Certification Of The African American Cultural Identity And Crisis

After Afro-American have been forced into America, their culture identity hasbeen the focus of Negroes. Afro-American was marginalized in modern Americansociety. First of all, they have to take on bitter racial memory and suffer fromnegative effect of history—racism, segregation, social unjustness and so forth, andthey are intimidated by being assimilated by mainstream culture;Secondly,Afro-American realized that they had lost their culture identity and were confusedbefore awakening of self-awareness for historical or cultural problems. As a greatAfro-American writer in the 20th century, Toni Morrison shoulders heavyresponsibilities for Negroes. On the one hand, she have figured kinds of Blackpeople in face of invasion of mainstream culture;On the other hand, she realizednegro's ethical dignity and culture identity should be based on much more integratedblack culture in patriarchy society where the white is in the highest flight, thereforeToni Morrison doesn't only apply herself to getting back their culture identity forAfro-American , but also tries to rebuild black culture which is built on history andadapts to modern American society in her novels.The first part: The definition of the black's primary image and the causation. Inthe period of slavery, for the inferior political and economic status, Afro-Americanhad been suffering the discrimination and pressure. The European colonists made useof obscurant and distorted Darwinism to blazon forth that Africa was barbaric andNegroes are fatuous and inferior livestock needed to be civilized by them. Thereforethe black lost basic right as human and their culture identity. The Slave Narrativeresisted these fallacies and tried its best to overthrow the definition of black'sprimary image, whereas for the sake of the sympathy of the white abolitionists, itdistorted the black's image and contorted their cultural identity.The second part: Toni Morrison's personal experience and rebellion with hernovels. According to her personal experience, this part will find out the sources ofher stories, afterwards it will contradict the definition of the black's primary imagewith the new images which are figured in her works. Toni Morrison had a complexhabitation before she grew up. For one thing, she was edified by black culture. Foranother, she woke up to the awkward status of Afro-American. All these lead to herfocus on them. She depicted three kinds of Afro-American in her stories—thevictims, the resisters and marginalized man in marginalized culture, thereby shefigured these bran-new images of negroes and rebuilt the definition of the black'simage.The third part: The way to get back Afro-American's culture identity. As therepresentative writer of "marginalized race", she want to get back Afro-American'sculture identity by her works. Firstly, Toni Morrison admitted the absence ofAfro-American's culture identity and revealed the pain of the whole nation for thesake of curing it and reconstructing their culture identity;Secondly, she attachedimportance to apply the discourse of Neo-Slave Narrative to deal with the period ofslavery, in that she'll reclaim the historical memory and reconstruct black ethicalculture. Lastly, Toni Morrison realized that it's necessary to develop black culture forholding its ground. Only combining seeking for themselves with the developing ofthe black in modern society, Negroes can master its future.