Sula

The violence is not gratuitous, but it's not watered down, either, which may be jarring for readers. While at war, one man sees another soldier's face blown off by bullets. He describes the man's body as it continues to run on without the head. A child is accidently killed when he is tossed into a river and is unable to swim. Another child is responsible for the accident but never tells what happens. The dead child's body is eventually found, but instead of properly caring for it, a white man who doesn't want to take it back to where the child is from (because of the distance) attaches it to his boat and drags it around the river. We are told, not shown, that the body was so badly disfigured after three days of being in the sun, prolonged exposure to the water, and not being properly cared for that his mother's jaw drops upon seeing it. She remains in shock for an entire day. A woman accidentally sets herself on fire and is burned alive; a child watches and doesn't help. The woman is described as having burned skin and a look of pain that is frozen on her face. Another woman jumps out of the window to save her and is described as being bloodied and gravely injured. Children are beaten. There is talk of black men being killed by white men and having their testes cut off (not shown). A man is set on fire by his mother, on purpose, and dies. A group of men, women, and children drown when a tunnel collapses on them. There's reference to the historical raping of black women by white men.

Adult relationships and situations are described and include stories about a woman who regularly has sex with men around the house, but the sex acts aren't described in detail. Another woman has many lovers; newlyweds are described as being excited from lovemaking; and there are several references to breasts, penises, and vaginas. There are also brief discussions about masturbation and of sexual awakening in teens. One couple is caught naked in the act of adultery, while another is shown having sex, with the positions described in detail. There's discussion of women who turned to prostitution to feed their families. At one point a woman gives a sexually explicit speech to express when she thinks the town will come to forgive her: "After all the old women have lain with the teen-agers; when all the young girls have slept with their old drunken uncles; after all the black men f--k all the white ones; when all the white women kiss all the black ones; when the guards have raped all the jailbirds and after all the whores make love to their grannies ... ."

"F--k," "a--hole," and "whore." Racial slurs, including the "N" word.

Adults smoke and drink. Alcoholics are described as people who are "determined to drink themselves to death."