"All I know is I'm scared. And there's no place else for me to go. We all that's left, Eva and me. I guess I should have stayed gone. I didn't know what else to do. Maybe I should have talked to you about it first. You always had better sense than me. Whenever I was scared before, you knew just what to do" (Pg. 101)
This part of the text struck me because Sula was being open with her emotions. I had not felt in the first part that that was a usual characteristic for Sula. She was showing emotion to her friend, Nel, saying she felt she could count on her and trust me, like no one else. When she was having a problem with Eva, she came to Nel for help. I think this passage really shows the friendship between these two women. I think it shows that even though they have not seen each other in ten years, they can still come back, laugh, talk and be best friends. This reminds me of my relationship that I have with friends from childhood. Even though we might not see each other a lot we still enjoy each others company when we do see each other and no matter what we are there for one another. However, this passage also struck me because afterwards in the next chapter she sleeps with Nels husband. I was confused all through that part because I couldn't understand why she would do that to someone she had just confided in.
"All that time, all that time, I thought I was missing Jude." And the less pressed down on her chest and came up in her throat. "We was girls together," she said as though explaining something. "O Lord Sula," she cried, "girl, girl, girlgirlgirl."
The very last part of the book struck me as I was reading it. I felt that at the end of the book Nel was realizing that she had missed her friend. She was crying for her. Nel had been the one to call the police and she was the only black person to stand near her grave site. Even after everything that Sula did to Nel she was still being a good person by mourning her death. I believe that by saying "all that time, all that time, I thought I was missing Jude" that she meant she actually realizes now that it was Sula who she had been missing, her friend who made her laugh like nobody else. I believe that even though Sula did what she did and was now gone, Nel still loved her. I think this is shown when she cries and says "we was girls together." I can not think of anything specific to relate this to but I think it is a good example of women bonding with each other even though things are not the best between them.
2 comments:
I agree with KP here. It was an interesting scene for me as well to see Sula show such emotions. It does show the strong friendship between the two girls. It was also a shock for me later when Sula sleeps with Jude. I couldn't figure out why she would do it, except that maybe she was actually jealous of Nell. She never really seemed to think before she acted, which she admitted in the first scene you quoted KP, and she never really thought of others.
It was very interesting to see Sula showing her true feelings and talking about her emotions. Throughout the whole book you get the feeling that she is just incredibly strong and doesnt waste her time talking about things such as feelings.
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