Sethe’s Road To Freedom From The Perspective Of Sartrean Philosophy Of Freedom

Toni Morrison, the modern American black writer, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Echoing the appeal of the pioneers of African-American Civil Rights Movement in 1970 s for aesthetic need, Morrison not only depicts images of blacks who are hardworking, brave, affectionate and have love for life, but also shows the real aspects of these people who have inward self abasement, shortcomings, doubts and negations facing the white- dominated culture. As a black female, Morrison pays more attention to the fates of black women and expresses great concerns and sympathies for their tragic fates and gives credits for their tenacious struggles.By 2012, Morrison has written ten novels. Beloved(1987) helps Morrison win the Nobel Prize in Literature. It shows the far-reaching influences of the Slavery in the United States on slaves, black community and their offspring. Since its publication, scholars from different countries have studied it from diverse aspects. With the development of western literary criticism theories, they also accordingly vary their studies from exploring the themes and artistic forms to searching for era connotations through the applications of different theories like Feminism, Structuralism, Postcolonialism.This thesis attempts to analyze Sethe’s self choices and meaning of existence as an individual person based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy of freedom. The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter one is the introduction for the author Toni Morrison and her life and works. Besides, the literature review of Beloved both abroad and home is given. Chapter two generally introduces Sartre and his philosophical thoughts of freedom. The main body of thesis is from chapter three to five. Chapter three explains how Sethe releases herself and refuses being defined when she is trapped in the danger of being essentialized. Sethe’s struggles of rejecting being defined as animal reflect her courageous fights for authentic being. Chapter four analyzes Sethe’s individual experience during her interactions with Paul D based on Sartre’s thoughts of intervention. Sethe’s emotional changes when living with Paul D imply the improvement of her self acknowledgment and pursuit. Chapter five mainly considers Sartre’s thoughts of responsibility and explains Sethe’s actions of undertaking responsibility. Chapter six is the last part of this thesis. It concludes how Sethe realizes her freedom through her life. Under the guidance with Morrison and Sartre’s humanitarianism passion, this thesis aims to remind and encourage modern people to pursue authentic and achieve freedom.