The novel Beloved is an extraordinary story. There are all types
of genere such as romance, horror, suspense, and of course drama. Toni
Morrison uses such eloquante language that the book is almost "candy"
for the mind. On page 64 Morrison writes, "Women did what strawberry
plants did before they shot out their thin vines: the quality of green
changed." These words and descriptions she uses are absolutly beautiful.
Yet her style is not the only thing that is awesome. Morrison's pertrayal
or re-telling of the story is brillant. She uses an incredible amount of
symbolism which keeps the reader thoinking. One symbol that struck me was
the arrival of the four horsemen to arrest Sethe. Four horsemen have often
times represented death in Indian culture and this is exactly what
happens to Sethe and her family, everything dies in some way. There are
also the characters Morrison has created. They are full of spirit and
courage. In some instances I almost felt as though I was in the specific
situation. Morrison's thoughts and words are expressed so clearly that
it makes this sensation possible.
Obviously I enjoyed Beloved. The novel, even though it was based
on a true story, was original. The angles that Morrison took to write
tale kept me interested and wanting to read on. Overall, I suggest
Beloved for anyone who wants to open their mind to a new experience.
Biography of Toni Morrison Born Chloe Anthony Woffprd in 1931, Toni Morrison, was raised in Lorain, Ohio. Her father and mother, George Wofford and Rhaman Willis Wofford, had relocated from the South in search of an improved standard of life. From her father, a shipyard welder, she gained a Garvey-like perspective on whites, one that left her with a distrust for them all. She readily admits: "My father was a racist. As a child in Georgia, he received shocking impressions of adult white people, and for the rest of his life felt he was justified in despising all whites, and that they were not justified in despising him." (Hudson and Samuels, p. 5) Beyond references to her father, who died prior to her third novel, Morrison reflects on the marriages of her mother, grandmother and great grandmother: The word "Comrade comes to mind in regard to the marriages I knew. I didn't find imbalance or unevenness in these relationships. I don't think that my mother's talents were hidden from males or white society, actually- they were very much on display. So I don't feel a tension there, or the struggle for dominance. The same was true for my grandparents-my mother's parents-whom I knew. I remember my great-grandmother, too. Her husband died before I was born, but I remember that when my great-grandmother walked into a room her grandsons and her nephews stood up… Yes I feel the authority of those women more than I do my own.(Gates p. 399) Indeed, the resonance of such "authority" resides in all of Morrison's novels. Toni Morrison graduated from Loraine High School in 1949 and attended Howard University with the financial aid of her parents. In college, Chloe Wofford changed her name to Toni. Toni Morrison received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and went on to achieve a Master of Arts degree in English in 1953. Morrison began her teaching career as a member of the English faculty at Texas Southern University of Houston. In 1957, she began teaching English at Howard. While at Howard, Morrison met and married her husband, Harold Morrison. Morrison had two sons with Harold, Harold Ford Morrison and Slade Kevin Morrison. Divorced from her husband, Morrison moved to Syracuse, New York, where she began work as an editor for Random House Publishing. In 1967 Morrison took a position of senior editor at Random House in New York City. In 1970, Morrison published her first novel, The Bluest Eye. Her second novel, Sula, was published in 1973. Song of Solomon, her third novel, was published in 1977. Her fourth novel, Tar Baby, was published in 1981. Her fifth novel, Beloved, was published in 1987. Her latest novel, Jazz, was published in 1992. Morrison has suggested that the Beloved and Jazz are the first and second books, respectively, in a planned trilogy. In 1988, Toni Morrison won the Pulitzer prize for fiction for Beloved. In 1989, Morrison became the Robert F. Goheen Professor of Humanities at Princeton University. In 1993, Toni Morrison won the Nobel prize for literature. Morrison is currently teaching at Princeton and is at work on another novel.