摘 要

作为获得诺贝尔文学奖的第一位黑人女性作家，托妮·莫里森对美国文学的发展做出了不可忽视的贡献。托妮·莫里森的作品以黑人的传统文化为依托，结合美国黑人的现实生活进行创作，志在弘扬黑人文化以及探寻美国黑人的文化出路。 《所罗门之歌》是以北方黑人中产阶级戴德之子奶娃南下寻金而后寻根之旅为主要情节，展示了黑人男性的成长历程。本文主要通过对《所罗门之歌》里展示出来的黑人文化传统以及文化身份进行概括和分析；再结合文本，通过分析两个极端的黑人的不同的文化选择，进而分析文中黑人由于抛弃其民族文化传统等而导致的文化身份丢失；最后通过因寻根之旅而真正成长的奶娃经历得出美国黑人应继承本民族文化的精髓以在多元文化中不迷失自我。结语部分指出《所罗门之歌》的价值。

关键词：索罗门之歌；黑人文化；文化选择；民族身份；

Abstract

As the first African American female writer who won the Noble Prize in 1993, Toni Morrison contributes significantly to the progress of American literature. Based on African culture, Toni Morrison pays special attention to the future of African American. The main character of Song of Solomon is the son of Malcom Dead, a middle-class African American, who heads to the north in search of treasure and finally has found his root. Through his experience, Toni Morrison depicts the real mature of a black man. This paper contains 5 chapters. Firstly, it summarizes and analyses the meaning and relationship between culture tradition and cultural identity; through the analysis of two extreme black men, this paper shows the loss of cultural identity and its consequence due to the loss of cultural tradition; then from the experience of Milkman, it comes to the conclusion that maintaining the cultural essence of one’s nation is the key to surviving in a multicultural society; finally, this paper analyzes the value of Song of Solomon.

Key Words: Song of Solomon; Black culture tradition; Cultural choice; Cultural identity

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Cultural tradition and cultural identity 3

2.1 The meaning of cultural identity and its relationship with cultural tradition 3

2.2 African American cultural tradition revealed in Song of Solomon 4

2.2.1 The oral tradition 4

2.2.2 The name culture 5

2.2.3 The flying tradition 6

3 Different cultural choices in Song of Solomon 7

3.1 The recognition of the mainstream white culture 7

3.2 The exclusion of the white culture 8

3.3 The heritage of the African American culture 9

4 The quest for cultural identity 11

4.1 The finding of family name 11

4.2 The understanding of family and domestic values 12

4.3 The understanding of flying 12

5 Conclusion 14

References 15

Acknowledgements 16

On the Ethnic Cultural Identity and Cultural Tradition of African American--A case study of "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

1 Introduction

Toni Morrison, as a novelist, editor and playwright, is not only highly regarded in America, but also enjoys a world-wide fame. While some defenders of traditional literary canon exclude literary works written by female and colored people, Toni Morrison is a leading figure defending for the social minority group and she objects to letting race to be marginalizing in the course of literature (Smith, 2007). Toni Morrison represents a group of black female writers who not only uncover racial discrimination and oppression against African American in the American society as traditional black male writers do, but also disclose gender discrimination as well as the struggle and sacrifice of black female to fight for equal right from the perspective of black female. Her widely read fictions include The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon and Beloved, all of which endeavor to explore the history, future and spiritual world of African American. Although her works are deeply rooted in the African American history, folklores and everyday reality, they are wildly accepted by the white readers because of her skillful and artful use of standard English and the traditional literary devices. Her works are not confined to the mere mimic of real world, but she thinks creatively in the real and imaginary world through the reconstruction of history.

Song of Solomon, her third novels, rewards her the National Book Critics’ Circle Award and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award. Critics around the world think highly of it and analyze it from various aspects.

