Striving For Self-definition: A Thematic Analysis Of Beloved From The Perspective Of Black Feminist Criticism

Toni Morrison is one of the famous African-American female writers in the world.With the development of black women literature in the1960s, the works of blackwomen writers such as Toni Morrison are discussed and widely read. Black FeministCriticism rises and develops accordingly. The thesis analyses one of the themes ofBeloved—striving for self-definition and argues that in Beloved Toni Morrisonsuggests ways for African-Americans to go out of the shadows of the past and strive forself-definition. Toni Morrison expresses her concern and hope for her race through thecharacters under her pen.The thesis lays emphasis on exploring the ways Toni Morrison suggests beneficialfor the development and empowerment of African-American people in Beloved—confronting history, being rooted in African traditional culture and embracingcommunity. These ways are embodied in the experiences of black woman characters’striving for self-definition in Beloved. The experience not only benefits African-American people in their development and empowerment but also provides helpfulreference for people and groups of other oppressed countries and districts.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one briefly introduces Toni Morrison’slife and her novel Beloved, reviews the criticisms on Beloved at home and abroad andillustrates the research background, motivation and objective. Chapter two delineatesthe theoretical background of this thesis, including black feminist criticism, its rise anddevelopment as well as Toni Morrison’s black feminist stance. Chapter three discussesAfrican-American people’s plight under multiple oppressions, especially the deprivationof their power of definition and destruction of their identity. Chapter four analyses thethree main woman characters’ experiences of striving for self-definition and argues thatthrough their experiences Toni Morrison suggests ways for African-American women’sand African-American people’s going out of the past and embracing self. The lastchapter is the concluding part, making a summary that striving for self-definition is oneof the themes of Beloved and Toni Morrison’s Beloved embodies the idea of black feminist criticism.