The narratives of racism, trauma, slavery and resilience: a comparative analysis of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Beloved

Abstract

The Bluest Eye and Beloved are Toni Morrison’s two seminal works which portrayed the intergenerational racism, trauma, slavery and the longing for self-worth within the African American community. A comparative analysis of Toni Morrison’s these two novels are introduced in this thesis paper. Moreover, this paper will discuss about the themes of race, trauma, slavery, identity crisis and the enduring effect of systematic oppression which Toni Morrison discussed briefly in these two novels. This study aims to portray the similarities as well as the differences between The Bluest Eye and Beloved. In addition, this thesis will focus on the psychological and emotional consequences of racism, trauma and slavery on the characters and communities of both the novels. Toni Morrison in both the novels explores the complexities of racial identities and the impact of trauma on the psychology of the Black African Americans. The key research question of this thesis paper is, How do the two seminal works of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Beloved explore the portrayal of the psychological impact and consequences of racism, trauma, slavery and violence on the individual and communal identity of the African Americans? While doing this research, I have approached the research question by conducting comprehensive analysis of both the novels by finding the similar themes, motifs and narrative techniques. The significance of this research is to discover the impact of racism, trauma and slavery on the psychology of the people of African-American community. In addition, Morrison addresses these critical issues of racism, trauma and slavery to portray the struggle of this African-American community. Therefore, the key task of this research is to find the similarity and differences between these two novels. Hence, through exploring the comparative analysis between these two texts, the importance of African American literature is reflected in this thesis paper.