Identity,Tradition,Redemption:An Archetypal Reading Of Toni Morrison's Novels

The thesis interprets the mythological archetypes and construction of cultural identity in Morrison's three novels:Song of Solomon.,Sula and Beloved based on Northrop Frye's mythological archetypal criticism,studying Morrison's view on culture and history.The black people in her creation achieve self-redemption and spiritual growth through their quest of identity and reflection on tradition,which represents Morrison's reflection and reconstruction of black cultural tradition.Song of Solomon uses the "Flying Blacks" and"caves" as the archetypal images to trace the identity construction and cultural return of the black youth Milkman,exploring the cultural and historical significance of the root-seeking of black people.The heroine in Sula is the contemporary "Mwindo".She reshapes her self among the triple oppression from tradition,race and gender,but ends in failure due to her extreme means.Beloved embodies the function of maternal and female archetypes on saving Sethe out of the persecution of slavery and on bestowing her self-redemption.Morrison's use of mythological archetypes forms the intertextualizing of traditional myths and contemporary stories.Readers are bestowed with the savour of the miraculous African culture as well as the status quo of African-Americans.The displacement of mythological archetypes in novels deconstructs the whitened innocent history,restores the silenced true history and recalls the sealed memory.Song of Solomon,Sula and Beloved,the three novels establish a road to freedom:regaining ethnic identity,inheriting traditional essence,viewing history positively and achieving the forgiveness and redemption of oneself.