Sula

Why do you think Morrison organized this novel chronologically? How do key events, such as World War I and the Great Migration, impact plot and character development?

What is the role of humor in the novel, particularly as expressed through Nel and Jude’s dialogues with Sula?

Why do you think that Morrison shifts the narrative into first-person when Nel finds Jude and Sula having an affair? What do you think is the intended impact on the reader?

Compare and contrast the relationships between Helene and Wiley, Nel and Jude, and Sula and Ajax. What do they reveal about prescribed gender roles from the era and about how those roles were circumscribed more narrowly due to race?

Though the novel is centered on two Black women, it also uncovers a great deal about the unfulfilled dreams of Black men. In what ways did racism impact the dreams of characters such as Jude and Ajax? How does Morrison use dreams as a metaphor for prophecy in the novel?

The character Shadrack suffers from what was called shell shock after World War I, in which he served, and what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Compare his character to others in Modernist and contemporary literature who evince a similar experience (e.g., Septimus Warren Smith in Mrs. Dalloway).

What does the novel teach the reader about motherhood, particularly in relation to how some characters, such as Eva and Teapot’s mother, express maternal love?