A Summary Of 'Symbolism In Toni Morrison's Pilate'

In the 1950’s-80’s racism was more prevalent during this time than it is today. In Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” these racial prejudices are experienced by Twyla and Roberta along with class issues at the time. Twyla and Roberta were both put into an orphanage whenever their mothers were not able to care for them because of personal reasons. One girl was black and the other white, but it was not mentioned who was what race. Twyla’s mother danced all night and Roberta’s mother was ill. These factors played a huge role on both girls thoughts and actions. Race and class issues reflect the prejudice experienced by Twyla and Roberta in Toni Morrison’s short story,“Recitatif” which shapes their life views.

Everyone needs hope in their lives for the good times and the bad. Hope is an essential part of human life, which is sometimes symbolized into objects. Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian story about Day, a slum sector teen criminal, and June, a wealthy military prodigy. Marie Lu uses Day’s pendant to symbolize the hope and freedom Day and June yearn for.

Grotesque images of rape, murder, and sexual abuse are recurring throughout Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. The ideals of the white oppressor, be it murder, rape, or sexual abuse were powerful forces that shaped the lives of many of the characters, especially the character Sethe.

Toni Morrison, the infamous novelist, took the stand as a concerned citizen of the United States when she wrote a public letter to presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. At the time, the country was divided with contrasting opinions on George W. Bush, which seemed to block the focus of the candidates’ elections. Morrison mentioned this issue as one of her reasons for writing the endorsement, when she wrote, “One reason is it may help gather other supporters; another is that this one one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril.” Morrison addressed her personal thoughts on the two presidential candidates, and gave reasoning as for why she chose Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton. Overall, Morrison created a very concerned tone regarding the United States and its political future, using phrases such as “multiple crisis facing us” and “peril” to describe the issues that faced the country. Furthermore, when describing Obama’s political future, the tone was much more optimistic and light. Morrison used phrases such as

Two young girls, coalescing on a grass-laden field while lying on their stomachs, dig a hole in unspoken harmony. A picture of youth and innocence, this scene depicts an innocuous moment which the two girls share as a result of their juvenescence--or does it? In Toni Morrison 's Sula, this scene, among others, appears at first to be both irrelevant to the novel’s underlying theme and out of place with regard to the rest of the plot. Yet, when analyzed further, the literary devices that Morrison uses in these scenes bring readers to a vastly different conclusion. These scenes serve as windows into the mind of Morrison and even into the larger themes present in the text. So, perhaps two girls sharing a seemingly casual experience is not as

Macon Dead’s domineering lifestyle and compulsive obsession reveal how violent actions and decisions impact character. The audience’s perception of Macon as a domineering man is revealed through his obsession with materialistic items, like his keys. “Because of his keys… [he] dare[s] to walk on Not Doctor street,” because the keys are representative of power, which Macon desperately wants (22). The more power he receives, the better he feels about himself, which is why he treats his wife, Ruth, so poorly. While Macon is viewed as a harsh man, Ruth is viewed as a submissive woman. In Milkman’s dream of Ruth, she reacts to the tulips smothering her by “hit[ting] out at them…playfully, mischievously…” and treating them as if they were “harmless butterflies” (105). The flowers symbolize Ruth’s reaction towards Macon’s overbearing qualities and actions by revealing Ruth’s lack of ignorance to the mistreatment. Ruth craves human connection, and therefore views Macon more positively, adopting the fantasy of a perfect relationship. Macon cannot provide this type

In Toni Morrison’s Sula, gender heteronormative relationships are demonstrated in a very punishable manner. The two main characters Sula Peace, and Nel Right share a very strong, well connected friendship. The two of them are a mirror reflection of each other, with the same desires. Heteronormative institutions in the book do not seem to be stable for the most part. Hannah Peace, the single mother Sula, lives a disordered life in her household while Helene Wright belongs to a conservative and peaceful life, but her husband is never around. With the two daughters of both families being part of each other’s lives, they create a friendship that shows the privilege for female-female bonds over male-male bonds.

