"Undone by Murmurs of Love": Traumatic Legacies and the Struggle for Personal and Communal Identity Formation in Toni Morrison's Trilogy

<p>Implications of racial oppression on personal and collective African American identity formation in Toni Morrison’s trilogy are explored in this thesis. Morrison reconstructs African American history in her trilogy, but she also enacts a cultural healing through content and form. Impossible choices are made by characters in <em>Beloved</em>, <em>Jazz</em>, and <em>Paradise</em> who are influenced by the racial trauma they experience and inherit. The legacies of oppression--traumatic memories, fragmentation, stereotypes and negative associations—distort the way these characters view themselves and one another. They are disoriented, isolated, and displaced. Characters recover from their past trauma— together—when they share their stories. Invited in this healing process are readers who are forced by Morrison’s narrative techniques to experience fragmentation and displacement. Multiple endings, perspectives, and voices allow readers to share control of the narrative as they engage in understanding and interpreting the text. Readers find themselves forming relationships with texts that force them to make choices that reveal their own racial consciousness. Readers also remember what Morrison does not want anyone to forget: An untold history that includes the personal stories and experiences of ordinary African Americans.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Yasin, Fida

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christopher T. White, Ph.D.
• Rashidah J. Muhammad, Ph.D.
• Cheryl Hague, M.A.

• literary criticism
• Toni Morrison
• American literature
• American authors
• Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority
• Modern Literature

Repository record dc:identifier

https://opus.govst.edu/theses/44

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.govst.edu:theses-1042