An Analysis Of The Cultural Themes Of Toni Morrison's Works

Toni Morrison acted as a helmsman of the third high tide of African-American literature in the 20th century. As a prominent African American female writer, she pays much attention to African tradition and culture and has created a group of classical African American female images in her works up to now. She is concerned with the fate of black people and black women; meanwhile, she gives close attention to the existence and development of human beings. This paper mainly analyzes the cultural themes of her works (The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, and Beloved), such as the idea of racial liberation, the idea of feminism and the idea of harmonious development of human beings.In the first section, the paper analyzes and discusses Morrison's gradual exploring process of looking for a way out for the African Americans through the analysis of black people's losing themselves, their search for selfhood, and their finding of selfhood in a white-dominated society. Firstly, it analyzes Polly's love for the white, Pecola's longing for the bluest eyes, Geraldine's and Helene's acceptance of the life style and values of the white and the first Macon Dead's agony of losing himself, thereby explaining the root cause of black people's getting lost: the lack of consciousness of their own culture and history and the loss of their traditional culture and values. Then it illustrates some black people's different explorations of obtaining dignity and confidence in the white society with examples of Sula, Guitar and the second Macon Dead, thereby showing the arduousness of black people's search for selfhood in the white-dominated society. Finally, it analyzes the proposition of Morrison through the story of Pilate, Milkman and Sethe that as long as black people face the past bravely, know who they are and return to the traditional culture, they can get rid of racial discrimination.In the second section, the paper mainly deals with the feminism of Morrison's works. Firstly, it illustrates the fate of black women under the oppression of racial discrimination, male chauvinism and terrible living environment with the sufferings of tragical Pecola, tamed Ruth and misery Baby Suggs and Sethe. Secondly, it deeply analyzes the radical feminism represented by Sethe, Eva and Sula. Finally, it analyzes the maternal feminism represented by Pilate. Reading through the analysis above, the readers will be quite clear about how Morrison has been looking for a way out for the black women. On the whole, she prefers the maternal feminism to the radical feminism. According to her, black women should be natural and optimistic, love everything and live in harmony with nature.In the third part, the paper mainly analyzes the idea of harmonious development of human beings. It begins with the contrast between Milkman and his father, the analysis of Pilate's natural life and the analysis of the relationship between Milkman, Denver, Sethe and nature, thereby explaining the necessity of human beings'returning to pure traditional culture and nature in a world full of material desires. Besides, it analyzes how man should seek and know his own self through the analysis of Sula's and Milkman's search for selfhood. Finally, it analyzes how human beings should tolerate and love everyone under the background of global cultural communication and integration. Then we know that the coexistence of pluralistic cultures is the only choice of human beings. To some degree, the great path for all humankinds Morrison has found is also the way out for the black people and the black women.To sum up, each novel of Morrison can set readers thinking profoundly and provide people with spiritual strength. She has been exploring consistently and looking for the way out persistently for the black people, the black women and all humankinds in her works. In fact, she can proudly say,"The way ahead is long; I see no ending, yet high and low I'll search with my will unbending".