people seem strong and secure. Referencing a few other quotes before this one, the white men refer to the Bottom as "the bottom of heaven" and that brings the black people closer to heaven and closer to God which also gives them strength that perhaps the white men do not have even though they are the "superior" and have all the wealth and such. I feel that the white men are very selfish. The best land is at the Bottom and it is the most beautiful and "closest to heaven" and yet they would rather make profit than live close to heaven. Though this may not pertain to the rest of the story, I believe that the establishment of the Bottom and its nearness to heaven and the strength all of it brings to the black people will play an important role in the rest of "Sula." I understand that in the perspective of the author, as a black woman I know that she is proud of who she is because of this statement. Her sense of pride and being comfortable within herself is really revealed. I would like to make a point of saying I think the author deliberately makes a point of placing the black people closer to God.
Hey,
Unfortionately I was unable to purchase the book today. However, I will still comment. Due to my lack of knowledge on the subject I dont have a favorite sentence or phrase. I do however have an opinion on what Mason said. I cannot say I agree with his logic. Judging a book or story by its first sentence is like judging a person on a first impression. Does it make sense to stop reading a book due to a poor first sentence. Or perhaps, does a book with a strong first sentence mean the book will meet your expectations and be a good read. Therefore, I do not see how one could find so much value in the first sentence of a story. If you had an arguement to prove would you only want one sentence?
I had no money to buy this book, but ill buy it tmrw.
"They were mightily preoccupied with earthly things-and each other, wondering even as eraly as 1920 what Shadrack was all about, what that little girl Sula grew into a woman in their town was all about, and what they themselves were all about, tucked up there in the Botton." (page 6).
I have to say that this is my favorite phrase because it is a last sentence of this section, and last sentences always amuses me. the reason is that it captures my attention and leaves me pondering what is going to happen next?
c"Her bare feet would raise the saffron dust that floated down on the coveralls and bunionsplit shoes of the man breathing music in and out of his harmonica."
This is great imagery with the harmonica and the music is apart of his being and it is as if it were a limb attached to him.
I liked the passage, "And the hunters who went there sometimes wondered in private if maybe the white farmer was right after all. Maybe it was the bottom of heaven."
I think it's interesting because it's kind of ironic and contrasty between white and black, top and bottom, truth and lieing.
one of my favorite lines in the story the chapter was; "Still, it was lovely up in the Bottom."
This is my favorite because I love the irony in the fact that the Bottom is really up quite high. I think it captures the theme of the chapter which focuses on the fact that although the town is up high it is still on the bottom. The bottom may be referring to the bottom of the social pyramid, and the bottom of human value and decency. This is because the black people inhabit this town and they are looked down upon as inferior to whites. However, they see the fact that ironically they are up looking down upon the whites, living on the fertile land. They have realized they are stuck in the more difficult place and they are going to make the best of it. So they make the town as "lovely" as possible, despite the obstacles that it's location present.
one of my favorite lines in the story the chapter was; "Still, it was lovely up in the Bottom."
This is my favorite because I love the irony in the fact that the Bottom is really up quite high. I think it captures the theme of the chapter which focuses on the fact that although the town is up high it is still on the bottom. The bottom may be referring to the bottom of the social pyramid, and the bottom of human value and decency. This is because the black people inhabit this town and they are looked down upon as inferior to whites. However, they see the fact that ironically they are up looking down upon the whites, living on the fertile land. They have realized they are stuck in the more difficult place and they are going to make the best of it. So they make the town as "lovely" as possible, despite the obstacles that it's location present.
"The black people would have disagreed, but they had no time to think about it."
To me, this express' more than just what is seems to on surface level. I think It suggest more that, while the black people found God to be important, they also knew there was no use in thinking about God when there was work that needed to be done NOW. In their promised time. And they were going to make the most of it. Not just waste it away. It think that this sentence is setting a tone and attitude/ point of view that the author is going to write from- making it not only a intriguing launch into the book, but a literary gold mine because it really gets the reader involved.
hey this is pall. I wasn't able to buy the book yesterday, and was extremely dismayed to find that the book was in fact absolutely necessary to complete the blog. However, let it be known that i did in fact make an effort to complete todays blog. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Pall Kalmansson, esq.
Pg5
He preferred it to the valley.
And it was done.
The nigger got the hilly land,
where planting was backbreaking,
where the soil slid down and
washed away the seeds, and where
the wind lingered all through
the winter.
This sentence was interesting to
me because it clearly shows the
time of the event at that moment
where black people had to live
like that.
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