Toni Morrison: Redefining the Black Component in the

American Salad Bowl

ByDr. Sonia V. Oberoi

Bangalore India

For LLS 2016, Bangkok, Thailand

Identity

•African-American Identity•Double-Consciousness: Illusion of two identities

Melting Pot Salad Bowl

Toni Morrison

•Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988•Nobel Prize for Literature in

1993•Presidential Medal of

Freedom in 2012

Toni MorrisonHow does Toni Morrison make her novels work for black people and portray them and their past as well as their present in new light in front of the entire world?

1) Selective rejection of the hegemonic culture: •Everything White will not work for Blacks•Blacks should come out of Psychological Slavery

•The Bluest Eye (1970)•God Help The Child (2015)

Jane & Dick primer in The Bluest Eye to show its uselessness for BlacksHere is the house. It is green and white. It has red door. It is very pretty. Here is the family. Mother, Father, Dick and Jane live in the green-and-white house. They are very happy. See Jane. She has a red dress. She wants to play. Who will play with Jane? See the cat. It goes meow-meow. Come and play. Come play with Jane. The kitten will not play. See Mother. Mother is very nice. Mother, will you play with Jane? Mother laughs. Laugh, Mother, laugh. See Father. He is big and strong. Father, Will you play Jane? Father is smiling. Smile, Father, smile. See the dog. Bowbow goes the dog. Do you want to play with Jane? See the dog run. Run, dog, run. Look, look. Here comes a friend. The friend will play with Jane. They will play a good game. Play, Jane, Play.

Removes the punctuation from the primer, kind of Schizophrenic Expression as Pecola looses her mental balance in the end:

Hereisthehouseitisgreenandwhiteithasreddooritisveryprettyhereisthefamilymotherfatherdickandjaneliveinthegreenandwhitehousetheyareveryhappyseejaneshehasareddressshewantstoplaywhowillplaywithjaneseethecatitgoesmeowmeowcomeandplaycomeplaywithjanethekittenwillnoplayseemothermotherisverynicemotherwillyouplaywithjanemotherlaughslaughmothelaughseefatherheisbigandstrongfatherwillyouplayjanefatherissmilingsmilefathersmileseethedogbowbowgoesthedogdoyouwanttoplaywithjaneseethedogrunrundogrunlooklookherecomesafriendthefriendwillplaywithjanetheywillplayagoodgameplayjaneplay

Suggests to come out of the Psychological Slavery that still taps the African-Americans consciousness.

2) Peculiar style to re-record history in her novels

•A Mercy (2008): The novel separates Race from Slavery for a while and suggests it could have been the misfortune of any race. (Kind of Prequel to Beloved)•Beloved (1987): The novel records the horrors as well as vestiges of slavery very blatantly. Re-records the history but celebrates the insuperable and indomitable spirit of Blacks.

3) Reviving of the black myths and then passing them on to the next generation:

Song of Solomon (1977): The Flying Myth refers to the Black people who could really.

Reviving of the black myths and then passing them on to the next generation:•Song of Solomon (1977)•Tar Baby (1981): The Myth of the Tar Baby (Lady) refers to the Black Woman who is strong enough to hold her culture and community together.•Paradise (1997): A critique of the hegemonic paradigm as concepts like heaven and hell, good and evil are connotative and relative.Supernatural essential part of Black Experience.

Portrayal of the Black Neighborhood:• Peripheral existence of in Socio-Economic structure•Hardworking Mothers who don’t have time to cuddle their kids•Problem of Unemployment for men•Teenage Pregnancies, Crime and Violence•Positive concepts: Sisterhood, Group Healing, Quilt Making etc. in all the following novels:

The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), Love (2003), Home (2012)

CONCLUSION

Separating the Black component Reviving and redefining it Re-recording the History as well

as the present

Thank You