由《宠儿》分析美国黑人女性的悲惨命运及原因英语论文

本科生毕业论文（设计）册

学院 XXX学院

专业英语教育

班级 XXXX级英语教育X班

学生 XXX

指导教师 XX XXXX大学本科毕业论文（设计）任务书

编号：

论文（设计）题目：由《宠儿》分析美国黑人女性的悲惨命运及原因

学院： XXX学院专业：英语教育班级： XXX英语教育X班

学生姓名： XXX 学号： XXXX 指导教师： XX 职称：XX

1、论文（设计）研究目标及主要任务

本论文的研究目标是探讨美国黑人女性的悲惨命运。其主要任务是通过分析美国飞人女性的悲惨命运来正视美国黑奴制给黑人女性带来的身心上的伤害，分析各方面原因，避免历史重演。

2、论文（设计）的主要内容

本论文分为二章，第一章介绍美国黑人女性的悲惨命运，第二章介绍黑人悲惨命运的内部及外部原因。

3、论文（设计）的基础条件及研究路线

本论文的基础条件是不同的外国语言文学研究者对《宠儿》中的女性的研究结果。

研究路线是对美国黑人女性的悲惨命运，她们的抗争以及造成她们悲惨命运的原因几方面进行分析，以期达到正视历史，警醒世人的作用。

4、主要参考文献

1.Morrison Toni, Beloved (Penguin Putnam Inc.,375 Hudson Street,

New York, 1987 )

2.陈洁奴隶制下扭曲的母爱——解读《宠儿》中的黑人母亲“塞

丝”辽宁：辽宁工业大学学报2009

3.黄锦莉奴隶制的血泪控诉——评介托尼.莫里森的《宠儿》中

国图书评论

4.潘岳，雷格《宠儿》中国文学出版社1996

教师：年月日

教研室主任：年月

注：一式三份，学院（系）、指导教师、学生各一份

XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）开题报告书

XXX学院 XXXX 专业 XXXX 届

XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）评议书

XXXX大学本科生毕业论文（设计）文献综述

Literature Review

In the nine novels of African-American writer Toni Morrison, Beloved became the favorite of readers because of its thrilling plot and unparalleled narration. Toni Morrison was the first African American woman who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The strong sense of tragic filled her novels from her beginning work The bluest eyes to her latest work A Mercy. In the book Conversations with Toni Morrison,1 Toni Morrison was asked why her books always were so gloomy and so sad. Why didn’t she try to write some positive and healthy relationships? She answered that there was a writing style with happy marriage which was called comedy, but she would never write with it. She was writing something which can be called tragedy which can purify and enlighten. There was a huge difference between these two writing styles, but she tended to tragedy, may be because she was a minor classicalist.”In her eyes, the real life had the nature of tragedy. The present Americans, especially the black people, were and are fighting against their dilemma for a long time. This made her the first African American women to be cited for the prestigious award. She was a predominant writer of the 20th century in studying the black literature. As a female African American writer, Toni Morrison concerned seriously about the life and spiritual world of American blacks, especially the black women. In her fictional world, Toni Morrison reflected miseries, abnormalities and distortions of the black women’s feeling and mind under the oppressions of racism and sexism. Her remarkable achievements represented the recognition of a new kind of literature----the black women literature throughout the world. Toni’s education gave her the access to achieve the previous statement. She attended Howard University where she majored English with a minor in classics. Toni got her bachelor’s degree in English and then attended Cornell University and received a master’s degree in 1955. Toni’s early year s’experience and her knowledge of the history of her family and race made her feel more of the painful effects of racial discrimination. She was exposed to a lot of materials and writers that write about anti-slavery movements during her working time as an editor, which helped her produce an inspiration to figure out the terrible picture of slavery. Thus Beloved was born. And this inspiration was clearly expressed in the preface of Beloved. It was published in 1987 and made a literary sensation. It was considered as a milestone in the history of American literature. Morrison’s other works such as The Bluest Eye(1967), Sula(1973), Song of Solomon(1977), Tar Baby(1981), Paradise(1998), Love(2003), also received high praise in the American Literary World.

