Toni Morrison: An African-American Writer

Toni Morrison The issue of abandonment and the will that it takes to survive the hardship of it is a reoccurring theme in Toni Morrison's writing. Tar Baby, Sula and Paradise all deal with the issue of abandonment and how it relates to the characters in her stories. "Through her fiction, Toni Morrison intends to present problems, not their answers" (Moon). Her stated aim is to show "how to survive whole in a world where we are all of us, in some measure, victims of something." (Morrison) Morrison's broad vision extends beyond the individual to one that explores self-discovery in relation to a "shared history." In order to dramatize the destructive effects of this kind of dependency, she intentionally exaggerates to find the limits. In a

For centuries, poetry has remained an effective method of expressing ones’ emotions and aesthetics without excessive criticism. Some distinguished individuals participated in this literary exercise and despite their motives, they acquired the profound ability to empathize with their audiences’ ambitions, fears, and misfortunes. During the lamentable times of racial and economic turmoil, a brilliant woman named Toni Morrison was introduced into this world and would later be a remarkable influence on literature. Proactively, she channeled her frustrations and fears of racial prejudice into her literary works, earning an admirable reputation for her bravery of discussing sensitive topics regarding racial prejudice and injustices. Likewise,

As generations have passed, societal tendencies have grown more accepting of race and culture. From a young age, many children are taught to accept diversity, and even in some cases celebrate it. This allows for unconditional love and understanding, regardless of color or race. But little over half a century ago, this was unfortunately untrue. There was segregation present within bathrooms, around water fountains, and even on buses; this was all due to assumptions people made, based on someone else’s skin color. Parents pass down their racist and bigoted views down to their children, and in time some children follow suit. Records of inequality and racism can be seen in literature from a time not so long ago. Recitatif, by Toni Morrison, shows how this tragic situation was present just thirty years ago. This story takes place in the 1980’and concerns itself of the story of Roberta and Twyla, and their conversations which often involved questioning the identity of Maggie. Similarly, Party Down At the Square, by Ralph Ellison, shows a brutal murder of an African-American boy in the center of a town. Witnessed by a young white boy; this exposure of such violent racism teaches him to accept racism.

Themes are explored through literally every piece of literature. However, it takes a special author to do it in the same way that Toni Morrison did in her short story “Recitatif.” Morrison tells the story of two young girls who have been brought together by rather unfortunate circumstances. This unexpected fate leads to a lot of self-discovery and realizations of the cold world the two girls live in. Through Morrison’s writing, the theme of race is very heavily explored.

Born February 18,1931 in Lorain, Ohio, Chloe Ardelia Wofford later known as Toni Morrison is a Novelist, editor, play writer and literary critic(“Toni-bio.com”). Toni Morrison won Pulitzer Prize for fiction and American Book Award(1988), Nobel Prize in Literature(1993), National Humanities Medal(2000) and The Presidential Medal of Freedom(2012)(Bio.com). Toni Morrison is the second of four children in a working- class family(Dreifus). Morrison 's parents moved to Ohio to escape the southern culture but also to teach their children their African American Heritage through traditional African American folktales(Mote). In 1949 Morrison attended Howard University graduating in 1953 with a B.A in English. While attending Howard University Morrison began writing fiction in a group with poets and writers(Mote).

Using the narrative as a ruse, Morrison confronts issues of culture in a unique manner balancing both artistic and folk elements. Through the act of “telling” she reiterates the significant role that culture holds in the African American literary norm. The heroic journey of Sula demonstrates Morrison’s ability to establish cultural myths. The result of which is the elevation of self-esteem and consciousness in African Americans. Morrison demonstrates the ability to bring her African sensibilities to bear and inform the literary terrain.

Toni Morrison was born in Lorain Ohio on February 18, 1931. She was born Chloe Wofford (“The Bluest Eye.” Par. 3). She stated that the struggle people at Howard University had pronouncing “Chloe” is the reason she changed her name to Toni. ("Toni Morrison." Par. 2). Morrison is the second oldest of four children (“Morrison, Toni.” Par.1). Her parents stressed importance of education, causing her to be the only child entering her first grade class that could read. (“The Bluest Eye.” Par. 3). Growing up, she loved books and the works of European writers such as Jane Austen, Gustav Flaubert, and Leo Tolstoy. (“The Bluest Eye.” Par. 3).

