The Evolution Of Community Sense In Toni Morrison’s Novels:The Bluest Eye,Beloved And Paradise

In traditional African cultures,the community is not merely a living space for individuals,but an organism for the blacks to foster their notions of self-worth.It is an essential part of the blacks’ social life.Thus,the black community theme attracts a wide group of writers including Toni Morrison.It reflects the experiences of the Black Americans who had suffered through the destruction of slavery and walked out of the historical traumas with the help of the community.And the western scholars explains and discusses this theme repeatedly.Through her literary creation,Morrison extends her perspective to the black community and does further research on the complex relationship between the black individuals and groups.During her writing,the relationship between the individuals and the communities in her novels is constantly changing,on the one hand,which is caused by social political and cultural development;on the other hand,because Morrison constantly delves into humans and the environment,especially the core of the concern in people and community.She is constantly going further into understanding the role of this important part of life in the personal growth and destiny extension.In this thesis,Chapter One summarizes the domestic and foreign research status of The Bluest Eye,Beloved and Paradise,and briefly introduces community sense and the significance of writing this thesis.Chapter Two to Chapter Four,the main part of this thesis,analyzes the author’s community sense in these three novels.Chapter Two analyzes the conflicts of individuals and communities in The Bluest Eye.Morrison emphasizes that the black community should take corresponding responsibility for its members by creating the tragic role Pecola.Chapter Three analyzes the temporary absence of the individual and the community in Beloved.Morrison maintains this view that the community is the only way to save the individual.Only by returning to the black communities can the black individuals inherit the black tradition and obtain freedom and liberation.Chapter Four explores Morrison’s pursuit of constructing an ideal community through exploring the community problems in Paradise.The last chapter is the conclusion part.Through the study of community sense in The Bluest Eye,Beloved and Paradise,this thesis discusses how Toni Morrison’s community sense evolves and gradually matures with the development of the times,and it concludes the black communities’great significance to the individuals to walk out of the historical traumas and how to build an ideal black community,as well as the whole black people’s community construction problems in American society.Through analysis and summary,this thesis attempts to reveal the tendency of gradual development and maturity of Morrison’s community sense in three novels.From The Bluest Eye,Beloved to Paradise,Morrison’s attitude towards the black community is changed from the initial complaint to the reflection on the black community.Finally,the desire to build an ideal community is presented.