From Detachment To Integration: An Interpretation Of Beloved From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Beloved is Toni Morrison's masterpiece that she has written with love. Morrison's belief in love and her search for love has been represented throughout the relatinship between human beings and the society, inter-personal relationship, and one's relationship with himself in the novel. It is the great power of love from the bottom of people's heart that helps them walk out of the shadow and shackles of the slavery system and racism, and helps them to walk away from detachment and walk toward integration.This thesis tries to analyze Morrison's Beloved with Ethical Literary Criticism. As a method of literary criticism, Ethical Literary Criticism could be traced back to the time of ancient Greek. At that time, most of the world's literary works have a very deep and profound ethical meaning. From the perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism, many literary works and literary phenomena in the history of Chinese and Western literature that were hard to understand becomes understandable. So it is quite significant when Professor Nie Zhenzhao proposed that Ethical Literary Criticism should be an independent literary critical method in 2004.In the introduction part of this thesis paper there is a brief introduction to Toni Morrison and Beloved, and a summary of Ethical Literary Criticism. The main body part of the thesis paper includes three chapters. The first chapter analyzes the relatinship between human beings and the society. The southern plantation Sweet Home could be regarded as a mini-society in this novel. There is a clear contrast between the two owners of Sweet Home and the inhumanity of the slavery system is exposed to the readers. The relationship between the black people and the society is detached.The second chapter focuses on the integrated inter-personal relationship. When the whole society seems to be devoured by detachment, Amy's help for Sethe and the Bodwins'kindness toward the black people in the neighborhood certainly fill the readers'heart with hope. And black people like Stamp Paid and Mrs. Jones'help for the members of 124 is the proof of the black community's integration process.The third chapter discusses one's relationship with oneself. Sethe goes through an excruciating process before she overcomes her painful past and starts a brand new life. And Paul D finally finds his once lost self and truly becomes a man.The main purpose of this paper is to find out and explain the process from detachment to integration in the American society in the novel with Ethical Literary Critical method. And the very reason for this integration process stems from Morrison's belief in and search for love.