| As the sole black woman winner of the Nobel Prize for literature the history has ever produced, Toni Morrison is the most shining star leading the new tide of Afro-American literature in the 1970s. Her works are deeply rooted in history, legends and in the reality of Afro-Americans. The three terms-black, women and America suggest her literary contexts, in which she is closely concerned about the life of the black and their fate under the conflicts of the double cultures, concerned with their life and explores their inner experience, especially the black women's soul. Her virgin novel The Bluest Eye is the right classic in this aspect.The novel recounts the tragic story of Pecola, a black girl during the Depression in Loraine, Ohio; and exposes the impact and damages done to the blacks by American white value, particularly the standards of beauty pervading in the dominant society. In such a society the prejudice that the black is ugly is saturated in every corner of life, including the children's education. Placed under this circumstance, the black youth failed to see their own cultural value. This is typical of Pecola, who yearns for blue eyes, blonde hair and white color. If she acquired all these good things, everything would be totally different for her: she would be lovely and charming, her parents would stop fighting and her father would give up drinking, etc. to name just a few. However, when someone really takes notice of her, tragedy befalls her,her drunken father rapes her, and impregnates her, which contributes to her insanity.Starting from the cultural perspective, this thesis focuses on the analysis of the characterization, the themes, the narrative techniques and the African American tradition of the novel. Morrison draws a picture in which she brings the black to life. The thesis, drawing on Lacan's theory of "mirror stage" and the manipulation of the media (mainly movie), traces the root causes of the Pecola's alienation and Pauline's split personality, and reflects on the different fates of the black retaining his or her black traditions (Claudia) and the black integrated into the dominant white culture (Geraldine) as well.There are many different versions about the themes of the novel. But the author of this thesis holds that the obvious theme is about the loss of black self. According to Sartre's "Look" theory, the "Look" of the Other assures the self/identity. Meanwhile, the black as the Other, gazed by the white subject, attempt to quest for an authentic self. Their existence and self can only be reduced to the Other and loses the self, to be more exact, the black are reduced to an Object under the "Look" of the white. Beyond this, other themes should include the damaging effect of the standard of beauty of the white value in the dominant culture, the black's double consciousness, the double oppression on the black women, and a Bildungsroman.Morrison's artistic style is peculiar in The Bluest Eye. She organically merges the first person narration with the omniscient narration; employs the graphological/grammatical deviation by deliberate violating the norm in writing and by combining the black standard and non-standard English; reverses the normal cycle of seasons. By doing so, Morrison intends to imply that under the dominant white cultural context, the white considers the black culture to be chaotic and intangible. Thus they turn a blind eye to the blackbeing, whereas the white culture is unattainable to the black, who can do nothing but become "an invisible man".It is noteworthy that as a black Morrison is devoted to retaining and carrying forward the black cultural tradition. In her first novel she, from the start to finish, presents the reader the indispensably important role that such black traditions as storytelling, music and sense of community play in black's work and life. It is obvious that Morrison expresses her intense emotion and deep concern for the black traditions, and illustrates the truth that only when the blacks retain their traditions can they re...
|
PDF Full Text Request