论托妮莫里森《宠儿》中的女权主义意识毕业论文

【标题】论托妮莫里森宠儿中的女权主义意识【作者】艾 智 利 【关键词】托尼?莫里森；宠儿；黑人妇女；女权主义意识 【指导老师】刘 敏 【专业】英语 【正文】I. IntroductionIn October, 1993, the Nobel Prize for Literature was granted to a black American woman writer-Toni MorrisonIt marks both a new stage of black literature and a new position of women writers in the literary world. As the first black woman writer who is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Toni Morrison helps develop the 20th century novel writing.Toni Morrisons master work Beloved is regarded as a milestone in the history of the Afro-Americans. It represents certain aspects of Morrisons unique creative motivation and literary technique. Through narrating a story in which a black mother kills her own daughter, the novels takes us into the rarely-known black females inner world, revealing the twists and turns during the process of their arduous exploration of self with fresh and poetic language and multilayer structure and narration. As a spokeswoman of her race, a female and a mother, Morrison shows her sympathy and loving care to the black slaves, especially to the black women by using her incisive tone of writing.This thesis mainly analyzes the feminist awareness in Toni Morrisons masterpiece Beloved. First it introduces Toni Morrisons life and literary achievements, as well as her masterpiece Beloved; then it discusses on the female Afro-Americans social position and feminism in America. The major part of the thesis is the analysis of feminist awareness of the characters in Beloved. The writer of this thesis appeals people to eliminate the ethnic oppression and gender discrimination; advocates the equality of the sexes and encourages women to have self-reliance, to act in a loving way toward themselves, and to be brave enough to chase their dreams.II. Toni Morrison and her Novel BelovedToni Morrison displayed an early interest in literature. She made her debut as a novelist in 1970, soon gaining the attention of both critics and a wider audience for her epic power, unerring ear for dialogue, and her poetically-charged and richly-expressive depictions of Black America. The novel Beloved is a new milestone in Toni Morrisons literary life. Because of this novel, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1988.“Beloved is one of Morrisons best books, it is of great achievements and it will become a most attractive book in 10 years.” said John Leonard in the“Los Angeles Times”.1 It is based on the impact of slavery and of the emancipation of slaves on individual black people.A. Toni Morrisons Life and Literary AchievementsToni Morrison was born by the name of Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio on February 18, 1931. She was born in a Black family which has deep racial hatred. Her grandfather was a slave during the U.S Civil War. He didnt trust the white at all, and he thought that the white was a race of depravation. Her father was a physical laborer who had to take three different jobs at the same time to support the family, and such kind of situation lasted for seventeen years. In 1949, she entered Howard University in Washington, D.C., the Americas most distinguished black college. Her grade was excellent and she was an active member in dramatic activities. She continued her study for masters degree in English in Cornell University in 1953 and received her M.A. degree in 1955. After graduation, she spent nine years teaching English, first at Texas Southern University and later at Howard University, where she met and married Harold Morrison, a Jamaican architect. They had two sons. However this marriage only lasted for six years and Toni Morrison never marry again. She started to write at the beginning of 1960s.As an outstanding representative of American contemporary black woman writer and also a spokeswoman for her race, Toni Morrison concerns herself with American social realities and destinies of common Americans. She describes the lives of black communities, valuable black culture and traditions, researches black peoples struggle against the oppression and inequality upon them. Meanwhile, Morrison deeply sympathizes black women. In her works, she shows the black womens awareness in self-consciousness and the value for existing independently, and she considers that black women are human beings with their own thoughts and characteristics, and they aspire for freedom and equality like normal people.Her first novelThe Bluest Eye(1970) is about the story of a black girl who is called Pecola. She is longing for blue eyes which she thinks symbolizing pride and dignity, so she prays every night. Later on, her dream comes true miraculously, and she is so delighted that she wants to fly. Unfortunately, the blue eyes havent brought her happiness, instead, she sinks into a more painful abyss after being raped by her father. Morrisons second novel Sula(1973) introduces a black female called Sula who has a resistant personality. This novel caused a