A Study On The Monomythic Quest For Selfhood In Toni Morrison’s Three Novels

Toni Morrison ranks as one of the most influential writers of black literature in themodern age. In1993, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature “for her richimagination and poetic expressions” applied in the novel. Besides, she has received numerousawards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, American Book Award andPulitzer Prize for Fiction and so on.Toni Morrison exerts herself in preserving and promoting the black culture. Her novelsare closely based on the history and real life of the black. Morrison’s novels naturally andsuccessfully combine the traditional western literature with the black traditions. The use oftraditional black myths, rituals, customs and music is the highlight of Morrison’s works.As the result of the black’s original identity as slaves and the white’s superiority inpolitical and economic power, the black have been always living a marginal life. Theoverwhelming shock on the black from the white culture has caused great mental confusionand disorder, affecting the black negatively, especially the young black people. Facing thedominant white culture, some black people choose to accept it and abandon their traditionalblack culture. Gradually they lose themselves. Thus for the survival and development of thewhole black nation, the black, especially those black people who have been in disorder haveto adhere to and keep pursuing their identity and selfhood.After making a detailed study on the heroic adventures from different ages and races, theAmerican scholar Joseph Campbell has found that there exists a common heroic adventuremode behind all heroic adventures and that is "monomyth". Besides, he proposed a standardpath of mythological heroic adventure which is separation-initiation-return.This thesis chooses the quest motif in archetypal criticism and Joseph Campbell’s theoryof monomyth to study the three protagonists’ adventures in Toni Morrison’s three novels.Besides, this thesis makes a comparison between Campbell’s mode of monomyth and thethree protagonists’ different quest adventures, according to which the reason for success and cause of failure are analyzed respectively and then a relatively reasonable and feasible way ofpursuit for selfhood is put forward.