As we continue to read Sula, by Toni Morrison, we are able to get a deeper understanding of the characters and the way in which they choose to live their lives. We are given great, in depth, descriptions as to the actions and emotions, and I believe it is up to us to interpret those for better or worse. In other words, we are left to our own opinions as each character moves about the story, and our minds form these thoughts which deepen exactly how we perceive certain events and traits.
I would like to focus in on Eva Peace, more specifically, how her character is described throughout many different instances. In earlier pages, we learn that Eva has done many different things for her children, things that she believes is out of the good of her heart. The first being when Plum had bowel troubles. She used the last bit of food in the house to help the child relieve himself. But now the children are left without a meal to depend on for the time being. Next, she leaves her children for eighteen months, and although it seems like she ditched them, she eventually comes home with more wealth than ever before. The only thing is, she only had one leg left, which leaves us open to many different assumptions. Further along in the story, Plum returns home for war, a shell of his former self. Eva eventually succumbs to his pain and ignites him up into flames, walking away calmly, as if she did nothing of the sort. Overall, we are able to see two sides to Eva, one that helps to keep her children alive, and another that comes out of a dark place. But are these all acts of love or not?
As we move forward onto pages 67 through 85 of Sula, in 1923 we are led to believe that Eva’s children, specifically Hannah, question her love. “‘Mamma, did you ever love us?’…’I mean did you? You know. When we was little.’” (67). At first the question poses as Hannah realizes her mother no longer loves them but was curious as to if there ever was love. However, Eva follows up with a response of, “‘No. I don’t reckon I did. Not in the way you thinkin’.” (67). In this instance, we begin to wonder exactly what Eva means by that. Did she love them because they were her children? Was it a forced love? Eva seems to get slightly defensive, or even offended by the question at hand. Later that week, when Hannah catches on fire, Eva throws herself out of the window in an attempt to save her daughter. However, we are led to infer that her death was an accident, so perhaps Eva aided in the process as she had with Plum. Although we are not told for certain that this was the case, I believe it is hinted to us in that way due to Eva’s prior actions with a different child of hers. Also, when at the hospital, Eva was pushed to the side and forgotten about until Old Willy Fields saved her by bringing attention to the nurses. “From then on Willy boasted that he had saved Eva’s life- an indisputable fact which she herself admitted and for which she cursed him every day…” (77). This led me to believe that maybe Eva did not want to be saved, as she had to continue to live with what she did to her own children.
After we learn and understand the story thus far of Eva Peace, we can analyze her story, character traits, and morals. Since we are led to believe she does whatever she can for her children, this leads us to thinks that she does this out of love. But by doing everything she can, it may be morally wrong especially when death is involved at her hands. Everyone has their own ways of showing and expressing love, but I do not believe that the end results of Eva’s doings are particularly out of love for her children. I believe she does these horrific things out of selfishness, as she cannot stand to see her children endure such things. This may fall into a grey area, as we discussed last week, that it can be placed in between what may be right and wrong. From the perspective we learn about, we are led to infer that Eva loves her children too much to allow them to continue in life while in pain. But she acts as if they are almost a bother of her, especially looking at Plum and everything he went through up until his death. Overall, Eva peace is an interesting character to look at, as the way she goes about life can ultimately be questioned by the greater good.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you believe Eva Peace truly loved her children? Why or why not? How does your belief back up Eva’s actions?
- If you were in her Eva Peace’s shoes, do you believe you would do the same thing? Why or why not?
