1941 Summary

Many people attend Sula's funeral – some to see for sure that the "witch" is buried, others to make sure everything goes smoothly. The people of the Bottom notice that things in general seem to get better after Sula's death. There is a promise of work on the new tunnel and the retirement home gets renovations. Eva and the other colored women can now occupy it. The people of the Bottom begin seeing new hope.

Things change, however, that fall when rain falls and freezes turning Medallion "silver." The ice covering causes much hardship from not being able to harvest late crops to cider barrels bursting to women not being able to make it to town to work. People just do not leave their houses. They have an awful Thanksgiving and the cold causes a plethora of illness throughout. People start reverting to their old ways...