Toni Morrison is a American writer that talks about the life of black people, specially about women. Morrison is considered a great author because she writes about the fight for civil rights and engaged with the fight against the racial discrimination.

Who is Toni Morrison? Toni Morrison, or should I say Chloe Anthony Wofford, was born in Lorain, Ohio, in February 18, 1931. Toni was the first African American woman who was awarded the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize for her amazing novels. She is an inspirational African American literary writer who uses powerful and intense themes to detail black characters. She is an important literary African American writer who touched many people. “The Bluest Eyes”, “Song of Solomon”, and “Beloved” are one of the best known novels she has written. Like every African American family, they went through racial issues. She had developed an interest in literature and then graduated from High School with honors. After high school she went off to attend Howard College to pursue her interest in literature. Finally she got her

For this paper I was able to use previous interviews with her grandmother along with an interview with her mother to collect the information presented. I relied primarily on the information collected from a combination of the DNA test and the historical data found on the genealogical site Ancestry.com. There are very few records available in records available and of those records there is a limited amount of information. The information provide primary consist of names, date and location of birth and date and location of death. The records only go back to 1870, the family history before that time is unwritten. This holds true for my father’s side as well. All I know of my past before 1870 has been passed down orally. I was able to discover

Toni Morrison is eighty-four and was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio, on 18 February 1931. She is a black woman who grew up with working-class parents. Morrison's father had several jobs at once to support the family and her mother was a household worker. Morrison parents storytelling of folklore and stories about the supernatural impacts Morrison such that supernatural elements is present in Beloved. When Morrison started her career as an editor for Random House, she oversaw production of The Black Book (1974), which reprints the original accounts of Margaret Garner. The accounts of Margaret Garner, a slave woman who runs away from her owner and is later caught kills her child rather to have her child taken back to slavery

Morrison takes experiences and characteristics, such as violence, love, family, hatred, race, beauty and ugliness and illustrates them in a way that is clear, but painful. These experiences are not toned down to seem less serious; they are heart breaking parts of life that are illustrated truthfully. To expose the harsh life lived by many, Morrison creates strong relatable characters. These characters create a need for empathy towards them, but the purpose is to take this love to traumatic victims in the real world. Morrison’s use of narrator change and choice of language gives the novel impactful perspective to the lives of african americans in a society where the color of your skin determines who you are.

African- American folklore is arguably the basis for most African- American literature. In a country where as late as the 1860's there were laws prohibiting the teaching of slaves, it was necessary for the oral tradition to carry the values the group considered significant. Transition by the word of mouth took the place of pamphlets, poems, and novels. Themes such as the quest for freedom, the nature of evil, and the powerful verses the powerless became the themes of African- American literature. In a book called Fiction and Folklore: the novels of Toni Morrision author Trudier Harris explains that "Early folk beliefs were so powerful a force in the lives of slaves that their masters sought to co-opt that power. Slave masters used such

. . . The contemplation of this black presence is central to any understanding of our national literature and should not be permitted to hover at the margins of the literary imagination.6 Toni Morrison perceives a vacuum in American white male dominated literary discourse which excludes black presence. “Black people have a story, and that story has to be heard.”7 Therefore, she endeavors to break the silence by telling the black people’s story, and bridge the gap between white male-centered literature and black subjugated culture.

Beloved is a novel by Toni Morrison. She was inspired by the story of an African American slave Margaret Garner, who escaped slavery in Kentucky late January 1856 by fleeing to Ohio, a free state. The main character Sethe was a slave who escapes slavery, running to Cincinnati Ohio. After 28 days of her freedom a group of men come to take her and her children back to slavery “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850”. So Sethe kills her 2-year-old daughter so she wouldn’t be taken back to Sweet Home. So, her daughter turned into a women ghost and returned years later to haunt Sethe home.