莫里森慈悲中被误解的母爱.docx

1、莫里森慈悲中被误解的母爱莫里森慈悲中被误解的母爱 The Maternal Love in Morrisons A Mercy摘要作为美国历史上唯一荣膺诺贝尔文学奖的黑人女性,莫里森的作品深深扎根于美国黑人的历史,传说和现实之中,具有强烈的时代感, 从她的处女作最蓝的眼睛至今，她一共创作了九部小说，获得了很多荣誉。本文主要探讨的是莫里森2008年的最新力作慈悲。通过从不同叙事者角度出发来阐述“卖女为奴”这一核心事件，使读者对“残酷”母亲产生误解，最终通过母亲的自述来说明事情的真正原因来为其平反。最后，通过现实生活中的真实事例来告诫现代年轻人如何处理与母亲之间的关系。关键词：莫里森，慈悲，误解，

2、母爱Abstract As the only African-American woman to receive the Nobel Price in Literature, Toni Morrisons works are deeply rooted in the history, legends and reality of black American, which reflect the sense of the times. Since her first novel the bluest eye, Morrison has already created nine novels a

3、nd received many honors. This article mainly probes into her new work A Mercy in 2008. By elaborating on a topic “trade daughter to be slave” from different narrators, readers may misunderstand the “crude” mother. At last, by black mothers own account of her action, we find such kind of action is no

4、t abandonment but love and protection. In the end, by using the example in the real world, tell readers how to deal with the relationships between mothers and them.Key words: Morrison; mercy; misunderstanding; maternal love1 IntroductionTony Morrison, the first African-American woman to receive the

5、Nobel Price in Literature, has a profound impact on contemporary literary, especially black literature. When she was young, Morrison was deeply influenced by the black folklores her father told her and was always so fascinated by the stories in the black community that she later explored further in

6、her works. Later, she witnessed a variety of miseries and indignities which the blacks had suffered in the American society, all which had laid the foundation on her future literary works.Since her first novel the bluest eye which published in 1970, Morrison has already written nine novels. Though M

7、orrisons first novel was not an immediate success, she continued to write. Sula, which appeared in 1973, was more successful, earning a nomination for the National Book Award. In 1977, Song of Solomon launched Morrisons national reputation, winning her the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her mos

8、t well-known work, Beloved, appeared in 1987 and won the Pulitzer Price. Her other novels included Tar Baby(1981), Jazz(1992), and Paradise(1998).In 2008, Tony Morrison published a new fiction: A Mercy, which centered on a powerful tragedy involving a mother and daughter, and revealed how acts of me

9、rcy had unforeseen consequences. In the novella A Mercy she took us back to the late 17th century America. By setting the novel in this specific time in history she was able to tap into a unique time in American History where the slave trade was just beginning, and was not limited to black slaves, b

10、ut included white and Native American indentured servants. This concentration was reflected in the form of the book-we got to know about the events from the characters in a series of monologues which culminate in the final monologue of Florenss mother which tied some of the books loose ends and answ

11、ers some of its haunting questions. Each of the monologue came from a completely different character a slave, a native American, a Dutch etc.Jacob was an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a small holding in the harsh north. Despite his distaste for dealing in “flesh,” he took a small slave gir

12、l in part payment for a bad debt from a plantation owner in Catholic Maryland. This was Florens. Florens looked for love, first from Lina, an older servant woman at her new masters house, but later from a handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved. There were other voices: their mistress, Rebek

13、ka, herself a victim of religious intolerance back in England; Sorrow, a strange girl who had spent her early years at sea; and finally the devastating voice of Florens mother. These were all men and women inventing themselves in the wilderness.Morrisons works were famous for rich images, poetic nar

14、ration and impressive depiction of characters and settings of Black American society. Morrison created many black female figures in her works which had never appeared in other American literary works, because in a male-dominated society women almost had no rights. Most of her works were written from

15、 a female point of views about African American stories with various inspirations from folklores or news that she had learned. In her works she focused on the experience and roles of black Americans, particularly emphasizing black womens experience in a racist and male-dominated society and the sear

16、ch for cultural identity. Just as she said: “Tell us what it is to be a woman so that we may know what it is to be a man. What moves at the margin? What it is to have no home in this place. To be set adrift from the one you knew. What it is to live at the edge of towns that cannot bear your company.

