A Study On A Mercy And Beloved As Bildungsroman

Toni Morrison is the first African American female writer in the history who won the Nobel Prize.Her works show great concern about living states of the black people,especially the black women,which reflect her cares to race and gender identity.Although the backgrounds of A Mercy and Beloved are different,both of them show readers the two girls’ growth processes and psychological changes.As a literary genre,Bildungsroman first appeared in Germany in the early period of the 18th century,which focuses on the protagonist’s growth from innocence to maturity not only physically but mentally.Studies on Beloved have been maturely conducted from different angles and those on A Mercy have also gradually entered deeper areas at home and abroad.However,there have been only three M.A.theses on the combination of these two works in China,which are respectively from the aspects of ethics,theme of maternal love and traumatic writing.A master thesis has focused on the growth process of the protagonist in A Mercy,but it has neglected Bildungsroman attribute of the novel itself.Therefore,based on the theory of Bildungsroman,the thesis is aimed at making a study on A Mercy and Beloved,discussing the growing process of Florens and Denver from various angles.After the two young and naive girls experience crisis,tribulations and confusion,they both complete the identity cognition.During their growth courses,the two girls also meet different people who affect their growths.Lastly,this thesis analyzes their growth after epiphany,that is,achieving self-identity.The combination of two works’ analysis purport to argue that whether Florens’awakening or Denver’s returning to the black society is the result of epiphany,reflecting Morrison’s attitude towards women and concern for black society.