1st half of Sula By Kimalee Blake

After reading the first half of Sula, I was amazed as to all the drama one person can make to a whole community. The person that captivated my attention from the beginning of the book was Sula herself. The community said, “Sula’s mother was sooty” (29) and as a result, parents do not want their children around Sula because of the reputation her mother carried. Then Nel, one of the other children in the neighborhood started to befriend Sula but her mother Helene states, “Her daughter friend seemed to have none of the mother’s slackness” (29). Meaning, Sula had manners and completely proved everyone was wrong about her especially her only friend mother.
However, as I continued the text, I began to feel as if Sula is similar to her mother but that part of her is waiting to reveal her true self. For instance, Sula’s mother states, “sex was pleasant and frequent, but otherwise unremarkable…so she watched her mother’s face and the face of the men…” (44) By her mother discussing sex with her, which is all she is around, she might be curious at some point in her life. Nevertheless, the fact that her mother behaviors might rub off on her because if someone is around another person for a long period of time, a few of their characteristics will become the other person’s characteristics without them even knowing. “…Sula, who could hardly be counted on to sustain any emotion for more than three minutes” (53), therefore one can assume Sula more than likely picked up the characteristic of not showing emotion from her mother.
As the first part of Sula approach to an end, I still have unanswered questions when it pertains to Sula. Questions such as what becomes of Sula’s and Nel’s friendship? Do the community view on Sula and her mother ever change? And finally, does Sula eventually become her mother? These are just a few questions that I hope will be answered by the end of the text.