The Loss And Reestablishment Of Black Identity:a Study Of The Bluest Eye From The Perspective Of Post-Colonialism

Toni Morrison is one of the most outstanding black female writers in Americanliterature and the first black female writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature,who has attracted more and more attention and recognition from all over the world.Her works mostly focus on the black female, black culture and tradition. Her virginalwork, The Bluest Eye, depicts a group of black people who are misled by whiteaesthetic standards and tend to lose their black subjectivity.This thesis is based on the post-colonial perspective to analyze The Bluest Eye.It demonstrates that female characters who accept their inferiority of black identityimposed on them will even participate in their own victimization. In contrast, thosewho acknowledge their traditional cultural values and serve as a healing force insidethe black community can preserve and perpetuate their own distinctive ways as asource of identity and of strength. The two black mothers have different destinies dueto their different responses to the prevailing white ideologies and dominant socialstructure in the society where whites and males dominate everything. And the twoblack mothers’ different attitudes towards white dominant culture also lead to theirchildren’s different fate.This thesis contains four chapters. The first chapter is an introduction. It mainlyintroduces Toni Morrison and her achievements, an overview of The Bluest Eye, aprevious study on The Bluest Eye as well as the post-colonialism.Chapter two and the chapter three are main part of this thesis. Chapter twointroduces Pauline, evil mother, who lost her black identity under the white culturalhegemony. This chapter pays attention to Pauline’s disharmony family, Pauline’salienation from indigenous culture and her children’s perpetuating the other identity.Chapter three introduces Mrs. MacTeer, great mother, who reestablishment herblack identity under the white cultural hegemony. This chapter concentrates on Mrs.MacTeer’s harmony family,the adherence and inheritance of indigenous culture andblack cultural tradition embodying in offspring.Chapter four is a conclusion. Through the analysis in the previous chapter, the author gives the major findings of the thesis.