Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Morrison, Toni--Criticism and interpretation; Morrison, Toni; Criticism, interpretation, etc;
Abstract
The wholeness of the fictional characters of Toni Morrison is linked with their relationship to historical and communal values. Those characters who move toward a feeling of authenticity or psychological completeness are those who realize the value of the past to their present existence and the importance of significant relationships with those around them. Characters who are distanced from these values, however, are unable to realize a sense of wholeness. Though no character in The Bluest Eye achieves authenticity, the novel does suggest the values which its characters lack, and which might have allowed them to experience growth. Sula, on the other hand, is a work specifically about the realization of the values which might have engendered wholeness. Nel, through realization of the significance of her past relationship with Sula, is free to begin to move toward a more complete self. Milkman Dead, the protagonist of Song of Solomon, is able to transcend the limiting value systems of those around him, as well as his own egocentricity, and to achieve wholeness through historical and communal values. In Tar Baby, too, Morrison gives examples of characters moving toward a more authentic existence. The entrance of Son Green into the lives of the characters in this novel forces them to question and reconsider their values. The characters of Beloved, on the other hand, must confront the profound (and disruptive) influence of the past on their present lives. They, too, are able to move toward wholeness by facing the past and finding nurturance in healthy relationships with one another. By incorporating this pattern of the achievement of wholeness into her fiction, Morrison is able to challenge both the myth of self-making and traditional ideas of what it means to be heroic. Her fiction is mythopoeic, functioning to create an historical and communal myth of the self.
Year of Submission
1991
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of English Language and Literature
First Advisor
Theodore R. Hovet
Second Advisor
Alice Swensen
Third Advisor
Edward W. Amend
Date Original
1991
Object Description
1 PDF file (151 leaves)
Copyright
©1991 Richard L. Campbell
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Campbell, Richard L., "Community, History, and Individual Wholeness in the Novels of Toni Morrison: Recasting the Myth of Self" (1991). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2285.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2285
Comments
If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.