Regression And Beyond

Based on Henry Louis Gates, Jr.' s Theory of Signification, this dissertation argues that Toni Morrison' s application of Signification helps her to pursue the Afro-American folk tradition and surpass racial limitation.The first chapter discusses how the Theory of Signification could be used as a guide to analyze Afro-American writers' literary works. The first section reveals its theoretical origin. The second section analyzes and comments on the content of this theory. As a widely contained theory, it could be divided into two aspects: the Signification of language and image, and the Signification of text. For the part of language, it has some features such as indirectness and revealing. And the part of image refers to the use of images in Afro-American folk culture and in western literature field. The Signification of text, as the most important form, refers to Afro-American writers' revising and changing of a traditional theme so as to activate traditional literary themes. According to the proofs given above, the third section points out that the Theory of Signification could provide theoretical basis for analyzing the psychological impetus of Afro-American writers' creation and its external expression. Therefore, it could as well serve the analysis of Toni Morison's novels, which could be carried out under two categories due to Gates' classification of Signification of language and image, and Signification of text.The second chapter analyzes and argues the features according to the Signification of language and image appeared in Morrison's novels. This chapter consists of three sections: the first mainly concerns the language features such as the use of black vernacular, the quotation of Bible and the political plea of Morrison' s language. The second section concerns four Signification images from Afro-American folk tradition: the flying man, the tar baby, naming and violence. With her own experience as an Afro-American woman, her well-educated background in English literature, her understanding of the spiritual inspiration of folklore to the Afro-Americans, Morrison combines the traditional cultural heritage and experiences in her novels, so as to give enlightenment to Afro-Americans' future. Taking the image of "madwoman" as an example, the third section analyzes Signification images from American mainstream literature and western culture. These Signification images are given new energy and have strong evocative function.The third chapter researches on Morrison' s literary contribution through investigating the author' s relation with English literary tradition. The first section compares Morrison' Song of Solomon with Ralph Ellison' s Invisible Man. Invisible Man is a milestone in America Literature after WWII, which exposes the problem of modern man' s identity. Starting with narrating, inheriting of folk culture and the identity-seeking, the analysis shows that Morrison pushes theresearch of identity problem forward by pointing out that Afro-American identity could not avoid its racial background. The second section compares Morrison' s Sula with Zora Nearl Hurston' s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Both of these two novels are about Afro-American female' s self-consciousness. Morrison inherited Hurston' s theme in her novel, trying to reveal how the Afro-American women find themselves in the 1970s. The third section exposes Morrison' s worry about some radical behaviors and the extreme idealism by comparing Morrison' s Paradise with Exodus. And Morrison also shows the problem of how to define the relationship between an ideal human society and man' s gender and racial identity.The conclusion summarizes the significance of Morrison' s application of Signification in discussing the problem of current Afro-American existence, which has always been an important theme in Afro-American literature. And the reasons why Morrison can surpass racial care and meanwhile hold racial tradition lies in the fact that she has a rational attitude towards American literary heritage. By analyzing her more...