Reconstructing The Values Of African Americans As Subject

Toni Morrison (1931—), a famous African American female writer, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993. As Morrison's masterpiece, Beloved fully exposes African American slaves'miserable life in the period of American slavery. Taking Toni Morrison's novel Beloved as the object of research and Professor Li Deshun's axiological theory as the theoretical basis, this thesis aims to analyze the alienated value in the period of slavery and the influence exerted by this alienated value on African Americans and white Americans in Beloved. Based on Li's value of"man", this thesis regards African Americans and white Americans as in a value relationship to discuss. As humans, African Americans should be the subject, the same as white Americans. This paper points out that in the period of slavery the mainstream social value takes an African American slave as an object, and a white American as a subject. This value is a kind of materialized value, which measures and evaluates the value of an African American as a"thing"or property rather than as a"man". It negates an African American's value as a human, repudiates his or her value as a subject, and completely regards him or her as an object. This materialized value eventually makes an African American objectified. This paper shows that only by rebuilding the new correct social value of"man"and African Americans'subjectivity, and uplifting their own self value, can African Americans embrace a healthy future.This essay is divided into six chapters.Chapter One is an introduction to Toni Morrison and her novel Beloved. It also gives a general overview of the researches on Beloved and sketches out the significance of an axiological interpretation of this novel.Chapter Two is a brief introduction to the axiological theory applied in the thesis. This thesis mainly applies Professor Li Deshun's axiological theory to the analysis of African Americans'and white Americans'value concept in Beloved. Li's theory is a kind of Marxist axiology. According to this theory, the nature of the problem of value lies in the issue of relationship. Essentially, each kind of value represents a kind of relationship; each kind of relationship must contain two parts: subject and object; the two parts in one kind of relationship are heterogeneity in unity. On one hand, a human is a subject to learn about and transform the objective world. On the other hand, he or she can also play the part of an object to be learned about and transformed by himself or herself. In this sense, a human is a unity of a subject and an object. Only by fully understanding his subjectivity and actively learning about and transforming the object and himself or herself, can a human realize the unity of subject and object in himself or herself, and advance from"what it is"to"what it should be", and finally develop a correct value concept. Besides, Li thinks there are two methods to classify values. The first method classifies values into the purposive values and instrumental values. The other method concerns the highest value forms and classifies values into"truth","virtue","beauty", and"freedom".Chapter Three analyses the process and expressions of African Americans'objectification in Beloved. In accordance with Li's theory of the relationship between subject and object, in the value relationship between a human and the world, the human should have an absolute status as a subject, and the objective world is his object. On the other hand, the human can degrade to become an object, to be learned about and transformed by himself. A human is a unity of a subject and an object. His value of"man"is embodied in his status as a subject. Concerning his value type, the human should be a purpose to be satisfied rather than an instrument, if his absolute status as a subject is considered. Consequently, he should have a purposive value instead of an instrumental value. However, in the period of the social mainstream value is alienated, in which slaves are evaluated by the value of"thing"and are regarded as"things"or property. The value of"thing"totally deprives a slave'status as a subject and regards him or her as an object. It causes the complete division of subject and object in an African American's relationship of value as a subject. The process of African Americans being materialized is essentially a process of their being objectified. Under the influence of the alienated value, an African American's status as a subject is deprived of; he or she becomes an instrument to satisfy white Americans'needs and purposes. African Americans only have an instrumental value but lose their purposive value. Their life, sex, and self-esteem are trampled underfoot mercilessly, with their mind even being transformed by white rulers. African Americans'value is alienated and distorted. This materialized value greatly affects African Americans.Chapter Four analyses the expressions of African Americans'subjectification in Beloved. Li thinks that"truth","virtue","beauty", and"freedom"are the ideal values and the highest value goals created and pursued by human beings. They express healthy value goals and ideals of mankind. In the brutal environment of slavery, African Americans are materialized and objectified by the alienated value, but they never stop pursuing the statue as subjects and the value of"man". In order to strive for a value of"man", to fight against oppression, and to pursue the highest value forms in humanity, that is,"truth","virtue","beauty", and"freedom", African Americans make enormous endeavors and sacrifices, encountering difficulties and failures. The spirit to yearn for and bravely pursue happiness inspires African Americans to advance from generation to generation.Chapter Five presents an analysis of African Americans'future. In accordance to Li's theory, a human is a unity of a subject and an object. As a subject, a human is supposed to transform the object by his or her activities in order that he or she can keep his or her status as a subject in the subject-object relationship and shoulder their responsibilities at the same time. As far as objects are concerned, a human should thoroughly understand himself and other objects concerning their properties and meanings, and treat the objects appropriately, which is also the subject's right responsibility. By analyzing the materialized value under slavery and by looking into the expressions and consequences of African Americans'striving for their status as subjects, this paper points out that African Americans'future should lie in the correct attitude to white Americans'status as objects and their value in history, on the basis of fully understanding themselves and white Americans and the influence of history on African Americans. A healthy and correct value will be reshaped for African Americans by their striving to establish African Americans'status as their own subjects and shouldering responsibilities independently when they fight for their rights.Chapter Six concludes that only when an African American truly understands his or her own status as a subject, treat subjects and objects correctly can they find the way to their real future.