A Study Of African Diaspora In Toni Morrison's Fictions

As by far the only African American laureate for Nobel Prize in Literature,Toni Morrison(1931-2019)had undoubtedly written herself into the American and even the world literary canon.From 1970 till the time she passed away,Morrison had published altogether eleven novels,all of which are acclaimed by both the readers and critics.While the richness of Morrison's writings breeds numerous critiques from diverse perspectives,African diasporic approach to Morrison's novels is,nonetheless,still at its initial phase.Compared with other critical tools,it is only in recent years that the introduction of diaspora and its application in literary criticism have appeared.The term"African diaspora" was first introduced to the academia in 1966 by British historian George Shepperson;since then,scholars have made various attempts to define the term.While in the earlier period,critics tend to focus more on the homogeneity of the origin of African diasporic groups and their similar experiences during transatlantic slave trade,and call for a reunion of the diasporic groups despite disparities,in recent years scholars show more respect to the regional and temporal divergences in African diasporic research.In response to the specific diasporic issues raised by Morrison,this dissertation,sharing the perception that the diasporic study is one highly sensitive to spatiality and temporality,places its focus on the three major waves of African diasporas starting from the 15th century,each of which takes a particular geographical route.To be more specific,this project deals with the intercontinental forced diaspora from Africa to America during the transatlantic slavery period,the Intra-America coerced diasporas in the late 19th and early 20th century,and the transnational induced diasporas from the Civil Rights Movement till the present.Reading through Morrison's oeuvre,we can tell that her works not only cover the full range,temporal and spatial,of African diasporas,but also examine the three fundamental issues of African diaspora,namely the traumatic dispersions and cultural uprootedness of people of African descent,the painful efforts to survive and construct or re-construct a home on the recipient land,and the nostalgia for home and an actual or imaginary return to the homeland.Taking the temporality and spatiality of African diaspora as latitude,this dissertation is divided into three chapters;taking the thread of the three fundamental concerns of African diaspora as longitude,this dissertation is further compartmentalized into sections for more in-depth exploration.With an intersecting pattern,this project is a relatively comprehensive research on Morrison's fictions from the African diasporic perspective.Firstly,through a revelation of the dispersive experiences and cultural uprootedness of the African diasporic groups resulting from slavery,segregation and racial discrimination in Morrison's works,this dissertation uncovers the collective trauma of African diasporic groups brought about by slavery and its legacy.Furthermore,it presents how various diasporic groups in Morrison's works struggle in an interaction between their endeavor to keep their cultural roots and their attempt to assimilate into the white-dominated mainstream culture,and how they make strenuous efforts in the construction of a genuine home of their own.Lastly,this dissertation examines the imaginary and actual return of the diasporic groups in Morrison's works,reveals Morrison's acknowledgement of the American South as the cultural homeland for African American diasporic groups,and illustrates how Morrison regards the Southern spirit,a humanistic spirit of mutual care and love rooted in the collective resistance of the black communities in the American South against racial oppression,as the cure of the diasporic trauma of contemporary African Americans and a spiritual pillar in their endeavors of home construction.To conclude,this dissertation attempts to demonstrate Morrison's deep concern about the diasporic experience of African Americans and how she tackles the major issues of modern African diasporas with completeness in both temporality and spatiality.The richness of Morrison's works provides new topics and raises new questions for the contemporary African diasporic study.Moreover,Morrison's discussion of the diasporic issues corresponds with her ongoing project of searching a way-out for contemporary African Americans.Therefore,a study of Morrison's works from diasporic perspective is helpful for a better understanding of Morrison's reflection on the troubled past and her prospect of the challenging future of the African Americans.