Citations
Morrison, Toni. Sula. First Vintage International Edition, June 2004
This is such a great blog post Ashleigh! To answer your first question, I do undoubtedly believe that Eva Peace truly loved her children. I think that there are so many different ways parents show their love. Although I think it is clear that Eva was not a warming, nurturing mother, it does not take away from the clear fact that she does love her children. Eva is definitely a cold mother, but despite that proves that she would do just about anything for the sake of her children. Eva has an enormous sense of protection for her children while providing them with stability, care and selfless acts. I think that the fact that Eva set her son up into flames clearly shows these traits. This act saved Plum from himself and his depression. Eva knew that Plum needed an “out” but could not bring himself to make a change or help himself. He was completely broken and devastated with his life that she knew there was nothing more that he wanted than to die or start over and never be born. This was an act of mercy, she did not want to see him suffer any longer and knew he would only continue to spiral downwards. This was certainly an incredibly difficult decision, one that I’m sure no mother wants to make, but I truly believe that Eva felt this was in her son’s best interest. Additionally, we clearly see Eva’s eagerness to save Hannah when she catches herself on fire. According to Morrison, “Eva knew there was time for nothing in this world other than the time it took to get there and cover her daughter’s body with her own” (Morrison 75). Eva was willing to save Hannah’s life by putting out the flames that were consuming her body with her own. Her motherly instincts took over and the adrenaline and eagerness to save her child took over and she jumped out the window. Although she was too late to save her daughter, I think that a part of Eva felt not only sadness knowing she was too late but guilt for not getting there soon enough to save her daughter.
Hi Ashleigh, this is a great blog post and description/interpretation of the past few chapters. I very strongly agree that in a lot of cases throughout the book there are conflicts, or actions that are left up to our own interpretation. Due to this, I agree that many different points of views and character traits can be seen differently by other readers. I think another quote that illustrates Eva’s tough love when Hannah asks her is stated by saying, “Awww, Mamma? Awww, Mamma? You settin’here with your healthy-ass self and ax did I love you? Them big old eyes in your head would a been two holes full of maggots if I hadn’t”. (68). What I gathered from this quote was that Eva was definitely offended by Hannah asking if she had loved them when Eva put so much blood, sweat, and tears to just keep her children alive. Although they were young and do not recollect the hard times like Eva does, I feel as if Eva takes out her anger and pain from the past on her children but not as a way to hurt them but almost as a way to remind them of where they came from. To answer one of your discussion questions I believe that Eva truly does love her children but she just shows it in and unusual way. For example, like when you stated about Eva letting her daughter get help after the accident as she goes unrecognized, shows that she has a deep love for her children even though it may not seem like it within her parenting techniques.
Hey Ashleigh,
I enjoyed this discussion post. This blog post brings up a very interesting conversation about Eva’s morals and where she stands with her beliefs. To answer your first question regarding whether Eva truly loved her children, I agree with your claim; Eva did this out of selfishness. Her ego is questioned in the initial conversation Eva has with Hannah. Her defensiveness following Hannah’s questioning if she loves her shows how defensive she gets when her ego is attacked as a result of her own actions. “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.” (Sula 68.)
Eva immediately takes defense over this seemingly light-hearted question. This harsh demeanor remains when Hannah corrects herself, asking why she never played with them. “Play? Wasn’t nobody playin’ in 1895. Just ’cause you got it good now you think it was always this good? 1895 was a killer, girl. Things was bad. ” (Sula 68.) When yelling at Hannah, Eva never took Hannah’s situation into account. She only seemed concerned with how she felt; on the surface, this is extraordinarily selfish and entitled. I think that if Eva truly loved her kids, she would be able to understand their feelings and use them to grow as a better and more active parent in their development. But as we’ve read, she never really did.
Do you believe Eva Peace truly loved her children? Why or why not? How does your belief back up Eva’s actions?
I do believe Eva Peace truly loved her children because she would sacrifice herself if any of her children were in trouble she would go fight the battle with them. She was in control of a very busy household and did all she could for all of them. The household includes Sula, Ralph, Hannah, Tar Baby, The Dewey’s, and a constant stream of boarders. A time where she shows her love for her children is the time when she tried to save Hannah,” Eva knew there was time for nothing in this world other than the time it took to get there and cover her daughter’s body with her own. She lifted her heavy frame up on her good leg, and with fists and arms smashed the windowpane.” (75). Right there she shows her love by risking her life when Hannah is in trouble and hurting that she will go do the same to herself to save her daughter and risk her own life.
