An Ecofeminist Analysis Of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye And Sula

Toni Morrison, a distinguished contemporary African American woman writer,enjoys a worldwide fame in the literary scene. Since winning the Nobel Prize forLiterature in1993, the first black woman to receive this award, Morrison and herworks have remained a hot topic for researchers. Yet the past scholarships at home andabroad have largely concentrated on her later novels and taken issues of race, genderand identity as focus, paying less attention to her ecofeminist concern for Nature.Based on the prior studies and limitations, this thesis highlights Morrison’s ecofeministthoughts through a detailed analysis of her first two novels The Bluest Eye and Sula.Discussing men’s victimization of Nature, various forms of oppression in humanrelations, and Morrison’s suggestions to the restoration of natural order andinterpersonal relationships, this thesis explores the interconnections betweenexploitation of Nature, oppression of black women and other forms of domination. Itfurther points out that Morrison not only challenges anthropocentrism and patriarchy,the roots of domination, but also attempts to seek harmonious coexistence betweenhuman and Nature, human and human.In structure, besides introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of threechapters. The introduction briefly introduces Toni Morrison and her works, offers theliterature review on Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Sula, gives a general introductionto ecofeminism, and then shows the research direction of the thesis.Chapter one focuses on men’s victimization of Nature. With industrialization andcapitalization, Nature suffers a serious deterioration such as air pollution, watercontamination, waste pollution, soil erosion and damage to wildlife. Due to men’sviolence against Nature and excessive exploitation of Nature, natural disasters, such asflood, drought, climate change, etc. frequently take place. And people also becomevulnerable to plague and illness. Apart from ecological destruction, as the black migrateto the urban north, away from the agrarian south, their relationship with the land isdisconnected. In addition, abundant natural images in The Bluest Eye and Sula expressthe affinity between Nature and women, and their shared oppression. Chapter two examines inequality in human relations. Through the analysis ofdifferent forms of domination bound up with racism, sexism, classism and warfarepresented in The Bluest Eye and Sula, this chapter explores the practices of inequalityand prejudice in society. Black women, meeting triple oppression, suffer the most.Black boys and black men are also the victims in the racist system. Moreover, threeprostitutes, Poland, China, and Maginot Line, suggest the invaded nations—Poland,China and France—suffering from Fascism in World War II, while the Eva family isgiven the surname Peace, which further exposes Morrison’s ecofeminist thoughts toseek a peaceful world.Chapter three explores Morrison’s suggestions to the reconstruction of aharmonious world. On human-Nature relations, Morrison recalls the way of Africanancestry to get along with Nature by treating Nature as a part of human, ensuringsustainable development, keeping connection with the land, and tolerating the evil sideof Nature. On human relations, Morrison suggests that the comradeship between blackmen and black women, the responsible and healthy family, and the community valuesshould be reinforced.Based on the foregoing three chapters, conclusion gives a summary of the thesis.The Bluest Eye and Sula are furnished with ecofeminist thoughts, which demonstratesthat Toni Morrison shares her deep concern for Nature and black women, explores theinterconnections between various forms of oppression, and proposes solutions to thereestablishment of harmony and order.