On the Black Culture from Toni Morrison’s the Bluest Eyes

The Bluest Eyes， which published in 1970， was written by Toni Morrison. In 1993， Toni Morrison became the first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. At the same time， the black culture comes to play an impotent role to the main culture in America after the highest tide of the black culture in America which is higher then before.

Chapter One: the Introduction of the Bluest Eyes and the Development of the Black Culture

1 the Introduction of Toni Morrison and the Bluest Eyes

Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931 in Lorain， Ohio. She grew up with a love of literature and received her undergraduate degree from Howard University. Morrison received a master’s degree from Cornell University， completing a thesis on William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf. Afterward， she taught at Texas Southern University and then at Howard， in Washington， D.C.， where she met Harold Morrison， an architect from Jamaica. The marriage lasted six years， and Morrison gave birth to two sons. She and her husband divorced while she was pregnant with her second son， and she returned to Lorain to give birth. She then moved to New York and became an editor at Random House， specializing in black fiction. During this difficult and somewhat lonely time， she began working on her first novel， The Bluest Eye， which was published in 1970.

2 the Development of the Black Culture

At first， black culture should be equal to any other culture. Langston Hughes employs “the Euphrates”， “the Congo”， “the Nile” and “the Mississippi”， which flow in different continents and signify the different civilization. The rivers are part of God’s body， and participate in his immortality. They are the earthly analogues of eternity: deep， continuous， mysterious. They are named in the order of their association with black history.

And then， black culture has not been equal to any other culture. On one hand， the Negroes have contributed themselves to the civilization of human beings; On the other hand， they have not been accepted as the same Americans like white people. Ancient rivers imply the long -timed history of the Negroes’ contribution; Dusky rivers the unfairness that the Negroes have suffered， which is demonstrated by the means of personification. The rivers witness all the things that the Negroes have done and suffered， and indicate what the Negroes have done don’t deserve what they have suffered. The rivers have sympathy on the Negroes. That is why the rivers are dusky as well as ancient.

At last， what should black culture be? The four great rivers which flow in different continents are spoken out in the same stanza. By this， Langston Hughes tries to root his black culture in two different—African culture and American culture. He doesn’t separate his Americanism from his Africanism. He is close to every river no matter whether it is in Africa or in America. Langston Hughes， as a black poet， does not fill the anger into his poems but employs his black traditional language to demonstrate his pride in his skin and to show the wisdom of the black to the whole world There is no violence， no hatred in this poem. On the contrary， it is full of elegance which completely displays the poet’s sorrow on equal position between the black and the white. Langston Hughes based the black culture on both Africa and America.

Chapter Two: the Loss of the Black Culture from the Bluest Eyes

In addition to the blues and the sense of the black community running throughout the novel， there are still other forms of folk tradition combined to indicate the absence or presence of the blackness on the black character.

In Morrison’s works the alienation to their oppressed identities and their displacement from a supportive community. Those of Morrison’s characters who are dispossessed of their own “art form” as a creative outlet for their feeling simultaneously was dispossessed the knowledge of their identity and self-worth.

In The Bluest Eye， when Pauline manages her parent’s household in rural Kentucky， she is able to display her artistic talents in her housekeeping， arranging cans and containers beautifully in tows according to their size， sharp， or gradations of color. Although Pauline “missed—without knowing what she missed—paints and crayons” (Morrison， 1970:89) and owns no artistic implements or materials by which to demonstrate her aesthetic inclination， she finds substitutions in her limited domestic setting， cans of colorful fruits and vegetables on the shelves， which enables her to express her love of color and sharp with the everyday items at hand. But when she migrates to the North with her husband and works as a domestic help for a wealthy white family， the Fishers， she starts to lose interest in using her aesthetic talent for her own sake. In charge of their extravagant fine linen， rich silk drapes and beautiful furniture， and with the deceptive power of control which she exerts over the white creditors and service people who once humiliated her when she asked for their service on her own behalf， she has the illusion that she transcends her poverty and misfortune， fantasizing that the Fishers’ materialistic affluence belongs to her.

Chapter Three: the Black Culture to the Influence of the Main Culture in America

The rapider the black culture developed， the stranger the black people were aware of. To the latter half of the 20th century， African-American literature achieved a real breakthrough in the subject. Novelists began to get rid of the “Theodore Dreiser” Naturalism in the fate of thinking， through the modernist stream of consciousness， symbolism and other means to deepen the spiritual world of the description of the black. The “black aesthetic movement” from 60’s to mid 70’s， and “post-aesthetic movement” appeared in the 70 to 80 years， pull the black literature into the national self-examination， certainly a new phase of nation， and a call for “black is beautiful symbol”. They think that as a minority of blacks， to get rid of centuries of discrimination due to the state of the enslaved， in addition to resistance， but also need to address to improve their own national quality black， in the elimination of racial discrimination at the same time， the need to gradually improve the national social status.

3 Conclusion

Morrison works in their own unique art form use black community about black history and carry forward the traditional culture， but also to the survival of our nation and the struggles across the world presented to the reader， describing the evolution of African-American community and development of hundred years of history picture. Through her “statements”， we not only can clearly feel her deep feelings of black culture， more insight into her life on the plight of blacks in American society， racial oppression carried out by deep-level thinking.