Tunnel

Anjanette's question and answer:
What is the underlying meaning of the unfinished tunnel and people's choice to commit suicide at that site?

Answer:
In 1941, following the death of Sula Peace, many residents of Medallion followed Shad's lead for National Suicide Day, parading down the New River Road to the tunnel where "their hope had lain since 1927" (161). Tunnels are associated with means of transportation to the other side of land - in which residents of Medallion are trying to reach, away from racial segregation and social issues. Because colored people were not allowed to help construct the tunnel, their anger inticed them to "kill the tunnel they were forbidden to build" (161). The significance of the tunnel being unfinished serves to represent how white people will never treat blacks with equal respect, and how colored people will always be held back, keeping them at the "bottom." People's choice to die at "New River Road" is for renewal, since water symbolizes cleansing. Because rivers flow into larger bodies of water, it'll give those in Medallion a chance to be "set free" from the stagnant life of the Bottom. Connecting this idea to the overall theme of the novel, the unfinished tunnel insinuates the idea that life and death are unpredictable; one has to reach the other side in order to fulfill their hopes and dreams.

Anjanette J.