great shock in American literary world, and it was nominated for the National Book Critics Award in 1975.2 In 1977, Morrison won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her book Son of Solomon. Tar Baby, another novel of hers was published in 1981. It describes a racial problem by using symbolism. Her other novels included Beloved in 1987, Jazz in 1992, Paradise in 1998, and Love in 2003. Morrison always tries to quest her own artistic style in writing. Not like some other writers who follow the method of social realism in creating, she often adds mythology and folklore into works, and to reveal the racial issues in American society by using symbolism.B. Toni Morrisons Master WorkBelovedBeloved is based on a true historical event: In the 1850s, a black woman slave Margaret Garner ran away from a slave house in Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio, but was caught by the slaveholder at last. In order to protect her children from living a life like hers, she decided to kill them with an axe. However she had just killed a baby girl because of the limited time. When Toni Morrison came across this story while she was undertaking the editing of The Black Book published in 1974 an anthology reflecting 300 years of African-American lives, she had a strong motivation to write it into a novel, in which she wanted to explore the psychological state of the litigants. She hoped that she could write a history of soul for the black slaves who were severely tortured by slavery. After ten years reflection and three years writing, Beloved eventually came into being. Morrison gave the main female character the name Sethe who was Margaret Garner in the true story, and the dead baby became Beloved.The story is set in 1873, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sethe, a woman slave who has fled from the plantation called“Sweet Home”, lives with her mother-in-law Baby Suggs, her two sonsBuglar and Howard, and her little daughter Denver. However, the ghost of the baby girl who was killed by Sethe years before also appears in the house, which makes the life of the family abnormal. Later the two sons leaves the house forever secretly, then Baby Suggs dies. The house is haunted by the ghost of the baby girl. Paul D, one of the fellow slaves at Sweet Home who wants to live with Sethe comes to Bluestone 124. and drives the ghost out of the house. Later, a girl about nineteen years old, who calls herself Beloved, appears mysteriously in front of their house. Sethe takes the girl in and regards her as a member of the family. Denver likes Beloved very much, but Paul D has a bad feeling about her. Beloved sticks to Sethe and always asks for her past stories. Unwilling to share Sethe with others, Beloved wants Paul D to leave, so she seduces him, makes him betray Sethe. After knowing that Sethe had killed her own baby girl, Paul D leaves. When Sethe finds that Beloved is her daughter who was killed by her, she wants to compensate her, so she treats her quite well, but Beloved tortures Sethe by blaming Sethe of having killed her. Later Denver realizes the dangerous situation of Sethe whose spirit is about to collapse, and she begins to look for jobs to support the family and tries to save Sethe with the help of the neighbors. At last Beloved disappears from their sight.III. Feminism in America One of the most striking features that won Toni Morrison applause and approval is her penetrating discernment of black females selfhoods. Deprived of voices and identities, black females are repressed and forsaken by the dominant culture, their rich and colorful internal world and aesthetic claims are resigned to oblivion for a considerable long time. Morrisons novels endeavor to retrieve and recreate the lost self.A. The Origin of FeminismFeminism refers to a social theory and political movement whose origin and motivation is mainly the experience of female. Except criticizing the social relationship, many supporters of Feminism place emphasis on analyzing the inequality of gender, on promoting the rights, prophet and issue of women. In the very beginning, feminism was coined when western women were engaged in struggles for their political fights. It means to pursue the equality of men and women, firstly to struggle for the right to vote.The feminist movement rose in European. It has its special background. The social position of female was very low in European society before the 17th century. At that time, a married British woman didnt have any right, unless her husband gave her rights willingly. When her husband was alive, her property and her life totally belonged to him. In some other countries, if the husband had no testament after he died, then the property of the wife should be given to the husbands relatives. Just as British Christian etiquette agreed that the woman should obey the man, and the man was her master. That is to say, the woman should not live as she wished. If the woman left