On The Reconstruction Of History In Paradise: A Study From The Perspective Of Narratology

Morrison is one of the leading African American women writers of the twentieth century. Up to now, Morrison has published nine novels—The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), Paradise (1998), Love (2003) and A Mercy (2008). Among these works, the theme of history and its reconstruction is best reflected in her seventh novel, Paradise.Criticism on Paradise both at home and abroad were mostly made from the perspective of feminism, black feminism, postcolonism and postmodernism which aimed to explore the themes, narrative techniques, history and the identity-building reflected in her works. This thesis intented to interpret the history of African American history and its reconstruction in Paradise on the basis of the narrative theory to disclose Morrison's interpretation of history.This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to Toni Morrison and her works, including the novel Paradise. The second chapter includes a general survey about the criticism on Toni Morrison and her works so far done at home and abroad.Chapter Three examines the characteristics reflected in Paradise from the perspective of non-chronological narrative time. This novel reconstructs the history of an all-black town, Ruby's history spanning about one hundred years. The application of non-chronological time order reflects characteristics of fragmentation and repetition of Ruby's history.Chapter Four gives a further discussion of the problems in the process of reconstruction of Ruby's history through a detailed analysis of multiple narratives. The narrative of men in Ruby plays a dominant role in reconstruction; women's narrative, especially Patricia Best's genealogical research on Ruby's history complements and amends men's narratives and forms a counter narrative, but under the forces of Ruby's patriarchs, her reconstruction of history failes; Ruby's minister Richard Misner's narrative is a summative criticism. As an outsider he points out the limitations and problems of Ruby's patriarchs and Patricia in reconstructing Ruby's history.Chapter Five states the conclusion. The conclusion points out that history in Paradise is the history of the black community; it is fragmented, repeated. At the same time, Ruby's history starts from the age of slavery, then it experiences the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, the two World Wars and the Civil Rights Movenments, so this history is not of the blacks in Ruby; it is aslo a microcosm of African Americans'history. The reconstruction of this history reflects Morrison's interpretation on history: Black people's experience and the values inherited in the past are part of history, they should recognize and identify with them; meanwhile, they should also critique history, testify it, and confront it to prevent history from becoming another kind of enslavement in their development.