Hi Ashleigh! Great blog post. You made a great point of stating how Morrison uses descriptions that entail great details which leave the reader to determine their opinion on the characters. As you mentioned in your post, throughout “Sula” Eva makes several sacrifices for her children which she believes comes from the goodness of her heart. However, Eva goes to crazy lengths to protect her kids and ensure their well-being. As you said, readers form opinions based on their characters and their actions, therefore, readers view Eva very differently. We explore the theme of love in these chapters of “Sula” also and it makes us question Eva’s love for her children. Is it genuine or is it forced? Is it possible Eva loves her kids “too much?” This leads me to answer your first question- I do believe Eva Peace truly loved her children. Although I do not agree with the decisions Eva made I do think she made them out of love. As we learned previously Eva is a single mother who works hard to provide for her children. This is not an easy task but she does it. I think it is clear to see Eva’s love for her children when she attempts to save Hannah from burning to death. Morrison writes, “Eva knew there was time for nothing in this world other than the time it took to get there and cover her daughter’s body with her own. She lifted her heavy frame up on her good leg, and with fists and arms smashed the windowpane”(75). This quote shows how Eva would sacrifice her own life to save her children. Throughout the book, Eva has proven that she is willing to make sacrifices, but this example stuck out to me specifically. We know that she no longer has a leg and it is inferred she did it to help out the family. When Eva sees Hannah in flames from the window she immediately makes a decision, leaving no time to waste. Despite her disability, Eva manages to break through the window harming herself to save her daughter, she throws herself out of the window trying to aim for Hannah’s body. I think this is the most positive and impactful thing Eva has done to protect her children. It clearly shows she would do anything for them, even risk her own life.
Hello, Ashleigh! I really enjoyed your blog post and how it opened up different perspectives about Eva and interpretations of her actions throughout the book. I believe Eva Peace cared for her children very deeply. She clearly showed her selflessness and devotion to her kids. Throughout the story, she has show devotion and responsibility to them, including giving up her last piece of food to help Plum when he was sick. Her love though, is very radical. She loves her kids very differently than the average love from a mother and that is very obvious. In her decisions, like leaving her kids for 18 months, it seems wrong, but she came back with more money to help her kids. This could have something to do with the circumstances she raised her kids in because it was under such stressful and harsh circumstances. Her love is definitely not a classic love, but she was always thinking of her kids before herself. These are good questions to ask ourselves, because some may constitute this as selfish or crazy, but some may see it as an act of showing her love. We see this odd form of love in her actions to save Hannah as well as her decision to take Plum out of his suffering. Although these are extreme acts that we wouldn’t commonly constitute as loving traits or actions, I think it is Eva’s unique way of showing how much she cared for her kids in unique circumstances.
Hi Ashleigh,
I liked your comment especially how you mentioned the character’s morals and justification are up to the reader to interpret because the actions in the book can be viewed as loving or caring, while others will read the text and think the worst of the character. I think your focusing on Eva was a really good way to bring to light how actions can be viewed as good or bad depending on the person judging the character. For example, on pages 47 and 48, it states “Eva stepped back from the bed and let the crutches rest under her arms. She rolled a bit of newspaper into a tight stick about six inches long, lit it, and threw it onto the bed where the kerosene-soaked Plum lay in snug delight. Quickly, as the whoosh of flames engulfed him, she shut the door and made her slow and painful journey back to the top of the house.” This quote and action show how two sides can be seen. One side will say watching a shell-shocked war veteran come back with a heroin addiction is horrible and a mother can’t stand it, but the other side will never find a justifiable reason to kill a loved one or anyone.
