Abundant Symbols And Profound Connotations

Toni Morrison is a distinguished black woman writer in the 20th century American literary history. Published in 1981, Morrison's fourth novel Tar Baby tells the story of a love affair between the male and female protagonists. It lays out the attitudes of the characters towards their past and present, and depicts a general picture of the relationships between whites and blacks, blacks and blacks, men and women, humankind and nature. In Tar Baby, symbols are extensively and effectively used, and the rich complexity in depth that Morrison has accomplished through symbols has made the work multiple and profound in meaning. The symbols help to reveal the themes of the novel and play a very important role in the characterization of the novel. Symbols are so ubiquitous that they can be seen in characters, settings, nature, and folktales in this novel.