African American literature, as an up-rising star of American literature, possessed a very important position in American literature. The vulnerable groups especially the African American females got a lot of attention from every aspect of the society. There emerged a large number of writers who studies the African American literature. As an African American female writer, Toni Morrison paid much attention to the description of the psychological world of the African American people. Beloved was the fifth novel of Toni Morrison which was thought highly of. It was regarded as a milestone of American literature. Although it had become a controversial source since its publication, Beloved proved to be an extraordinary success and gained Morrison

great reputation. Besides being awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize, Beloved also won her the Robert F. Kennedy Award, the Melcher book Award and the Before Columbus American Book Award. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Award from the National Organization for women also recognized the contribution the novel made to the history of black women. The American literary world had a high praise for this novel. Nation magazine valued it as Toni Morrison’s finest work and stated it belonged to the highest shelf of our literature. Chicago Sun-Time once valued Beloved as Morrison’s finest work and stated that nothing she had written so sets her apart, so displays her prodigious, almost shocking talents. Many critics were attracted to its controversial theme study. Elizabeth B. House says that, “Throughout Beloved, Morrison’s theme is that remembering yesterday, while not being consumed by them, gives people the tomorrows with which to make real lives.” "Beloved" was balance and thorough in structure. It had the system of modern mythology. The harsh emphasis on literary skills and the use of the stream of consciousness dominated the novel. After Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature, a lot of people, intentionally or unintentionally, dismissed her because of her identity. I thought that black women's identity is precisely the guarantee of her to get into the ranks of the masters of modern Western literature. It was her unique contribution to make the voice of the vulnerable groups (blacks and female) strongly imported into the Western literary tradition. Infanticide might be the most catching plot of the novel which stirred up thousands of studies on the analysis of Sethe’s psychology when she killed her daughter. Thousands of critics criticized this plot from different views. Li Xueqin and Lin Xiaoyong thought that Sethe’s behavior challenged the tradition conception of motherhood. Jane volt thought that Morrison praised Sethe’s determination and courage in sending her children to her mother-in-law, but at the same time, her making choice for her children led to her infanticide. Hu Ying and Li Mengru thought that the infanticide was the inevitable product of the history. Yang Xiaohui thought that Sethe’s behavior was her negative struggle against the slavery. And other scholars thought that Sethe’s behavior is the inevitable product of males’domination of the world. Different people have different opinions about this plot. In my paper, I tend to regard Sethe’ infanticide as her helpless accuse of the bloody and brutal slavery. And I tended to unearth the internal reasons of African American people which caused their miserable sufferings. Things happened under the effects of external and internal reasons. Their fragility in character was the main reason why they were oppressed for so long a time. Meanwhile, their childish, innocent, kindness and obedience were also their reasons for being persecuted. In a word, the miserable history of African American people gave us a lesson. We must learn from their sufferings and treat it correctly. It reminded us to cherish the happy life we have today.

