Essay on Toni Morrisons Sula - Character of Sula as a Rose

The Character of Sula as a Rose nbsp; Authors developed the canon in order to set a standard of literature that most people needed to have read or to have been familiar with. The works included in the canon used words such as beautiful, lovely, fair, and innocent to describe women. The canonical works also used conventional symbols to compare the women to flowers such as the rose and the lily. Thomas Campion depicts the typical description of women in his poem, There is a Garden in Her Face. He describes the women by stating, There is a garden in her face/ Where roses and white lilies grow,/ A heavenly paradise is that place,/ Wherein all pleasant fruits do flow (1044-5). The roses and lilies are used to portray beautiful, frail†¦show more content†¦Unlike all the other women in the story, Sula is tough and does not let others interfere with her. She lives her life by her own rules and standards. The people in the town notice that except for a funny-shaped finger and that evil birthmark, she was free of any norm al signs of vulnerability (115). Again, the rose symbolized Sulas growth and carefree way of life. However, the stemmed rose is more than just a mark that changes shades. First of all, the rose represents a part of the whole that has been cut off from the original bush. Hence, Sula does not fit in with the people from the Bottom, and she knows that she leads a different way of life. Sula explains that the women of the Bottom will die like a stump, [while she will go down] like one of those redwoods (143). Everyone of the Bottom is alike and united in their hatred and fear of Sula. Because Sula is promiscuous and improper by the Bottoms standards, the women of the town believed they were leading better lives because of they did not live like Sula. In reality, however, the women were denying reality and used Sula to get over their guilt. Sula feels she is on a different level entirely her own, and she never competed; she simply helped others to define themselves (95). Society needs her in order to unite against her. Sula cuts herself from the bush of the Bottom because she does not go along with the crowd, represented by the bush. Next, it is ironic that the roseShow MoreRelatedSula Birthmark Analysis1007 Words   |  5 PagesThe Birthmark and Sula: Forced Identity Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, examines a wide range of topics, delving particularly into morality, the black female experience, and friendship. The narrative follows childhood best friends, Nel and Sula, as they navigate life in the Bottom, a black community in Ohio. Although inseparable as children, even undivided after accidentally killing a two-year-old boy, they follow divergent paths as adults. Nel leads a life of conformity; Sula does the opposite. AnRead MoreSula Essay1283 Words   |  6 Pagesemotions. In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, characters constantly denied their feelings and their actions. Sula Peace, her best friend Nel Wright, and Nel’s mother do not listen to their feelings and hide from their true emotions. Sula Peace is one of the protagonists of the novel. She is born to a very unstable family and is from that moment treated differently in â€Å"the Bottom†, the black section of Medallion, Ohio. From the time that she was very young, right up until her death, Sula denied her trueRead MoreAnalysis Of Toni Morrison s Sula 1631 Words   |  7 Pagespower to express my creative, childhood imaginations and morph into any character for a day. But why can’t I become someone else forever, especially if it would make me happier? For Sula Peace and Nel Wright, in Sula, defining oneself in a pool of racism and varying moral standards is by no means challenging. Through a vivid and consistent emphasis of color and physical appearance, author Toni Morrison effectively outlines Sula and Nel’s attempts to comprehend and create their personal identities separateRead MoreAnalysis Of Flaubert s Madame Bovary, Toni Morrison s Sula Essay1857 Words   |  8 Pagesbe broken if new circumstances occur. A contract can be voided by mutual consent.† In other words, the bond established by the man and the woman is an ongoing unending commitment to each another. In Gustave Flaubert’s â€Å"Madame Bovary,† Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Sula† and Kate Chopin’s two short stories â€Å"The Storm† and â€Å"The Story of an Hour† we see disloyalty, complex love, misery, unfulfillment and importantly, infidelity supposed matrimony. In the story â€Å"Madame Bovary,† Emma’s marriage is dull