the man, she would do nothing, and she could not do anything successfully. The woman should do as what the man said, she should serve the man as master and should feel afraid of the man, obey and submit to man.B. The Social Position of Female Afro-AmericansSlavery has a long history in America. Thousands of hundreds of Africans have been captured to America to be slaves of the whites. These people are called Afro-Americans. They are not“people” in America, they are“animals”. They work as a mule, being treated like a dog. They can be sold, be raped, and be killed as their masters wish to do so. The situation of the female Afro-Americans are even worse.In most part of the world, western or eastern, the social position of female is lower than male due to the influence of patriarchy. When we overview the history of slavery we can find that it is full of black womens tears and bloodThey live in a society of white-supremacy and male-supremacy. On the one hand, they are slaves; they have to suffer the racial discrimination just as their male fellowmen, to work like a mule, to be whipped like a dog. On the other hand, they are female, which means that they have to endure gender discrimination that comes from both the male black Americans and the male whites. An African female can have many children, because they are ordered to produce labor power, but most of her children can not live with her or even live a long life in this world. They will be sold to other slaveholders. Many children will starve to death or be killed by their masters. Just as Baby Suggs in Beloved, the loss of her eight children is nothing unusual in slave life. Besides, it is very common for them to be raped by the male slaves or the male masters; they have no choice but only to cry in their own mind. In Beloved, Sethe is severely insulted by the two nephews of“the schoolteacher”. It leaves a big black hole in Sethes deep heart.C. The American Feminism in the 19th centuryFeminism rose in France, but its wave soon spread to America. Actually, due to the influence of Puritan doctrine, since the colonial American period, women were regarded inferior to men. Women should be confined to the family life, nurturing children, maintaining the household and serving their husbands.In the 19th-century United States, femenism emerged out of the anti-slavery movement, in which women were very active. Anti-slavery societies proliferated from the 1830s onward; ironically, some groups open only to whites.3 A world Convention on slavery was held in London in 1840. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was among the American representatives who presented at the meeting. However, this meeting didnt allow women to take part in the debate, which resulted in Stanton and Lucretia Motts becoming feminists. They organized a womens convention in Seneca Falls, New York, and campaigned for rights, including the vote, for women and for blacks.4 Besides, many other female feminists exerted themselves to this great event, and they were Sarah Grimake, Angelina Grimake, Sojourner Truth and so on. Finally, women gained their suffrage in 1920, but it was only in 1970 that the vote was given to all blacks.IV. The Display of Feminist Awareness of the Characters in BelovedIn Beloved, black women suffer severe racial and sexual frustration and they are oppressed in many ways by the whites and black men, but they dont surrender easily to destiny and begin to search their freedom and happiness. They begin to realize that they should pursue their freedom which should be guaranteed as the basic right of human beings, that they should have their rights to act as the wife, the mother, the daughter and they should pursue and value these identities belonging to them. Most of all, they should value and love themselves as independent persons and then they could love others around themIn Beloved, black women seek for their freedom, identity and love in many waysThe feminist awareness can be seen in their characteristics and actions.A. The Feminist Awareness of Baby SuggsAs a female slave, Baby Suggss story is mainly one of a mothers sufferings. Under slavery，the unbearable field working makes her hip hurt, so she jerks like a three-legged dog when she walks. Besides doing hard work on plantation together with male slaves，female slaves are usually used by the white as a machine for reproduction without any cost and a tool to satisfy their sexual needThat is why Baby Suggs has eight children fathered by six menThough separated from her children for years，Baby Suggs can still remember their habits clearly and she has never stopped thinking about where and how they are now, but she has to bare the emotion of missing her children secretly. Halle，the only child at her side in Sweet Home, notices her pain in hip and buys her out of there through his laborOnly after getting freedom does she realize that nothing is better than freedomIn her life she has self-consciousness for the first time“She saw her hands and thought with a clarity as simple as it was dazzling” and she felt her own heart beating,“she felt like a fool and began to laugh out loud”.5 She wants to find her children and the husband she loves soon after she becomes free. Though this takes time, Baby Suggs has hope in heart; this is her desire for a happy family life.Then Baby Suggs decides to try all her best to help other blacks obtain freedom in body and soul till her death：“giving advice；passing messages；healing sick，hiding fugitives，loving，cooking，cooking，loving，preaching，singing，dancing and loving everybody like it was her job and hers alone.” 