huang5
Weitao Huang
American Literature
Ms Pasillas
May 22 2014
Morrison The voice of African-American Women
Toni Morrison was a famous magic realist, and ecological feminist writer. Magic realism is a kind of Literary genre which started in Latin America. A Realist novel writes about the bad part of the world and the bad thing which happen in society. It helps to grow Latin literature a lot. The writer always use a miraculous story to make the society become 'myth'. Writer uses lots of language to make the reader feel like the amazing things truly exist. Ecological feminism puts Feminism and Ecology together, it started in the 1970s. Ecological feminism is against anthropocentrism, and androcentrism, they are against that human should control the nature, they praise the woman's essence.
Tony Morrison, born in 1931, lots of her books are about African-American. Her book " The Black Book" talk about nearly 300 years' African-American history. In 1993, she get Nobel Prize in literature.
Morrison shows her magic realism a lot in "beloved". "Beloved" is Morrison's 5th book, "Beloved" is not written in normal way, the time and space were putting together, time always change with the change of place. The story Is not told by time goes on, there are a lot flash back, put the image and real life, the magic and true, the modern time and past time together. This is not a normal way to write works. 'Beloved' have two time line, one is past and another one is now. One is in 1855 the other one is in 1875. The whole novel is travel between past and now. The past part is told by the memorize from a woman. The woman's child is a important people in the novel, she died long ago, but because the back flash, people still think she is alive. She is such a important character that she is around the whole novel. The change of time and space seems terrible, but it gives people lots of room to imagine what happened or what will happen in the future. The mix with time and space make psychological activity stronger and clearer, let people feels like face the character in the novel and live in the story. Though this way, Morrison let people feel more about the sadness African-American are and the hurt of African-American both in body and soul.
Morrison use lots of folk tales and myth. Lots of thought in book are from African myth and Christian myth. When a lady run out of Plantations, she killed her daughter instead of her become slave. But after 18 years, the little girl appear in front of her mother. This is idea of African myth. Morrison also use lots of word from holy bible. The name of the book 'beloved' is from bible:'those who are not my people I will call them my people, which has not beloved.' When the woman with children run out of the Slaves Manor, she killed her daughter and the people trying to catch them get scared and then they give up chasing them. This is like Jesus died but save lots of people, The died of "beloved" also saved a lot of children. This is the part shows thought from bible.
Morrison also use a lot symbolize in "Beloved". The heroine has several scar on her back, Morrison mention it several it several times and said she is "a tree". The 'tree' is a died one without leaves and life. It shows African-American's life and the scar they get from the hurt from body and the wound from heart. This is the evidence that African-American be treat badly. This is the evidence that slavery is not good. This 'tree' token the bad encounter of African-American. There is another man in this novel. He is a slave, he always work with shackle, he is not treat even as good as a cock. His slavery life broke all his dignity of been a man and the dignity of been a human. He put all his memorize in a 'tin cigarette case'. Anyone can't open this case without his permission. This case also shows slavery hurt people's mind and body.
Morrison is a ecological feminism writer. Her book "A mercy' talk about in 1970s the bad life of women in North America under patriarchy, criticize patriarchy destroy women's life and destroy the nature.
In "A Mercy", lots of writing are about women been oppress. In modern days, women are like nature, all are under control of patriarchal society. Women don't have right to control their own life. Heroine is a white woman, even she is white man, she doesn't have right to control her life. She was sold to be a bride. On the way to America, she meet some other women, their life are controlled totally by men, men ask them to do work and also satisfy their sexual desire. This is the women under that day, don't have right, lonely, and weakness..
Another African-American slave has a very rugged life. Years ago, leading actor want to get his money back from another slave manor, the master want to give slave to him instead of paying money. But because leading actor don't like 'use' slave as money, so he choose one slave that the master like best, he wants the master give up his mind. But he doesn't know that the slave request to bring her daughter away. Slave's daughter doesn't understand why her mom leave her away. At last the slave's narrate make us understand why she want her daughter leave her away. She was sold as a slave from Africa to America, she was under oppress because she is both African-American and women. She got raped and she don't know who is the child's father. She know her daughter is growing up, she is afraid of her daughter get raped by the slave master, so she send her to the leading actor, she think her daughter may get protected with the leading actor. They are color people and women, this two identity let their life too hard.
leading actor was different to other white people, he had a hard experience, so he don't use slave as 'money'. He has a big slave manor, he treat the only several slave as family member. But he can't stop his desire. After he saw a big beautiful house, he start think about the relationship between him and his slave. He think it just money let them different, not the color or blood relationship. Then he started to build slave manor, and start to use slave. He started to join the people who use slave, who he doesn't like before. He think the slave manor is far away so it's not his fault, but he didn't realize that he got tempt by the money.He started to cut down the tree, he cut down lots of tree for his new house. He is getting more sins when he cut down the trees. One of his slave think he cut down trees like this will not have a good end. Finally, he got ill before his new house was done. Before he died, the only mind he has is the big house. Under the material desire, people can do lots of things they never think to get what they want. The leading actor even give up his principle to be a good man, he used to take care of his slave as family membership, but in front of money, he did what he hate. This is a good evidence that human ask too much from nature.
Morrison is a magic realism writer, her book 'Beloved' use lots of story and lots of words from bible. She mixed the time and space up, so people feel special but have more room to image or have a guess what will happen next. The way she write give lots of power in magic realism work
Morrison's another book is "Love", this book shows her as a ecological feminism writer. She write about the waste of money and the acquisition of natural resource. She also write for the right of women and African-American. They can't control their life and some time they were use as money. Toni Morrison write and fight for them.
Toni Morrison, wrote 9 novel, her work can be the small history book of African-American. She always worried about women's right, she is like the mother of the women the need protect, even Martin Luther King, Jr., has been influenced by her work, her dream, to give African-American right.
Now, we have a peaceful world, everything seems good, but there are still discriminate exist, we need to keep the achievement that predecessor got and even let it become bigger achievement. Try to start with doing little thing like help neighborhood or write something about anti racial discrimination. Sometimes a little thing can help a lot when many people start to do it.