Hey there Ashleigh! I really enjoyed reading your analysis on Eva Peace and her relationship with her children, and the analyzation of her character itself. She has a very interesting background and personality that really allows readers to engage with her story and take interest in her. She is not necessarily a character a reader would be drawn to in a sense of her personality, but rather be drawn to her because of her actions and mannerisms. Eva Peace is a character that people would take interest in studying and dissecting. To answer your first question as to whether or not Eva truly loved her children, I believe she did, but she did so in a very twisted and unobvious way. She was a woman who was willing to make sacrifices for her children to better their lives and to give them things that she may not have had in her past at their age. I believe she loved so deeply that seeing them in any sort of pain made her feel that pain to the next degree, as you mentioned with Plum. I believe her intention behind killing him, while quite gory and most definitely unnecessary, was from a sick and twisted place of love. I believe it was her way of reigniting him as a human and making him feel something that he had since lost from the war. Looking back, I am sure that she realized the mistake of her actions, especially when Hannah was in flames herself and Eva jumps to save her with motherly instinct, doing anything she could to help. “Eva knew there was time for nothing in this world other than the time it took to get there and cover her daughter’s body with her own. She lifted her heavy frame up on her good leg, and with fists and arms smashed the windowpane.” (75) Eva was willing to sacrifice herself for her daughter, her firstborn, all out of love to make up for the mistakes she had made in the past. While she may not have been the best mother, I do not doubt that she had love for her children.
Hi Ashleigh! I really enjoyed your blog post on the characterization of Eva and her motherlyness as a character. To answer your first question, I do think that Eva Peace truly loved her children. I think people have different views on the word love, and how to show and express how they are feeling, and that because of this she gets a bad reputation for not loving her children enough when that is not the case. I think she is seen as a cold and probably distant mom, but overall she would do anything to protect her kids because of her love for them. And the kids are well aware of how their mother is, and I think they understand her way of showing love might be different than others. For example, Morrison writes, ““I didn’t mean that, Mamma. I know you fed us and all…,”” (68). As much as this is a bare necessity for the life Eva chose to birth, she could be a lot worse as a mother and I do think she truly cared for them and their well being.
Hi Ashleigh, great post this week! Toni Morrison does a great job giving us in depth details on an outlook into these characters lives. Eva is definitely a pretty interesting character as she has been in a bunch of pretty interesting situations so far. We question how good of a person she is because she makes questionable decisions like leaving her kids at home for 18 months, but she has her moments that are good as well like bringing home more money than they’ve ever had. A great example from the text of this is when she says “But I held him close first. Real close. Sweet Plum. My baby boy.” (pg.75). This shows us she still has those loving and caring feelings for her kids and she isn’t completely a terrible person.
I do believe that Eva truly loved her children. I say this because while there are many examples going against that at the end of the day she is still a mother who wants better for her family. If I was in Eva’s shoes I definitely wouldn’t do the same things she does, I think this is obvious because of some of her previous actions so far throughout the book.
Nice job with this comment, Jack! Just make sure to review MLA-style citations. The quote should read:
A great example from the text of this is when she says “But I held him close first. Real close. Sweet Plum. My baby boy” (75).
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Hi,
I really enjoyed your blog post! I really liked the way you talked about Eva and her parenting tactics. I think your insight into that was beneficial. I liked how you explored both the good and the bad.
1. Do you believe Eva Peace truly loved her children? Why or why not? How does your belief back up Eva’s actions?
I believe Eva did genuinely love her children. Parenting is a wild experience and sometimes people might not initially be prepared for it, quite frankly most people are not prepared. It is easy to make questionable decisions when you are under a lot of stress. You can see some evolution in Eva’s parenting throughout the story. Theres a significant amount of evidence leaning towards her loving her children than not. She also makes heavy sacrifices and does what she can with what she’s got.
