The first half Sula, which is broken into two parts, was interesting and set the stage for the second part of the book. Even though the majority of the first part did not contain the two main characters, it still had themes such as maturation and that of minorities living within the American society. The main characters in this book are African-American and live in a black village. However, there are white people that are in and around the village. During some scenes in the book discrimination against the black characters of the book can be seen, but they do not rule the book. They are mentioned but not empathized much and do not really seem to affect the characters that much. In the second part of the book, I think this will change as the main characters, Sula and Nel, move on with their lives. If they leave their village and go else where I think discrimination will become a tough thing for them to deal with.
Maturation can be found in both of the main characters in the first part of the book even though the are not the focus yet. Most of the first half dealt with their relatives and background dealing with their heritage and village. Nel and Sula both entered the book in their early childhood and at the end of part one they were in probably their mid to late teens. Both the girls faced some discrimination on the may to school when they were young. Four white boys harassed and bothered them on their way to school everyday until the girls changed their route to and from school. One day Sula suggest they take their old route and they ran into the boys. Sula pulled a knife on the boys and threatened them. I don't think this was the right thing to do, but it showed that Sula was willing to stand up for herself and would not back down from anyone. Both girls also began to notice boys during the summer of their twelfth year. They became skittish, frightened, and bold at the same time. They became more witty and realized more things happening around them. Along with maturing mentally, they also matured physically as their bodies develop. At the end of the first half of the book Nel married a young black man that lived in the same village, Medallion, or the Bottoms. As the book continues, Nel and Sula seem to be going in different directions. Nel is probably going to settle in the Bottoms with her husband, while Sula will venture out of her village seek a different lifestyle Like in Asher the Lev, the main characters show maturation throughout the book.
Little bits of discrimination could be found in many parts of the first half when the characters went to public places or met white people. One example was when a young boy Sula and Nel met died after drowning in the river. He was found by a white man who reported his finding, and was asked why he even took it out of the water or didn't just through it back in the river. The body was buried in the "colored" section of the cemetery separate from all deceased white people. Nel's mom, Eva, who owns a house in the Bottoms and Sula's mother Hannah were involved in a large fire there. Hannah died on the trip to the hospital, but Eva survived but needed medical attention. When she went to the hospital she had to go to the colored ward which was a screened corner of a larger ward. The colored ward was probably much inferior to the normal ward. The treatment was also suspect as a janitor had to mention to a nurse that Eva needed medical attention or she would have died. The setting of the book is mostly in the Bottoms, which is actually hilly land above the land of the white people in the valley. The Bottoms is pretty, but is not good for planting because the terrain is hilly making it difficult to plant and the soil and seeds are washed away. The white people have the best land and offer the land on the Bottoms to blacks who were slaves or worked for them. Another example of discrimination was when one of the characters in the beginning was traveling. Helene was traveling to the Bottoms via train. When she got on the train she was in a white car. The conductor confronted her and she explained she was making her way to the colored car. The conductor was still extremely harsh and unforgiving. These are all minor incidents in the book, and I look for more major cases of discrimination that really affect the main characters in the second part. The characters will also matured greatly as their lives move on and they go separate ways.