Sula 151-174

a culvert


1. T or F: The paragraph on pp. 154-155 starting with "Christmas came one morning and haggled everybody's nerves" could be interpreted as an attempt to explain how difficult it is to be poor." and how attempts at

2. T or F: The sentence "The white people who came" at the bottom of p. 154 could be interpreted as an attempt to explain how charity can lead to resentment, not gratitude.

3. In the previous reading, Sula wondered if maybe in some way she had been "good." Are there any parts of the current reading that support that idea? Consider the ways things get worse after she dies; consider her role in Shadrack's inner life.

4. At the top of p. 157, an explanation is given for Shadrack's having said to Sula, after the drowning of Chicken, "always." Try to put the explanation in your own words.

5. The people in the spontaneous parade begin to smash up the tunnel that has started being built (162-163): in your own words--why do they smash it up or try to?

6. Discuss the connection between what happens at the tunnel and the fact that it is National Suicide Day.

Sula 138-149

1. Nel asks Sula, "I was good to you, Sula, why don't that matter?" (144-145)Put into your own words Sula's answer and comment.

2. Sula makes a strange speech: "Oh, they'll love me all right . . . . " (145-146) Try to interpret this speech.

3. Sula says, "About who is good. How youknow it was you?. . . I mean maybe it wasn't you. Maybe it was me." Try to interpret this speech. (146)

4. Just before dying, Sula remembers the word "always" and interprets it. Try to explain her interpretation of "always" and comment.

5. Sula says to herself just before dying, "Wait'll I tell Nel." Comment.

Merchant of Venice 2.1

1. What three adjectives would you use to describe Portia's behavior and words in this scene? Give a brief explanation for each.

2. What three adjectives would you use to describe Morocco's (the Prince of Morroco that is) behavior and words in this scene? Give a brief explanation for each.

3. Notice the condition of the casket game that Portia explains in lines 38-42. What is the condition, and what are some implications of that condition?

4. Find an example of imagery and discuss the meanings or connotations it might contribute to what is going on.

Sula 112-125

1. Sula becomes a scapegoat (originally, an animal that magically took on the sins of the whole tribe and was pushed off a cliff so that the tribe could begin a new year free from guilt) for the people of the Bottom (112-117), and her being a scapegoar ends up making people's lives better (bottom of 117). Why psychologically speaking do people start to behave better when they have her as a scapegoat?

2. "He was not the God of three faces they sang about. They knew quite well that he had four, and that fourth explained Sula." Try to explain this mysterious passage.

3. The extended metaphor of spider, spider-web, and snake on p. 120: try to explain it in your own words.

4. Sula "went to bed with men as frequently as she could to find "misery and the ability to feel deep sorrow" (122) This is an unexpected reason to go to bed with someone. While I don't expect you to be experienced in such matters, speculate how this could be Sula's psychological motivation for going to bed with men, and whether it works for her, or could work.

5. Find a sentence or phrase you find effective and explain why.

Merchant of Venice 1.2

Some representations of Portia

Note: Nerissa makes reference to her father's command that Portia choose the man to marry her based on a "lottery" (game of chance) that employs a "casket," three caskets in fact. Each suitor has to guess the right casket, and whoever guesses the right one, wins. We'll learn more later.

1. Portia is a typical Shakespearean comedy heroine, because she is witty: quote an example and explain.

2. Portia is a typical Shakespearean comedy heroine, because she good-humored, i.e., is habitually in a good mood toward everything, even the things she makes fun: quote an example and explain.

3. Portia is a typical Shakespearean comedy heroine, because she is energetic: an examplgive an example (doesn't have to be a quotation) and explain.

4. At line 95, Portia may give away for a moment the fact that she has seen or encountered Bassanio before and is interested: explain how so. You're allowed to consult the note. As you interpret the line, what is the importance of the dash in the middle of the line?

5. Why do you suppose Nerissa brings up Bassanio at line 92?

Sula 79-94

1. Put into your own words why Jude wants so much to get a job working on the proposed new road. Try to get below the surface.

2. Notice Jude's motivation for asking Nel to marry him, and hers to marry him (82-3). Do you think it's common for people to ask others to marry them for such a non-Romantic reason, or unusual?

3. Ajax says about women, "All they want, man, is they own misery. Ax em to die for you and they yours for life" (83). What do you think of Ajax's theory? Note: Ajax is the same character who applied the expression "pig meat" to Sula and Nel when they were younger.

4. On p. 90, Morrison describes the world-view of the people of the Bottom ("What was taken by outsiders . . . .it was beneath them.") How, in your own words, does their world view differ from that of the people you know?

5. In the same paragraph on p. 90, the author says "they determined . . . to survive floods, white people, tuberculosis, famine and ignorance." Comment on the order of the things on this list.

6. Sula, on her return, gets into an argument with her grandmother, Eva. What does this argument say about the character of each?

7. What possible explanation is there for Sula's committing her grandmother to an old age home? How evil is Sula acting?

Sula 67-78

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.