Questions tagged [toni-morrison]
Questions about the American novelist and academic Toni Morrison (born 1931) and her works. Morrison's novels include The Bluest Eye (1970), Song of Solomon (1977) and Beloved (1987).
10 questions
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why did Halle have butter all over his face?
In Toni Morrison's novel Beloved, Sethe's husband Halle never came back to Baby Suggs' house after planning to run away from Sweet Home.
After Paul D arrives, he later blurts out to Sethe of what he ...
3
votes
1
answer
600
views
Paul D's prison and escape in Toni Morrison's Beloved
I'm reading Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. Chapter 10 talks of Paul D's time as a black slave imprisoned for the attempted murder of his new "owner" as well as his subsequent escape along ...
4
votes
2
answers
13k
views
What does the phrase "If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it" mean?
I find the final passage of Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon to be a bit confusing.
As fleet and bright as a lodestar, he wheeled towards Guitar and it did not matter which one of them would give up ...
3
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why does Ruth breastfeed Milkman, and why is this considered scandelous?
I'm reading Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison for a class, and I'm confused by this.
An important part of Milkman's life story is that his mother (Ruth) breastfed him later than normal. It's how he got ...
4
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Did Ruth sleep with her father?
I'm reading Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, and I'm also confused by this question. Macon, Ruth's husband, claims that Ruth had sex with her dead father:
“In the bed,” he said, and stopped for so ...
4
votes
0
answers
113
views
Why does the first chapter of Toni Morrison's "Playing in the Dark" open with this Eliot verse in Black Matters?
As an epigraph a T. S. Eliot verse appears at the beginning of Toni Morrison's Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination:
I am moved by fancies that are curled
Around these images, ...
2
votes
1
answer
183
views
Where and to whom did Toni Morrison give this speech?
Afua Hirsch in her book, Brit(ish) writes that Toni Morrison gave a speech in 1975 saying:
'It's important to know ... the very serious distraction of racism, which is distraction. It keeps you ...
5
votes
1
answer
202
views
Is there a "Romeo and Juliet / Romen and Junior" connection drawn in "Love"?
Two major characters in Toni Morrison's Love are local youth Romen and street-smart Junior, who carry on a love affair while both are employed at the Cosey household.
In a 2003 review, Elaine ...
6
votes
0
answers
327
views
In "Love," who is Junior's "Good Man," and what does that imply about her?
Late in Toni Morrison's Love, Junior starts referring to her "Good Man":
And her Good Man agreed. As she knew from the beginning, he liked to see her win.
They recognized each other the ...
4
votes
0
answers
155
views
What makes L unique in "Love," and what is her significance?
Toni Morrison's Love is narrated by L, who lives on the beach, and seems to be the only person around who truly understood Bill Cosey.
I pay attention and I know all about him. That kind of ...