Out Of The White Cultural Hegemony

As the sole black woman winner of the Nobel Prize for literature the history has ever produced, Toni Morrison is the most shining star leading the new tide of Afro-American literature in the 1970s. Her works are deeply rooted in history, legends and in the reality of Afro-Americans. The three terms-black, women and America suggest her literary contexts, in which she is closely concerned about the life of the black and their fate under the conflicts of the double cultures, concerned with their life and explores their inner experience, especially the black women's soul. Her virgin novel The Bluest Eye is the right classic in this aspect.In this novel, Toni Morrison narrates a tragic story of Pecola, a black girl who lived in Loraine, Ohio during the Great Depression, along with revealing the American white value, which have caused profound impact and damages to the blacks, especially the white beauty standards are in vogue in their dominant society. Pecola, who strongly longs for blue eyes, blonde hair and white color, is the representative of this group. Buried in her heart, she would still be poor, discriminated and ugly unless own all these that the whites have by nature. And then all will be in her side: her father is sure to stop drinking and her parents will not fight any longer and so on. Nothing could be better than all of them. What a perfect life! However, when someone indeed notices her, tragedy occurs ruthlessly. The miserable fact is that she was raped by her drunken father, and pregnant, which contributes to her insanity.Based on previous researches of this novel, my paper will attempt at making a further study on the theme of the novel. The thesis is composed of three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.The introduction outlines the experience of Toni Morrison and her chief works, the main content of The Bluest Eye, some typical contemporary researches from different aspects both domestically and internationally.The body is made up of three chapters.The first chapter introduces the three cultural manifestations in the white dominated world, including the standards of beauty set by the white, the myth of white idealized family and the representations of Christian"scapegoat".The second chapter discusses the cultural oppressions on the blacks caused by the white culture. And the author explores the influences from the aspect of individual ,family and the community.The third chapter talks about the ways how the blacks could step out of the white cultural hegemony. And the author comes to a conclusion that only deeply rooted in their culture could the blacks find the real themselves.When comes to the theme of this novel, there exists different remarks. Even so, the author herself regards the self-loss as the primary theme. That is, under the"Look"of the whites, the blacks are reduced to an appendage. Thus, for this thesis's part, the damaging influence of the standard of white beauty value on the blacks, the blacks'double consciousness and the black women's suffering from the whites'double oppression can also be the themes.Apparently, Morrison is deeply cared for the blacks'valuable traditions, and states the absolute truth that only if the blacks keep their traditions can they make the self-worth come true. This thesis today has profound meaning for our society. In other words, culture is being globalized, at this time, if one culture rules, just like the whites', and one another discards his own or runs after this culture blindly, he will be bound to lose his pride of the country and his sense of self-esteem. What is worse, it may eventually brew a tragedy like Pecola, whose soul contorted and personality split.