From Displacement To Replacement-A Study On Home From The Perspective Of Post-colonialism

Home by Toni Morrison, is set under the background of post Korean War America which describes the journey of a black veteran on the way to rescue his sister. It has aroused great attention from scholars since its publication. The novel, from the tone of African-American soldier Frank, is narrated from the combination of first-person monologue and the omniscient third-person narrative, revealing the identity confusion and cultural anxiety of modern African-Americans in the United States. During the journey, the fragmentary memories of Korean War and injustices in American are revealed, both of which contribute to their identity confusion and cultural anxiety. The main characters' unsuccessful attempts to mingle with white society are presented from their experiences in America. Finally, the siblings return to the black community where they manage to re-evaluate the black legacy.The writer thinks this novel inherits the deep concern of Morrison for the cultural identity and location of black culture, and it innovatively selects the 1950s America as the historical background where the Korean War and McCarthyism prevails. It aims to present the injustice and the whole process from culture displacement to replacement of black civilization under the globalization.This thesis explores the displacement and replacement of black culture from the perspective of Homi K. Bhabha's post-colonialism in terms of gazing, mimicry and culture hybridity. Under the double gazing of whites and blacks after the departure from black community, the main characters Frank, Cee and Lily encounter identity confusion and cultural anxiety. Their unsuccessful attempts to mingle with the mainstream culture reveal the inaccessibility of mimicry as a means of culture hybridity. Finally, the replacement of black culture is accomplished by the return of the siblings to the black community which also manifests their compromised triumph of resistance to culture assimilation by means of culture difference. This thesis aims to make a due contribution to blacks' cultural identity and location in Morrison's works under the background of globalization.