Morrison specifically speaks to the graduating students of Rutgers University but also to those who are present in the audience. One of her main points that is very important and different from other commencement speeches is she stresses that settling for happiness should not be the ultimate goal saying, “Please don’t settle for happiness. It’s not good enough.” The essence of life is not just about finding happiness but finding meaning instead. For example, instead of sitting on the couch looking at your instagram all day you could learn a new language or get up and do community service, go to concerts, and participate in this ever changing world. Morrison herself has been alive for 85 years and it’s obvious she has continually seen the world
The tone is encouraging because it focuses on being optimistic and supportive for their future, which is the main goal for all students to be aware and to “never give in to despair” (Mccaskill). The speech conveys a purpose and a message for students to remember and to always have this engraved in their minds and hearts. Furthermore, he wants the audience to be aware of hardship and running this journey as future doctors, lawyers, teachers, or any professional career that will be difficult, but believing yourself is the key essential in life to follow that
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
In 1983, Toni Morrison published the only short story she would ever create. The controversial story conveys an important idea of what race is and if it really matter in the scheme of life. This story takes place during the time period of the Civil Rights Movement. The idea of civil rights was encouraged by the government but not enforced by the states, leaving many black Americans suffering every day. In Morrison’s short story Recitatif, Morrison manipulates the story’s diction to describe the two women’s races interchangeably resulting in the confusion of the reader. Because Morrison never establishes the “black character” or the “white character”, the reader is left guessing the race of the two main characters throughout the whole
Toni Morrison’s classic novel, Beloved, can be briefly summarized as a story with woman who is living in both the horrible aftermath of slavery, as well as her action of murdering her baby child in an attempt to save her from slavery. This story is based on the true story of Margaret Garner, who killed her own child and attempted to kill her other children instead of willfully letting them all return to lives of slavery. While slavery is today clearly classified as wrong by the vast majority of civilized society, as is infanticide, the event that takes place in this book is not as black and white. These instances of a grayer side of morality represent a sort of moral ambiguity that runs rampant throughout the entire novel. The example that is of paramount importance is when Sethe, the protagonist of the story, murders her child in order to save the child from a life of slavery. While at first glance, this act may seem wrong to modern readers, there is actually some evidence that, when thought about, justifies Sethe’s actions.
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
In the book, Beloved, the author, Toni Morrison, writes about the memories of the past effecting the present. The masters of the slaves thought for the slaves and told them who to be. The slaves were treated like animals which resulted in an animal-like actions. Furthermore, the shaping of the slaves,by the masters, caused a psychological war within themselves during their transition into freedom. The beginning sections display how savage and lost a person can become due to the loss of their identity early on in their lives as slaves.
Tone can be defined as the literary speaker’s attitude to his/her listener – the way in which s/he speaks subtly reveals his/her concept of the social level, intelligence and sensitivity of the audience. Tone can be formal or intimate, outspoken or shy, angry or loving, serious or ironic, etc. Voice refers to the presence behind all the characters, even the first-person narrator, which has selected and ordered all the literary material in a particular way, in other words, the author, who’s self or identity determines the way s/he structures the work. • Rhetorical devices Rhetorical devices are figures of speech, which deviate from standard, or “literal” language mainly by the arrangement of their words to create special effects.
The idea of how we define ourselves is a topic that has much force in the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. Two of the characters in the novel have strongly opposite ideas of defining their own “selves”. Baby Suggs displays a very healthy sense of self, completely based on only who she is as a person, and not relying on any other person to assist her in her definition. She is an independent person and loves her own “self” greatly. Sethe, on the other hand, has an unhealthy sense of self because who she is is strongly dependent on her interactions and relationships with her children.
Famous novelist Margaret Atwood reviewed Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved for the New York Times in 1987, the same year in which Morrison wrote the book. In her review, Atwood praises Morrison for her ability to communicate visceral emotion through her writing (Atwood). Indeed, one of the markers of Morrison’s distinctive and brilliant writing style is her ability to induce empathetic and even cathartic reactions in her audience simply through her powerful use of figurative language and rhetorical devices. Throughout the review, Atwood summarizes the general storyline of the novel while also focusing on various thematic elements. Almost immediately, Atwood hones in on Sethe’s sexual exchange with the tombstone engraver as a means to “pay” for him to engrave “Beloved” on her baby’s tombstone. Atwood connects this act to the novel’s overall depiction of humans as a commodity to be bought and sold (Atwood). History has documented the horrors of humans being treated as merchandise through the institution of slavery; however, in Beloved, Morrison invites her
David Brooks suggests our self can be derived from losing ourselves in life’s problems; however, our true self can be found just as easily through happiness, illustrating our ability to rejoice. Young adults fall “into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities.” (Brooks) From there they lose themselves among these opportunities and look for the issues that call to them. While this approach to life opens doors to so many amazing opportunities, college grads can begin to get stressed and overwhelmed by the pressures of the real world. In the article It’s Not About You this idea is addressed by the quote, “It’s the things they did to court unhappiness — the things they did that were arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them
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.
To begin, Washington is standing upon the stage to provide uplifting words as these students move on to greater things. He uses words such as “dream”, “aspire” and “success” (Washington), to provide motivation for them to become more improved and promising individuals. These words are all encouraging and positive for the purpose of influencing the graduates to pursue a fruitful life and to continue dreaming of more prosperity and goodness. While he is telling his
Wellesley college graduates should try their best to forge a productive future for themselves while being mindful of the past, said Toni Morrison.
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.
In the world, there are about 6909 different languages being spoken. Millions of people are speaking those languages all around the globe, but how many of them are actually speaking? Language is not just about communication with words. Toni Morrison elaborates more on that idea in her speech the Nobel Lecture. Toni’s writing illustrates her beliefs about language and the deeper meaning of it. She explains that language should “Permit new knowledge or encourage the mutual exchange of ideas” (Morrison). She believes that America is not achieving those ideas for language but in fact is doing the opposite. American people do not know the meaning and effect of language and because of that, true language is dying. In the speech, the Nobel Lecture, by Toni Morrison, the author narrates repetition and connotation in order to emphasize and elaborate ideas and purposes of language , ultimately exposing her beliefs about language.