本科生毕业论文设计

题目：由《宠儿》分析美国黑人女性的悲惨命运

作者姓名： XXX

指导教师： XX

所在学院： XXX学院

专业（系）：英语教育

班级（届）： XXXX届

完成日期 2013 年 5 月 14 日

Analysis of the tragic fate of African American women and

cause of it in Beloved

BY

XXXX

Pro.XXX , Tutor

A Thesis Submitted to Department of English

Language and Literature in Partial

Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of B.A. in English

At XXXXUniversity

May 14th, 2013

内容摘要：非裔美国女作家托尼.莫里森的小说深刻的揭示了美国黑人女性

在当时社会环境下的悲惨命运，其代表作《宠儿》是以黑人家庭三代女性的不同命运为题材来揭示黑人女性在当时的社会里所受到的各种压迫和悲惨的命运。身为奴隶，他们被剥夺了最基本的为人父母和子女的权力，不能拥有正常的家庭，女性黑奴必须不断的生育，却被剥夺照顾、保护子女的权利，因为她们的子女也是奴隶主的财产；男性被不断转卖或随意杀戮，在家庭角色中一直缺失。但是人的天性让他们不懈地维护作为人所需要的最基本权利。如小说中的塞丝为了人身自由和家庭完整而不惜亲手杀死女儿；贝比·萨格斯用带有非洲文化特色的布道号召获得自由的人们热爱自己的身体，直面自己的灵魂，对抗着白人对他们肉体和灵魂的摧残；丹芙对还魂宠儿的悉心照料以及害怕失去宠儿所表现出来的她对亲情的渴求。她们的悲惨命运揭示了非裔美国人民在蓄奴制时期艰辛而漫长的受压迫之路，揭示了当时的社会制度给作为黑人，作为女性的她们带来的不幸。

关键字：《宠儿》美国黑人女性悲惨命运

Abstract：African-American writer Toni Morrison's novel profound reveals the

tragic fate of African-American women under that social environment. Her masterpiece "Beloved" which based on the fate of women of three generations of a black family to reveal the tragic fate of black women at that time and the oppressions they suffered. As slaves, they were deprived of the most basic powers of being parents and children. They can not have a normal family. Female slaves must constantly give birth to babies, but they were deprived of the right to take care and protect their children, because their children are the property of their owners. Male slaves are constantly resell or randomly killed. They are totally absent in family. But human nature drives them to maintain the most fundamental rights as human beings tirelessly. For example, in the novel, Sethe killed her daughter without hesitation in order to get her children liberty and keep the family entire. Baby Suggs sermons with characteristics of African cultural in calling upon the free men to love their bodies, to confront their own soul and to fight against the destruction of body and soul that the whites exert on them. Denver’s taking care of the resurrected Beloved and the fear of losing Beloved demonstrated her desire for affection. Their tragic fate reveals the tragic of thousands of African-American people in the hard and tough period when the slavery system dominates the society, and reveals the misfortune that the social system brings to black females.

Key words: Beloved , African American, female slaves, tragic fate

Table of Contents

Introduction (1)

A. Introduction to Morrison (1)

B.Introduction to Beloved (2)

Chapter I Tragic Fate of Black Women in America (6)

A. Tragic fate of the females as slaves (6)

B. Tragic fate as mothers (9)

C. Tragic fate as slaves; daughters (13)

Chapter II The causes of female slaves’ tragic fate......。 (16)

A. American slavery and racial discrimination (16)

B. American civil war (18)

C. Internal reason (19)

Conclusion (21)

Notes (23)

Bibliography (24)

Introduction

Introduction to Toni Morrison

In the nine novels of African-American writer Toni Morrison, Beloved became the favorite of readers because of its thrilling plot and unparalleled narration. Toni Morrison was the first African American woman who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The strong sense of tragic filled her novels from her beginning work The bluest eyes to her latest work A Mercy. In the book Conversations with Toni Morrison,1 Toni Morrison was asked why her books always were so gloomy and so sad. Why didn’t she try to write some positive and healthy relationships? She answered that there was a writing style with happy marriage which was called comedy, but she would never write with it. She was writing something which can be called tragedy which can purify and enlighten. There was a huge difference between these two writing styles, but she tended to tragedy, may be because she was a minor classicalist.” In her eyes, the real life had the nature of tragedy. The present Americans, especially the black people, were and are fighting against their dilemma for a long time. This made her the first African American women to be cited for the prestigious award. She was a predominant writer of the 20th century in studying the black literature. As a female African American writer, Toni Morrison concerned seriously about the life and spiritual world of American blacks, especially the black women. In her fictional world, Toni Morrison reflected miseries, abnormalities and distortions of the black women’s feeling and mind under the oppressions of racism and sexism. Her remarkable achievements represented the recognition of a new kind of literature----the black women literature throughout the world. Toni’s education g ave her the access to achieve the previous statement. She attended Howard University where she majored English with a minor in classics. Toni got her bachelor’s degree in English and then attended Cornell University and received a master’s degree in 1955. Toni’s early year s’ experience and her knowledge of the history of her family and race made her feel more of the painful effects of racial discrimination. She was exposed to a lot of materials and writers that write about anti-slavery movements during her working

