On The Study Of The Relation Between Community And Its Individual In Toni Morrison's Sula

Toni Morrison (1931-) is one of the major black women writers of the twentieth century. Her novels are rooted in black culture, with its specific frame, exquisite and dazzling language full of lyrics and myths. In her works, Morrison aims at "healing" the historical trauma of black people and her emphasis is on the internal problems within blacks, the problems and relations between black community and its individual is one of these internal problems. Almost each of Morrison's novels involves black community and its individual, and the relation between black community and its individual is not one-fold, but interactive. Moreover, through this interior perspective, Morrison reflects the cultural plight of black nation, that is, the loss or distortion of African American cultural heritage. Morrison believes that black individual is an inextricable part of community, and they must come back to black community since it is the source of black culture. The emancipation of black people can only be realized within the contexts of black communities and black culture. My study focuses on the relation between the black community and its individuals in Toni Morrison's novel Sula from a cultural perspective. By analyzing this typical African American community and the peculiar relations between community and its individuals, the aim of the thesis is to investigate the cultural significance that the black community and people have invested in their daily life, and its importance to the survival of the black people, and the black communities in America.