Kentucky Wonders, the kind of beans Hannah sorts through as she talks to Eva.
1. Why might Hannah be asking her mother Eva if she ever loved her?
2. Might there be a connection between Hannah saying that she doesn't like Sula (57), even though she loves her, and what happens at the river (the drowning of Chicken)? Explain.
3. Why do you suppose Eva has such a strong reaction to Hannah's question?
4. Compare Eva's harsh reaction to Hannah's question about her loving her children to her throwing herself out the window when she sees Hannah burning.
5. This reading assignment contained shocking horror and violence (if it was hard on you, sorry!) Is there a way to explain how such horror and violence fit in with the rest of the story?
6. Was there a particular sentence that you feel deserves comment? Comment on it.
15 comments:
Adressing to question number 3, Eva had such a strong reaction with Hannah's question becasue she cares about her children. The question the Hannah said shocked Eva. On page 68, Eva says "You settin' here with your healthy-ass self and ax me did I love you? Them big old eyes in your head would a been two holes full of maggots if I hadn't" I'm guessing that Eva is trying to say that if she didn't love Hannah, she wouldn't be alive and healthy. Also she wouldn't be living with her. Hannah probably asked her mother this because she never interact or spend time with her or the other kids. I am not sure.
Pertaining to question #1, Hannah may have asked her mother that question because she may have felt inadequate of her mother's love. I agree with Shenese that Hannah asked her out of curiousity since Eva barely has time to spend time with her. If possible, maybe Hannah questioned her mother to see if her mother loved her in another way.
I think that Eva is hurt that Hannah is unsure that she loves her. I think at some level she herself is unsure of her love for her children. But when she sees Hannah setting herself on fire she immediately responds, showing that she doe really care for her children. I think that Eva does care about her children, but at times her life gets in the way and she gets caught up with it. It seems her life has had a lot of difficulty and her children, while not the source of the problem they might remind of her of her past with her husband and what not. I think that Eva does love Hannah and does everything in her power to save her and is upset when she is unable to.
I felt that there was this one phrase that stuck out in my mind, especially because in class I was focusing on the "weight" in certain things and how it can affect the outcome of life and relationships.
On page 56, "Then summer came. A summer limp with the weight of blossomed things. Heavy sunflowers weeping over fences; iris curling and browning at the edges far away from their purple hearts;ears of corn letting their auburn hair wind down to their stalks. And the boys. The beautiful, beautiful boys who dotted the landscape like jewels, split the air with their shouts in the field, and thickened the river with their shining wet backs. Even their footsteps left a smell of smoke behind."
I think the imagery in the passage above creates a magnificent painting in your mind. And the great power that the weight had, in a positive way relating to the season and the people. I think that if the weight was illustrated in a negative way, the imagery would be much darker and not hopeful.
Hey Everyone,
So I am going to try and answer question number 5. While this part of the story was very sad and hard to read, I also found it interesting and ironic. I feel like this story fits in so well with the rest of the story because if you recall Plum dies from being burned to death and here was Eva's other child who was also burned to death. It made me wonder if her other child would die of being burned to death as well. Also, all the people who have died within this book have all died because of something in nature. THis meaning like fire, water, all this has nothing to do with a murderer but rather nature just taking over. It was also rather strange that she had that dream of a wedding. When I first read that and ran across the word red I immediately knew someone was going to die. I still don't understand how she started to burn to death. Meaning like was it intentional, was Hannah trying to commit suicide or was it a horrible accident? In conclusion, this part of the story was extremely hard to read, but at the same time very ironic.
Responding to #5, I see a connection between Hannah being set on fire by accident and Eva trying to save her from dieing and when Eva sets Plum on fire. Eva wanted Plum to die, but she tried to save Hannah's life. Both siblings die from fire. I find that interesting. I know Ashleigh remarked along the lines of this but I added to it.
Hey Everyone,
So my answer is pertaining to question #1. I think Hannah asked her mother that question because she didn't think that her mother cared about her. I also agree with Shenese that Hannah may have asked because she was curious because Eva never has time for her any more. I am not sure if there are any other things that are underlying with this however I'm sure someone could help me! I look forward to reading what you all have to say.
