Analyzing Black Family Relationship In Toni Morrison's Beloved And The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison (1931- ) is the most prominent and successful African American woman writer of the 20^th century. She has received the Nobel Prize for literature for her excellent achievements in writing and become the first African American woman to win this award. As a result of her literary and artistic competence, Toni Morrison has stood in front of contemporary fiction masters. Her works have been paid widespread attention from all of the world. The Bluest Eye and Beloved have been her two well-known novels. Although these two novels are widely studied from many perspectives, they are seldom researched from the angle of black family relationship. This thesis aims to focus on the study of the black family relationship in the two novels in the light of Lewin's group dynamics theory to find out that unusual behaviors of the black individual members resulting from the negative effect of black family intra-relationship to a great extent and the black community's different influences on individual family result in black individual members' different endings. Through detailed analysis, this thesis comes to the conclusion that the individual member and the group have intimate relations. On the one hand, only in the group can black individual members realize their "real" selves. On the other hand, only by accepting the past and grasping an active acknowledgement of ones' own cultural belief can black individual members make themselves integrated as an indispensable part of the group that will help them get out of the dilemma and find out active living tactic. This thesis, based on Lewin's group dynamics theory, is to offer a new perspective of black family relationship for domestic research on Morrison's novels. And, calling for the whole society to show concern on the current living conditions of such minor ethnic group as the black is another objective of this thesis.