The Pursuit of an African American Identity in Black American Literature: Identity and Self-effacement in Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Beloved
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Date
2023
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UNIVERSITY OF ABBES LAGHROUR-KHENCHELA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Toni Morrison is a renowned African American writer known for her portrayal of the
ongoing suffering of Black Americans throughout history. Her works, such as The Bluest Eye
(1970) and Beloved (1987), explore themes of racial discrimination, Feminism, identity, and
the impact of racism on African American sense of self. The Bluest Eye tells the story of a
young African American girl's inferiority complex and low self-esteem due to her skin and
eyes color. The novel reveals the white dominance on Black females' attitudes towards their
beauty and blackness, as well as the racial and domestic violence against Black girls in both
communities. Beloved (1987) is based on the real story of escaped slave Margret Garner, set
after the American civil war and during the construction era. The novel aims to portray the
connection between a traumatic past as a slave and the present of freedom, particularly for
female characters. The research aims to examine identity and self-effacement in Toni
Morrison's works and explore the results of racial discrimination from a feminist and
psychological perspective. The analysis reveals that Morrison, as a modernist writer,
successfully exposed the harshness of racial discrimination against Black people and the
psychological consequences that followed. The Bluest Eye and Beloved demonstrate that
racism, slavery, and sexism affected each character physically, psychologically, and
spiritually