time as an editor, which helped her produce an inspiration to figure out the terrible picture of slavery. Thus Beloved was born. And this inspiration was clearly expressed in the preface of Beloved. It was published in 1987 and made a literary sensation. It was considered as a milestone in the history of American literature. It received Pulitzer Prize in 1988. In 1993, the novel was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Morrison’s other works such as The Bluest Eye(1967), Sula(1973), Song of Solomon(1977), Tar Baby(1981), Paradise(1998), Love(2003), also received high praise in the American Literary World.

Introduction to Beloved

Beloved was composed on the basis of a true story which happened in the year 1873 after the slavery had been abolished for ten years and after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War. Morrison adopted the materials from a newspaper which told that a black woman named Margaret Garner who has escaped from Kentucky to Cincinnati. When she was being chased by her old master, she attempted to kill all of her children, rather than gave them to her old master. But she could only succeed in sawing one baby girl in throat. Based on the story, through Morrison’s imagination and much research, the historical Margaret changed into Sethe, and the dead baby became Beloved. The story began in 1873, after the slavery has been abolished for 124 years, in a house named 124, the house they inhabit, was apparently haunted, strange and troublesome events happened there with an alarming regularity. Because of this, Sethe’s youngest daughter, Denver, had no friends and was extremely lonely. Howard and Buglar, Sethe’s sons, ran away from home by the time they were thirteen. Their primary reason was the fear of being killed by their own mother. They did not understand why Sethe murdered Beloved and believed that whatever caused the murder might happen again. Shortly after, Baby Suggs, the mother of Sethe’s husband Halle, died in her bed.

Paul D, one of the slaves from the Sweet Home, the plantation where Sethe, Halle and Baby Suggs had worked in, arrived at 124. He tried to bring a sense of

reality into the house. He also tried to make the family move forward in time and leave the past behind. In doing so, he forced the ghost of Beloved out with table legs and his roar. At first, he seemed to be successful, because he successfully led the family to a carnival and they had a good time there. However, on their way back, they met a young woman who had distinct features of a baby and called herself Beloved sitting in front of their house. Denver recognized that she must be the resurrection of her sister Beloved. Paul D, suspicious of the young woman, warned Sethe, but charmed by the young woman. Sethe ignored him. Then Paul D found himself being gradually forced out of Sethe’s home by unknown power. When he was finally made to sleep in the shed outside, he was cornered by Beloved, who had put a spell on him for this purpose. She penetrated into his mind and his heart, forcing him to have sex with her, while flooding his consciousness with horrific memories from his past. Paul D, overwhelmed with guilt after the incident, attempted to tell Sethe, but could not and instead told her he wanted her pregnant. Sethe was humored and inspired by his wishes, and Paul D. found the power to resist Beloved and her influence over him. However, when he told his friends at work about his plans to start a new family, they reacted negatively and fearfully. Stamp Paid then revealed to Paul D. the reason for the community’s rejection of Sethe. When Paul D. asked Sethe about it, she told him what happened all those years ago. After escaping from Sweet Home and successfully making it to her mother-in-law’s home where her children were waiting, Sethe was found by her master, Schoolteacher, who attempted to catch Sethe and her children back. In a heightened panic, Sethe grabed her children, ran into the tool shed and tried to kill them all, but only succeeded with her youngest daughter. Sethe explained to Paul D her reasons for doing it, stating that she was “trying to put my babies where they would be safe.”(166）2 However, the revelation was too much to Paul D, who later left the house for good. Without Paul D, the sense of reality and moving time disappeared.

Seethe came to believe that the girl was the daughter whom Sethe murdered by slitting her throat with a handsaw when the child was only two years old, and whose tombstone read only “Beloved”. Upon this realization, Sethe began to spend