| Toni Morrison | Works |

Toni Morrison

An American novelist

Toni Morrison, famous African American novelist, born February 18, 1931, Lorain, Ohio, U.S. She has widely examined about the black community, as her works were reflection of her life. She received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Let's see some interesting facts about her works.

                  

Early life

Morrison grew up in the American Midwest in a family that possessed an intense love of and appreciation for Black culture. Storytelling, songs, and folktales were a deeply formative part of her childhood. Her family faced too many social discrimination as other Black people in the country. From childhood, she grew up facing all struggles and later turned into an iconic symbol, as a representative of the Black community. 

About her works

THE BLUEST EYE

Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye, got published in 1970. This novel got the attention of the Black community, as it expressed the pain of an adolescent girl.

SULA

In 1973 Morrison's second novel, Sula, was published; it examines the dynamics of friendship and the expectations for conformity within the community. This novel analyse not only friendship, but also the society's cruel take, over a living. 

BELOVED

The critically acclaimed novel, Beloved, got published in 1987, which won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is based on the true story of a runaway slave who, at the point of recapture, kills her infant daughter in order to spare her a life of slavery. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1998 and starred Oprah Winfrey. This novel shows love in different form, where the true love between a mother and a dead daughter, threatens the peace of family. It also dealt with community disasters faced by the author.

An Overview

The central theme of Morrison’s novels is the Black American experience; in an unjust society, her characters struggle to find themselves and their cultural identity. The basic theme, to be seen in all her works was LOVE, which was cherished in its way between different individuals. Her use of fantasy, her sinuous poetic style, and her rich interweaving of the mythic gave her stories great strength and texture. In her career, through novels, she became the voice of Black community.