Pursuit And Reconstruction Of Ethical Identity In Beloved

A Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1993, Toni Morrison (1931-), is a distinguished Afro-American female writer who depicts the reality of the Afro-American. Most of her works contain rich ethical thoughts and possess high artistic value. Meanwhile, the black's family ethical dilemma, the ethical relations that the black pursue, deep concerns and sympathies for the black's arduous life experiences and sufferings can be found in her masterpieces, in particular, Beloved. From the perspective of ethical literary criticism, this thesis intends to analyze pursuit and reconstruction of African Americans'ethical identity from the following three aspects:the tragedy resulted from loss of ethical identity in the Afro-American's lives, ethical identity pursued by mother, father, child, and couple under the slavery, and the approaches for the African American to reconstruct their ethical identity. This thesis aims to disclose the significance of reconstruction of ethical identity to the Afro-American and helps readers have a better understanding of Afro-Americans'living conditions and spiritual life, and thereby illustrates that familial ethics is the fundament of reconstructing a harmonious family for the Afro-American to adapt to the mainstream society in the contemporary America.