In the Parade

On the 3^rd of January the town went out

Laughing in the parade.

The bell rang weakly with the rope untied

As Dessie came first, then the deweys and

Shadrack the pied piper sang his song.

He led his mice full of cheer

Dancing in the parade.

Some looked on and did not understand

these happy fools who honored death.

Leaving their dignity, their anxiety and pain  

to march in the fading,

but still present sun

Hoping in the parade.

Some stopped at the unfinished cave,

but most went on over the fence.

Led by the young, they smashed and they tore

their lost hope, their forgotten promise

Killing in the parade.

But on they went, too deep too far.

The first crack sounded and a scramble went up.

Some escaped but most were trapped

to the water and to the beams pressing down,

Keeping them with the parade

And Shadrack watched, ringing Suicides bell,

the people who had just laughed and danced, hoped and killed in the sunshine,

trapped in the darkness,

Dying in the parade.

Vocabulary

Repugnance (n): the state of being distasteful, objectionable, or

“All their repugnance was contained in the neat balance of triangles—a balance that soothed him, transferred some of its equilibrium on him.” (8)

Ex: The smell of the rotten food was filled with repugnance.

Abate (v): to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish

“ By the time the police had driven up, Shadrack was suffering from a blinding headache, which was not abated by the comfort he felt when the policemen pulled his hand away from what he thought a permenent entanglement of his shoelaces.”(13)

Ex: When they saw that the test was easy, their anxiety abated.

 Unequivocal (adj): clear; having only one possible meaning or interpretation

“A black so definite, so unequivocal, it astonished him.” (13)

Ex: There was no way to misunderstand the no parking sign; it was unequivocal

 

 Quell (v): to suppress; put an end to

“If this tall, proud woman…., who could quell a roustabout with one look, if she were really custard then there was a chance Nel was too.”(22)

Ex: She did her best to quell her sister’s fear on the rollercoaster.

Guile (noun but used as an adjective): insidious, cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception

“Her flirting was sweet, low, and guileless.” (42)

Ex: It required all of her guile to sneak out of the house that night.

Fastidious (adj): excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please

“She liked the last place lease, not because Sula slept in the room with her but because of her love mate’s tendency to fall asleep afterwards, and Hannah was fastidious about whom she slept with.” (43)

Ex: She was very fastidious about her desk; everything had to go in a specific place.

Vitriol (n): speech, writing, etc, displaying rancour, vituperation, or bitterness

“She was an unquestionably kind and generous woman and that…made them defend her and protect her from any vitriol that newcomers or their wives might spill. (45)

Ex: When the rumor came out about her, her classmates treated her with vitriol.

Insouciant (adj): free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree

“…and Nel’s grimy intractable children looked like three wild things happily insouciant in the May shine.”(96)

Ex: The way the panda slept made him look insouciant and stress free

Contrive (verb, but used as an adjective in the story):

“Their evidence against Sula was contrived, but their accusations about her were not.” (118)

Ex: The lie he told his parents was obviously contrived.

Pariah (n): any person or animal that is generally despised or avoided

“She was pariah, then, and she knew it.  Knew that they despised her…” (122)

Ex: He was a pariah; no one would even look at her.

Boss Line

"With all you coughin' and me watchin' so TB wouldn't take you off and if you was sleeping quiet I thought, O Lord, they dead and put my hand over your mouth to feel if the breath was comin' what you talkin' 'bout  did I love you girl I stayed alive for you"

     This is the boss line because it shows despite everything she shows on the outside, and despite what she did to Plum, Eva did love her children.  I think she still loves them because she is still living and she still takes care of them.  Right after this Eva proves her love in a more dramatic way.  When she sees Hannah burning she jumps out of the window in an attempt to save her.  This shows that she loves her children even though she doesn't express it every day.

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Theme of Friendship

     One theme that is introduced in this reading is the theme of friendship and its importance in shaping character.  This theme is shown through the strong devotion Sula and Nel have to each other.  When describing their friendship the author says, " Their meeting was fortunate, for it let them use each other to grow on"(52).   In this reading the reader sees how Nel and Sula do things together until their individual characters are very much alike.  Their similarity is shown in the way they slowly create a hole together, step by step, without saying a word.  The strong friendship that Nel in Sula share help to shape their personalities and beliefs as they grow and mature into adults.

Suicide Day

"On the third day of the new year, he walked through the Bottom down Carpenter's Road with a cowbell and a hangman's rope calling the people together. Telling them this was their only chance to kill themselves or each other."