This document outlines how racism is portrayed in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon. It discusses racism between different races, including discrimination and violence by whites against blacks, as well as blacks' growing counter discourse against whites. The document also examines racism within the black community, through social class divides and standards of beauty that enforce light skin and straight hair. Overall, the document analyzes how Morrison critiques various forms of racism faced by African Americans.
This document outlines how racism is portrayed in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon. It discusses racism between different races, including discrimination and violence by whites against blacks, as well as blacks' growing counter discourse against whites. The document also examines racism within the black community, through social class divides and standards of beauty that enforce light skin and straight hair. Overall, the document analyzes how Morrison critiques various forms of racism faced by African Americans.
This document outlines how racism is portrayed in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon. It discusses racism between different races, including discrimination and violence by whites against blacks, as well as blacks' growing counter discourse against whites. The document also examines racism within the black community, through social class divides and standards of beauty that enforce light skin and straight hair. Overall, the document analyzes how Morrison critiques various forms of racism faced by African Americans.
This document outlines how racism is portrayed in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon. It discusses racism between different races, including discrimination and violence by whites against blacks, as well as blacks' growing counter discourse against whites. The document also examines racism within the black community, through social class divides and standards of beauty that enforce light skin and straight hair. Overall, the document analyzes how Morrison critiques various forms of racism faced by African Americans.
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 27
RACISM
IN TONI MORISON’S SONG OF SOLOMON Presented By: Yosr Salhi & Yoldez Bessghaier OUTLINE: I. Introduction: 1) Historical Context 2) RACISM: Definition 3) How is Racism Introduced in the Novel
II. Racism Between Different Races
1) Whites towards Blacks
• Discrimination • Violence & The Contribution of Higher Powers in Establishing Racism
2) Blacks towards Whites: A Counter Discourse
III. Racism Within a Single Race (Blacks towards Blacks):
• Racism and Social Class • Racism and Beauty Standards V. CONCLUSION HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
• Toni Morrison (Chloe Anthony Wofford): born in 1931
to a middle Class family that fled the south to escape slavery
• « Song of Solomon » was written between 1975 and 1977:
After the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in 1964 RACE(ISM) • Race: A group of people who are biologically related • The awareness of the existence of different races
Racism is not always about hate; Loving a
certain person because of their “Race” is racist (SOS,128) How is Racism Introduced in the Novel ?
“I'm writing for black people…I don’t have to
apologize ” Toni Morrison Racism Among Different Races In « Song of Solomon »: 1) Whites Towards Blacks
• Discrimination (Based on Race) In Public
Facilities:
o Mercy Hospital
o Putting orphan black children in jail (SOS,109)
o Renting/buying properties
“He knew as a Negro he wasn’t going to get a big slice of the
Pie, But there were properties no body wanted yet, or little Edges of property somebody didn’t want Jews to have, or Catholics to have, or properties nobody knew were of any value Yet” (SOS, 63) • Demeaning any black person, preventing them from even “looking” strong (SOS,6)
• Degrading blacks as a race (SOS, 60)
• Hagar’s prize winning: White privilege
(SOS,46) Violence & The Contribution of Higher Powers in Establishing Racism
• Trivializing the death of blacks by white society
(SOS,80), the media (SOS,80) , and the law (SOS,82)
• Whites manipulating facts to serve their purpose
(SOS,100/101) Naturalizing Racist Ideologies:
• Blacks are entitled to certain kind of jobs and
cannot be expected to be educated : Corinthians case (SOS,189) “There’s no colored people who can afford to have two houses” (SOS, 33)
Blacks are poor: A Grand Narrative / A “Truth”
Violence that psychologically disabled blacks from thinking highly of themselves
It is not whites that teach blacks these kind
of racist stereotypes, they hear them from other blacks 2) Blacks towards Whites:
•Guitar political identity as a member of the Seven Days
(terrorist organization) was an outcome of his father’s death.
•White people disgust him they are “potential nigger-
killer, if not an actual one.” (SOS,156/157/158)
•The seven days want to assume power over whites by
taking the role of violence . • Black people have experienced racism that made them cold to the deaths of white people.
•The white peacock that appeared could represent
white people that guitar wants to kill. (SOS,179)
Mainly racism towards whites is represented
through guitar who despises white community and joins the Seven days organization to take revenge . Racism Within a Single Race 1) Racism and Social Class
• Capitalism teaches us to fetish material property
« Own things, And let the things you own, own other things, Then you’ll own yourself and other people too » (SOS,55)
Macon has Created another Identity where
ownership play supreme « Macon and his family exemplify the patriarchal, nuclear family which traditionally has been a critical and stable feature in western societies » -Bryce Bjok- • Guitar’s Grandmother Sums up Macon’s estrangement from the black community when she says :
« A nigger in business is a horrible thing to see »
(SOS,22)
Macon is ashamed of his sister, Pilate, because she is
not as “white” and as successful as he is (SOS,20) • Milkman and Guitar are divided by Their different Upbringing world views
“He was bored, Everybody bored him, The city was
boring, The racial problems that consumed Guitar were the most boring of all” (SOS, 107)
Milkman who is protected by his luxurious life, is
blind to see White racism 2) Racism and Beauty Standards
•Toni Morrison portrays the destructive forces of
hegemonic female beauty standards, that enforces on them certain type of behavior, clothes and hairstyles .
•The racialized beauty norms reveals not only a racial
hierarchy in which dark skin and kinky hair are disfavored, but also a sexist one which men assume the power to define norms of beauty and femininity . • Ruth is the incarnation of the light-skinned bourgeois black woman . She is always well-dressed and behaves respectably in public .
•Pilate is established as the contrast of Ruth (SOS,5-6)
and ignores those standards of respectability in terms of her appearance and her lifestyle . She invents her own look , she has short hair and wears both women’s and men’s clothes.
•The emotions of African American women whose beauty
has been devalued from the era of slavery until today is illustrated through Hagar . •Hagar unsuccessful attempt to become the light skinned, well dressed and straight haired woman ,that she thinks Milkman desires ,will leads her to death .
•She was already struggling of not fitting in the
bourgeoisie class = “she is simply not good enough.”
The rejection of Milkman makes her assume that it is
because of her dark skin and curly hair. destructive effect of white beauty standards (SOS,319) Conclusion • Song Of Solomon demonstrates the importance of African awareness and acceptance of their history.
• Knowledge, acceptance, and commitment
are needed to help liberate oppressed people. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION !
