History Writing In Paradise

“Textuality of history” in New Historicism holds that history is a construct.Thus,history is a literary text that reflects the ideology of the dominating class.Toni Morrison's Paradise is a positive response to that opinion.Although Ruby is an all-black town,its history is a clumsy imitation of white history,characterized with patriarchalism,essentialism,and racialism.This imitated history silences women,oppresses young people,and excludes outsiders,eventually causing Ruby's decline.Morrison is critical of Ruby's mythologized history.The traumatized Convent women are profoundly hurt in a male-dominating society.Some become inarticulate due to traumas.It is the aid of motherhood and sisterhood that enables them to retrieve voices and to choose their own lifestyles.These women's stories are part of herstory and form a powerful supplement to history.With the employment of unreliable narrator,multiple voices,and multiple point of views to represent Ruby history,Morrison creates a scene of heteroglossia.Small stories run counter to grand narrative,not only providing more historical information,but also breaking the monopoly of master narrative.Ruby's patriarchs start to face facts rather than disremember them.The construction of a plural history signifies rebirth and prosperity to Ruby.Focusing on Ruby people's efforts to rewrite history,history writing in Paradise reveals the problems of amythologized and monolithic history,and explores the possibilities of history as a plural term.The novel is a representation of Morrison's desire to embrace reality and respect diversity.