Beloved Toni Morrison Essay

Toni Morrison is a highly decorated American author, who has received both the Pulitzer prize and the Nobel Prize for literature. Part of what makes her such a distinguished writer- especially in the black community- is her heavy stories that examine the black experience. Her stories focus around the black experience in America.These were stories that had hardly been examined in such a way, and never with such recognition. Her novels and presence stand out in a time period were far too many would overlook narratives like hers. The experiences of black people had long been neglected in the realm of literature, and Morrison was able to open the door to a new era where these narratives are held in the same regard as any other. Prior to her novels, the majority of stories that centered around a black protagonist were of slaves and their struggle. Her books were different entirely, a story that was focused around a black protagonist for the sake of telling their stories with the same regard as any other. Her books were in the public eye and received attention, including some negative. Consequently, Morrison has had many opportunities to speak about her books, consider her own works from a critical standpoint. Throughout her career she has taken part of interviews and has developed a unique tone she carries when speaking about her novels. The tone she carries when she speaks about her novels is one of blatant honesty. She does not let others make assumptions about her books and her motives, as is seen in the way she carries herself through her conversation, and the words she uses, careful words, yet powerful ones. She drives the conversation a way in which her style of speech reveals her attitude towards large issues than just the subjects that come up in her interview.s Morrison was a trailblazer who has never shied away from unknown territory, this is seen in the interviews she has had, in what some have considered some of the most active times of civil …show more content…
Her writing carries a unique style, one that ‘kidnaps’ the reader into her work. When taking on a task as daunting as expressing the sentiment of black america's struggle, it is a way in which she can truly connect with her audience. In the foreword of Beloved Morrison says “ I was trying to make the Slave experience intimate, I hoped the sense of things being both under control and out of control would be persuasive thought: That the order and quietude of everyday life would be violently disrupted by the chaos of the needy dead” (Morrison, Beloved) The structure of her words leaves no room for questioning, a constant continuation of emotional statements. he is able to capture the reader's attention with her word choice and syntax. Her choice of the phrase “both in control and out of control” is one that is uneasy, by juxtaposing the two opposites, is as convincing as she hoped. There is inherently something about a contradictory statement that feels uncomfortable, which is what she hopes to provoke in the reader as they attempt to understand another person’s horror. She then continues with her hope of disrupting the readers with the “Chaos of the needy dead”, a particularly striking choice of words. These words only further the discomfort of the reader, pushing them into another experience prior to even understanding her story. The words are not to