Hi Ashleigh, I enjoyed reading your blog post it was interesting and something I was thinking about during the reading. I did find it interesting that when Eva’s kids asked her “Mama did you ever love us”(67) for a lot of people this question doesn’t need to be asked many mothers out there show love for their children and kids don’t second guess that. I liked the point you brought up about Plum and how Eva saw her Plum shell socked from the war and lit him to flames and pretended like nothing happened. This action is not a typical mother’s reaction to a sick son. Maybe in her eyes, she saw it as pulling the plug on a patient in pain and distress who wanted to pass away in today’s terms. So it’s hard to tell if she loves her kids because when she saw Hannah Mama “threw herself out of the window”(76) in an attempt to save her. So it is a little bit of a grey area in knowing if she loves her kids or if she has favorites.
Hi Ashleigh S. I really liked your blog post and how you talk about what Eva has been through in the book. Eva Peace, a character from Toni Morrison’s novel “Sula,” presents a complex portrayal of motherhood. While it’s subjective to interpret whether Eva truly loved her children, it’s evident that her actions were driven by her own understanding of love and survival within the context of her harsh circumstances. Eva’s love is depicted through her sacrifices and fierce protection of her children. She loses a leg in order to save her son Plum from a burning building, which demonstrates her willingness to endure immense pain for her child’s safety. Additionally, Eva takes in her grandchildren, despite her own struggles, showing her commitment to family and responsibility. However, Eva’s actions can also be seen as harsh and controlling. She raises her children with strict discipline, often resorting to physical punishment. Her demeanor towards them is tough and sometimes lacking in tenderness. This complexity might lead some to question the nature of her love. Ultimately, whether Eva truly loved her children is open to interpretation. Her actions, though sometimes harsh, can be seen as stemming from a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to protect her family in a harsh world. However, her portrayal suggests that love can take many forms and is often intertwined with struggle and sacrifice. If I were to hypothetically put myself in Eva Peace’s shoes, it’s difficult to say definitively whether I would make the same choices she did. Eva’s actions are shaped by her unique circumstances, experiences, and personality traits, which are distinct from my own. That being said, I can understand why Eva made the decisions she did. She lived in a challenging environment with limited resources and faced numerous hardships. Her actions, such as sacrificing her own well-being for the safety of her children, can be seen as driven by a fierce sense of maternal instinct and survival. In similar circumstances, one might find themselves making similar choices out of love and a desire to protect their loved ones. However, it’s also possible that different individuals might respond to similar situations in different ways, influenced by their own values, beliefs, and coping mechanisms. “ Sho he all right. Everybody all right. ‘Cpet Mamma. Mamma the only one ain’t all right. Cause she didn’t love us” (sula 68). This quote encapsulates a poignant moment in the novel where the character Sula reflects on her family dynamics, particularly her perception of her mother, Eva Peace. The quote suggests that despite everyone else being “all right,” Eva is not because she didn’t love her children.
Do you believe Eva Peace truly loved her children? Why or why not? How does your belief back up Eva’s actions?
First off amazing job on this Ashleigh. I love this first question you posed about whether Eva truly loves her children. I believe she did although the actions may not have seemed that way. I believe that her way of showing love was helping her children and saving them as best as she could. As I spoke about in my blog post last week Eva loved Plum and saved him twice. Once from his impacted bowel and the other from himself. Her actions of how she went about it fell into that grey area but I think she still loved her children although they maybe didn’t feel the love which is why Hannah was asking “‘Mamma, did you ever love us?’…’I mean did you? You know. When we was little.’” (67). Another amazing example of Eva’s love for her kids was from when she was talking about Plum’s death and Morrison’s use of language specifically “Eva couldn’t see Hannah clearly for the tears, but she looked up at her anyway and said, by way of apology or explanation or perhaps just by way of neatness, “But I held close first. Real close. Sweet Plum. My baby boy.”” (72) This says all you need to know about how much she really loved Plum. The use of language specifically here saying how she couldn’t see clear cause of tears, how she was saying this by way of apology and then when Eva herself says she held him real close. It all sounds to me like she was hurt and missed Plum because she loved him.
Excellent job with this comment, Conor!
Score: 5 out of 5