17、” By means of all these anti-tradition figures, Morrison focused more on the black females inner world. She corrected the past tendency which laid particular stress on males, reflected the surrounding world and made the females special experience receive the true verification and expression. For Mor

18、rison, the past of the blacks was an unbroken bond. Besides, it was also a treasure-house of the blacks rich culture. Only going back to the past could we find the blacks soul sustenance. She showed how the themes of freedom and individualism, manhood and innocence, depended on the existence of a bl

19、ack population that was manifestly unfreeze-and that came to serve white authors as embodiments of their own fears and desires. 1.2 The Major Works of MorrisonSince her first novel the bluest eye which published in 1970, Morrison has already written nine novels. Though Morrisons first novel was not

20、an immediate success, she continued to write. Sula, which appeared in 1973, was more successful, earning a nomination for the National Book Award. In 1977, Song of Solomon launched Morrisons national reputation, winning her the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her most well-known work, Beloved, a

21、ppeared in 1987 and won the Pulitzer Price. Her other novels included Tar Baby(1981), Jazz(1992), and Paradise(1998). In 2008, Tony Morrison published a new fiction: A Mercy. In the novella A Mercy she took us back to the late 17th century America. Morrison powerfully evoked in her fictions the lega

22、cies of displacement and slavery that had been bequeathed to the African-American community. All of her fictions explored both the need for and the impossibility of real community and the bonds that both united and divided African-American women. Tony Morrison had been described by the New York Time

23、s as “the closest thing the country has to a national writer.”2 The lastest masterpiece A Mercy in 2008 2.1 The background of the workNobel Prize-winning author Morrisons latest masterpiece A Mercy centered on a powerful tragedy involving a mother and daughter, and revealed how acts of mercy had unf

24、oreseen consequences. As for me, she didnt focus on black slaves but she focused on the physical and emotional enslavement of women in the early 17th century. By setting the novel in this specific time in history she was able to tap into a unique time in American History where the slave trade was ju

25、st beginning, and was not limited to black slaves, but included white and Native American indentured servants. In some ways, A Mercy was a prequel to Morrisons most comprehensive and unanswerable expression of those ideas. It was set at a time just before the earliest parts of Beloved, before bonded

26、 labor became a principal foundation of American wealth, when that grotesque idea was just forming in the marketplace. In the 1680s the slave trade was still in its infancy. In the Americans, virulent religious and class divisions, prejudice and oppression were rife, providing the fertile soil in wh

27、ich slavery and race hatred were planted and toot root. And yet A Mercy was not just a kind of history novel. The setting was important but Morrison was much more interested in her characters presented in the novel with depth and insight. This concentration was reflected in the form of the book-we g

28、ot to know about the events from the characters in a series of monologues which culminate in the final monologue of Florenss mother which tied some of the books loose ends and answers some of its haunting questions. Each of the monologue came from a completely different character a slave, a native A

29、merican, a Dutch etc.2.2 The Main Idea of A MercyJacob was an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, with a small holding in the harsh north. Despite his distaste for dealing in “flesh,” he took a small slave girl in part payment for a bad debt from a plantation owner in Catholic Maryland. This was Flor

30、ens, “with the hands of a slave and the feet of a Portuguese lady.” Florens looked for love, first from Lina, an older servant woman at her new masters house, but later from a handsome blacksmith, an African, never enslaved. There were other voices: Lina, whose tribe was decimated by smallpox; their

31、 mistress, Rebekka, herself a victim of religious intolerance back in England; Sorrow, a strange girl who had spent her early years at sea; and finally the devastating voice of Florens mother. These were all men and women inventing themselves in the wilderness.3 Two Narrators of the “Trade Daughter

32、To Be Slave” 3.1 The Main Characters in A Mercy 3.1.1 The Main Narrator- FlorensFlorens, the main character, being a black slave born in America,was traded when she was a small child by her mother. She saw the event as an act of abandonment, when really her mother sought to give her to Jacob Vaark i

33、n an attempt to save her. The black mother just wanted her daughter live a better life, rather then be left be raped by the crude men on the plantation. However, Florens might never exorcise that abandonment. She was haunted by her mothers decision. Besides, she was also driven by love for a free, Af