Differences in Race, Class and Gender: A Critical Study of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

• Main Authors: Liao, Ying-Hua, 廖瑩華
• Other Authors: Hsu, Li-Ts'ui
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 1998
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/11182829704027555617

碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 英語學系 === 86 === 　　In a white-male dominated literary field, the works by and about non-white women writers are ignored. In America, due to the specific historical and cultural contexts, black women have been suffering from the oppression of racism, classism and sexism. Their voices have been silenced. Nowadays, more and more black women writers are articulating their voices and claiming their rights for humanistic existence. Toni Morrison, a black woman writer, is a representative figure. 　　This thesis aims to investigate how the issues of race, class and gender are reflected in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. It explores how these three elements interact to oppress black people. 　　The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one introduces Toni Morrison's literary career and her contribution to American literature. Chapter two explores how the dominant white ideology distorts the black's sense of self in the novel. It criticizes the institutionalized racism which devastates African-Americans. Chapter three focuses on classism. It investigates class distinctions among black wonen themselves and their cultural experiences in relation to class and race factors. Chapter four examines black feminine issues and unfolds sexism as the oppressive system for black women in America. Chapter five recapitulates the major arguments of the thesis.