6 She calls for the love of self and others and the joy of livingShe knows that self-love is the prerequisite for the success of gaining freedomIn her sermon in the Clearing，she encourages her people by saying“in this here place，we flesh；flesh that weeps，laughs；flesh that dances on bare feet in grassYonder they do not love your fleshThey despise itLove your handsLove themRaise them up and kiss themTouch others with them，pat them together, stroke them on your facecause they dont love that either”. 7However, the beating of such a great noble heart is stopped eventually by the white intruders and her black betrayersShe becomes desperateThe effort she makes to pursue a better future is of no use, so she indulges in enjoying colors. At last, she dies peacefully. From Baby Suggs experience, we can see that the difficulties in achieving happiness under the persecution of slavery is unimaginable, but Baby Suggs shows the readers her dream to be free, to be equal to the whites and to live a better life.B. The Feminist Awareness of SetheSethe is the most important role in this novel, whose character is firm and strong.“Sethe was thirteen when she came to Sweet Home and already iron-eyed.” 8 To Sethe, Sweet Home seems like a real home, because the slaveholder, Mr. and Mrs. Carner are kind people compared with other whites. Sethe fosters her esteem as a human there. Within the most inhuman system of slavery, Sethes striving for self-chosen marriage and wedding dress is distinctly beyond the significance of love and marriage themselvesThat can be taken as the quest for human rights and female self-identityWhen Mr. Carner dies, Sethes world becomes black with the coming of his brother, the schoolteacher, and his nephews. Being hurt by the unbearable life, Sethe and Halle make plans to take the Underground Railroad to Ohio，in spite of her six-month pregnancy. Sethe succeeds in getting her three children on board the northbound caravanHowever, before she can join them， she becomes the sport of schoolteachers two nephews，who violate Sethe by stealing the milk she bears. Sethe is seriously beaten even though she is gravid. Not knowing Halles whereabouts Sethe escapes alone and gives birth to her fourth child Denver with the help of a white girl on the wayEventually, Sethe sees Baby Suggs and her children again at Bluestone 124. However, a few days later, the schoolteacher, one of his nephews and a slave catcher chase to Bluestone 124. Knowing this news, Sethe did an appalling thing. This is what the group of schoolteacher see when they enter a shed where Sethe and her children stay in:Inside, two boys bled in the sawdust and dirt at the feet of a nigger woman holding a bloodsoaked child to her chest with one hand and an infant by the heels in the other. She did not look at them; she simply swung the baby toward the wall planks, missed and tried to connect a second time, when out of nowherein the ticking time the men spent staring at what there was to stare atthe old nigger boy, still mewing, ran through the door behind them and snatch the baby from the arch o fits mothers swing.9In order to prevent her children from being recaptured, Sethe wants to kill them herself. In her eyes, even death is better than to be enslaved. If the slave chasers come a few minutes later, not just the already-crawling girl but all the four children will be killed. Sethe is sent into jail with her little girl Denver, because she is too young to leave mother. One month later, Sethe is released and continues to live in Bluestone 124, but she falls into endless self-accusation. The abnormal deed of Sethe horrify her two sons, they are afraid of their mother who is trying to kill them. The ghost of the dead baby girl haunts in the house from then on. Then the two sons escape, and Baby Suggs dies.With the coming of Paul D, the last slave man from Sweet Home, Sethes life changes. Paul D drives away the ghost and begins to live in the family. But one day, the ghost of the baby, Beloved, who becomes a twenty-year-old girl comes to Bluestone 124. Sethe treats her well. Beloved sticks to Sethe, asking her things about her past. She hates Paul D for she regards him as a guy who wants to share Sethe with her, so she decides to force him to leave by seducing him. When Paul D knows that Sethe has killed her own ba