Jim Morrison

When determining the age of a tree one knows that they must look no further than at the number of tree rings, each ring representing a new year, and this idea of aging marks is paralleled with human skin in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. Morrison’s Beloved focuses on characters who experience the struggles of being a slave in America. Although not all of the characters experienced slavery firsthand, each character has a connection to the horrific consequences that come with both being a slave…

In Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison uses the peacock to illustrate the future of the characters in her story. The peacock was used because of its characteristics of having all the “treasures” in its tail, which in return weighs it down, making it hard to fly. The peacock serves to indicate the character’s personality and change in mind. It also juxtaposes the two main characters, Macon Junior and Milkman, to give tension to the overall plot. The peacock first appears as a simile when Macon Junior…

(Middleton 64 ). In 1993, Morrison became the first African-American women to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature award and in her acceptance speech The Nobel Lecture in Literature she decided to retell a story, a fable heard in many cultures around the world ( The Nobel Lecture in Literature 198 ). The story is about a wise old woman, a rural prophet where fame extends beyond her community and to the city where her legend is the source of amusement ( NLL 198 ). In the speech, Morrison claims…

Analysis of Sula by Toni Morrison Toni Morrison wrote a touching story of two childhood friends who test the bonds of friendship and love. Throughout the story there are many themes that implore the reader to look more in depth at their meanings and consequences. The main theme throughout the book is that of friendship. In the novel we are introduced to two young girls from very different backgrounds, Sula and Nel. These two girls are like two sides of one person; they know each…

According to the myth, Solomon launched himself into the air, “cut across the sky,” and “gone home” (Morrison 303). While Solomon achieved total freedom through flight, his escape scarred the family members he left behind, including twenty-one children and his wife, Ryna, who “fell down on the ground…[and] threw her body all around” in grief (Morrison 303). The story of Solomon’s flight, which serves as the motivating factor behind Milkman’s quest, is also the community member’s primary…

When reading Sula by Toni Morrison some people will see race as the defining feature of the characters. However, when taking a closer look at the text it can be seen that the characters identities are much more complicated than this. It is not simply being black that makes the characters identify as such, but the characters choice in how to view themselves that defines them. This can be seen in the contrasting ways Nel and Sula form identities for themselves. Nel constructs her identity based on…

been written around the relatable theme of finding one’s own identity for centuries. Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon is no exception. In this novel, the main character Macon (Milkman) Dead III had always subconsciously thought that he has no future. Morrison makes it seem that he is doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps of isolation and insensitivity. He is swallowed by both his parents’ fears, insecurities, and greed. This essentially stuns his emotional growth and development as he ages…

In the historical fiction novel Beloved, the author Toni Morrison discusses the struggle that slaves experienced during the civil war. Morrison uses the true account of Margaret Garner to tell the story between nurture and the ultimate safety of her children post escape. Margaret Garner was a slave who, once she had escaped, killed her third child in order to save her from a world of bigotry, racism, and torture. The characters in Beloved are directly affected by the pain they endured as slaves,…

The past often comes back to "haunt" the present, sometimes more literally than others. In Toni Morrison's Beloved an infant ghost haunts her mother in order to be closer to her, with the underlying theme focusing largely on slavery and its effects. Beloved, the infant ghost, is constantly yearning for her mother’s love and attention, and once she returns to 124 fully grown, she becomes increasingly present in Sethe's life and stirs up some old memories. Throughout the novel, Sethe and Beloved's…

1940’s, Toni Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye” is a tale of Pecola, a young Negro girl shunned by society for being ugly due to her skin colour and appearance. Morrison explores life in America during the late 60s and early 70s in which American culture was influenced predominantly by the white race. Using a creative approach, Toni Morrison explores the white ideal that the Negro population strives to attain to shed light on an arguably different kind of racism. Through the use of…