Thanks
question 3
I think Eva responded to her daughter's question as angrily as she did because of the guilt she felt about how she treated her children. She told Hannah at first that she had to have loved them as children, otherwise they would not have survived their childhood. She used many excuses when Hannah asked if Eva ever played with the children like it was a tough time to raise them and they went starving for a time when Boyboy left. She had provided for them well by putting them first and still Hannah felt no compassion from her. The anger towards Eva could have been her ungrateful question but also, Eva had killed her son and the excuses she gave Hannah were not giving her any satisfaction for her guilt. I believe this is why in her rant at Hannah, she told her the truth about how she lit Plum on fire, and why she blew up at Hannah like she did.
Hello! While reading tonight's chapter, I was very intrigued and was looking forward to what I could write in the blog. Then, I reached the last sentence of the chapter and immediately knew that it was what I wanted to talk about.
On page 78, it reads, "...but inside she disagreed and remained convinced that Sula had watched Hannah burn not because she was paralyzed, but because she was interested." When I began this sentence, I knew there would be some ironic twist, but I was certainly not expecting to see the word "interested." I am having a little trouble wrapping my mind around why Sula would be interested in the death of her mother. I didn't get the feeling that Sula wanted Hannah to die, and I didn't even get the feeling that Eva thought Sula wanted Hannah to die. Eva clearly doesn't believe that Sula was dumbfounded either. Therefore, that leaves one interpretation (in my opinion) of the word interested. In its simplest form, Sula was merely interested in this odd phenomenon. She was not happy to see her mother dying, or upset by it, but rather reacted as if she was observing an exhibit at the aquarium or something. If she really looked interested, as Eva seemed to think, it is possible that she was actually thinking about the situation, its effects, and was contemplating the possibilities of what could happen next. She is portrayed as a sponge— just taking in this disturbing scene that perhaps she doesn't find to be all that disturbing. This also makes me question her personality a bit, because while I'm sure she loved her mother, she must have been either desensitized to death or prepared for her mother's death. I really like Morrison's word choice of "interested" because it really caught my attention and made me consider the situation and Sula's involvement (even if I may be reading into this one word too much) :)
Eva had a strong reaction to Hannah's question because it hurts her to think that her daughter questions the love Eva has for her and her siblings. Eva does love her children, but it is a warped and confused kind of love. Eva knows that she hasn't shown the most affectionate and real love for her children so she immediately becomes defensive and harsh when Eva asks the question. I feel that this shows that it was difficult for her to love her children because of the hate she had for boyboy, their father. She must see him in her children's faces and it has caused her to be unable to love them in a way that most mothers do, however she has that natural instinctive love that comes with being a mother. This is why she gave up so much to keep them a live and feed them, but Hannah wonders why she didn't play with them. If it was os hard to keep them alive, maybe it wasn't true love for her children that as behind it. It is ironic that Eva kills plum in the end anyway despite all of her efforts earlier to keep him alive. Maybe this is her warped idea of love and this is why she is so harsh and taken aback by Hannah's question.
Okay so I had no idea which one to respond to, so I will respond to the last as people are not really doing that one.
"The birthmark over her eye was getting darker and darker and looked more like a stem and rose."
I thought this was a great sentence, that paints a clear picture. That the location was specific and emphasized that not only was it getting darker, but it was doing so gradually and continuously . Also, I thought the stem and rose image makes the visual come to life. It also adds a bit of ironic twist because I don't think many people would link a birthmark to that of the beauty of a rose.
Go Toni Morrison!
Good evening
Addressing question #1, I think Hannah asked her mother if she ever loved her for a variety of reasons. I think after observing others and how their daughters and mother communicate, she began questioning her own relationship with her mother. The things she (mother) began to say after a while and the actions she portrayed over the years made her come to that conclusion and question such a powerful and blunt statement. Eva clearly loved her child because she was willing to cut her own leg off to support her family. If that's not love, I don't know what love is. ;)
Hello,
I'm addressing question two. I believe there is definitely a connection between Sula hearing Hannah say this and the way in which Sula and Nel let Chicken drown. I think Sula did not entirely understand what Hannah was saying and maybe Chicken was a way for her to "get it all out" and deal with what she had heard. I still think Nel was just along for the ride and the game of it all but I definitely think Sula had an ulterior motive when she saw Chicken.
Thanks
#1
Hannah asked her because she thought her mother didn't really cared and knew about her. Maybe she asked her that in order to find out the problem or connection going on because she cannot talk to Eva anymore.
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