In her book Sula, Toni Morrison creates a parallel between good and evil through her use of symbolism and syntax. Coinciding with her abundance of symbolism, she often times uses birds to allow her readers to know when evil is present within her novel. Usually associated with happiness and rebirth, Morrison instead chooses to details birds as portents of death or wickedness within the Bottom. This parallel between the freedom and joy of a bird and the haunting imminence of death ultimately diminishes the severity of each calamity.

The caramel rebozo is referred to a “Mexican shawl.” () Throughout the story, the one item that Soledad and Celaya admire so much is this Carmelo rebozo. This rebozo is one that Soledad’s mother was working on before she died. Her mother never got a chance to finish the shawl, but it was given to Soledad. Celaya always wanted the rebozo for herself, and when her father tries to buy her a silk shawl, the evil grandmother says that there is no way a girl like Celaya will ever appreciate such a beautiful shawl. But, when the grandmother passes away, the rebozo is passed down to Celaya, and she treasures this item just as her grandmother did. In the novel Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros, Cisneros utilizes the symbols of the caramelo rebozo in order to signify destiny, truth and lies, and fights to show the family and its members’ relationships and traditions. Cisneros uses each of these significances in order to show multiple people and events describe a theme. The caramelo rebozo is one of the most important symbols of the novel. It not only ties itself to the theme of security, safety, and leadership, but also to the other symbols presented.

Pilate Dead, Macon's younger sister, provides a marked contrast to her brother and his family. While Macon's love of property and money determines the nature and quality of his relationships, Pilate's sheer disregard for status, occupation, hygiene, and manners is accompanied by an ability to affirm spiritual values such as compassion, respect, loyalty, and generosity.

When someone looks up at a bird they see something soaring through the sky free from the world’s troubles. Through out man’s history they have been trying to find a way to be as free as birds and learn to fly. Unfortunately it has been an unsuccessful feat for man to accomplish. Although man has never really been able to fly on their own, they are able to fly with the help from a little machinery and ingenuity. Macon Dead Jr, or milkman, the nickname he adopted because he nursed from his mother, the protagonist of Song Of Solomon by Toni Morrison, had been trying to fly all of his life. But until he discovers his family’s history and his self-identity he unable to discover the secret that has

The ghost uses anthropomorphism to describe his brother who murdered him, ‘A serpent stung me. […] but know, thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown’ which provides the audience an insight into just how

    Toni Morrison makes a good point when, in her acceptance speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, she says, “Narrative . . . is . . . one of the principal ways in which we absorb knowledge” (7).  The words we use and the way in which we use them is how we, as humans, communicate to each other our thoughts, feelings, and actions and therefore our knowledge of the world and its peoples.  Knowledge is power.  In this way, our language, too, is powerful.

Novelist, Toni Morrison, in her acceptance speech, “The Nobel Lecture in Literature” (1993), highlights the importance of language and its effects on human revolution. Morrison’s purpose is to inform readers that the future of language is in their hands, as the ability to use it in powerful and positive ways. Morrison adopts a pensive tone in order to question the audience’s thoughts and actions. To begin with, Morrison utilizes the device of pathos to appeal to her audience by deeply describing the negative effects language can produce, if it is not used for its full potential. She speaks to her audience’s feelings when she stated, “In her country children have bitten their tongues off and use bullets instead” (906).

The two daughters of Macon and Ruth are the major characters Morrison uses to illustrate this side of the coin. While, in the very beginning, First Corinthians and Magdalene called Lena live their lives similarly to their mother, Macon, “took us there so they could see us, envy us, envy him.” They spent the beginning of their lives as merely the playthings and dress‐up dolls of their parents, mainly Macon. Even as children they were being objectified by the men in their lives. Morrison purposefully leaves them out of the story in the beginning and develops Milkman, their brother, and the main story around the male sibling, showing how, even though Milkman is just like his father, its so easy to accept the male as the protagonist while he has many faults and shortcomings. But, as the story goes on they grow older, and Corinthians gets a college education, they begin to break the mold of what their high class parents intended for them.