In western world, books about Song of Solomon concentrate respectively on the awakening of feminine consciousness, the seeking of cultural identity, the growth of black men and the magical realist technique. New Essays on Song of Solomon is a collection of essays focusing on feminine consciousness and the seeking of cultural identity. By analyzing orality in Song of Solomon, Marilyn Sanders Mobley identifies three voices in it, namely, the narrative voice of patriarchal discourse, the signifying voice, and the predominantly male and the responsive feminine voice, thereby articulating the “gender discourse” of Song of Solomon. Critics, such as David Pendery, concentrate on magical realist technique in Song of Solomon, and Mahboobeh Khaleghi paid special attention to the cultural identity and authenticity in Song of Solomon. Their studies provide valuable experiences and basis for our domestic scholars to analyze Song of Solomon and Toni Morrison’s other novels.

Hu Yuanheng, the first one in China to translate and introduce Toni Morrison’s works, translated Sula and Song of Solomon in 1980s. Afterwards, various translations about 9 novels written by Toni Morison have published in China, which shows that Chinese readers pay more attention to her works. Chinese scholars mainly focus on aspects presented below. Firstly, on the Toni Morrison’s life experience and literary creation. Secondly, on the analysis of narration and techniques. Lastly, on the feminine consciousness. The most representative one is Gender Race and Culture – the literary creation of Toni Morrison written by Wang Shouren and Wu Xinyun. In this book, they comprehensively analyze Toni Morrison’s seven novel and give a detailed introduction about the techniques and themes. In Toni Morrison’s works, the struggling of black women was fully expressed and many critics focused on different respects analyzing Feminism in Song of Solomon, including On the Development of Toni Morrison’s Feminist Thoughts written by Zhang Lihua, and Voices of Nature and Women written by Tang Hong and Li Zhong-xia. These papers focus on the cultural identity and cultural tradition of African American revealed in Song of Solomon to explore how a marginalized social minority group could survive in a society which still has practical significance today.

2 Cultural tradition and cultural identity

For the first time, Toni Morrison uses black man, Milkman Dead, as protagonist to show that only when a black man understands his culture and female of his nation does he grow up physically and psychologically. Through the discover of his family’s real name and history, which is his cultural root, Milkman finally achieves a sense of identity. So, it is of great importance to comprehend the meaning of cultural identity and its relationship with cultural tradition.

2.1 The meaning of cultural identity and its relationship with cultural tradition

Cultural identity means a deep understanding and acceptance of the ethics and values of a particular group (Lv, 2015). With a shared history and a common ancestry, people of the same nation are prone to have a kind of collective one true self, thinking and behaving in similar ways. In this sense, common historical experiences are the foundation of one’s cultural identity. Although one’s cultural identity might be influenced by one’s religion, education, family and numerous other factors, an amplified ethnic culture is the essential prerequisite of having a sense of belonging.

For minority nationalities, how to preserve their culture in their non-traditional homeland is the key for scholar to researching cultural identity. This is because the place where individual lives, or the so-called “cultural arena”, influences their culture. The environment, the surrounding and even the attitude of people of other nations would influence how they feel towards their own culture.

Milkman Dead, the protagonist of Song of Solomon, lived in the twentieth century of America, which witnesses the aftermath of slavery. For African American male and female, they suffered from racial discrimination, which could be shown from their low pay, unemployment and the lack of educational opportunities (Hirsch, 70). To survive and live a better life in America, African American have to preserve and develop their culture and also learn the mainstream culture. As a socially marginal and economically disadvantaged culture, African American also have become disconnected from their African ancestor, which is the root of their culture. So, they are American with black culture. In this sense, they are always tortured by this double consciousness (Zhao). On the one hand, they are eager to be accepted by the white, but American society is still hostile against the black. On the other hand, African American are unwilling to renounce their culture, preserving their unique “blackness”. Under this circumstance, African Americans develop and grow their culture which does not completely belongs to European culture or pure African culture. In this way, African Americans are likely to lose their cultural identity.

2.2 African American cultural tradition revealed in Song of Solomon

As is mentioned above, African Americans would doubt their cultural identity easily. In order to solve this problem, understanding and acknowledging the importance of their national culture is essential for them to integrate into American society without loss of their cultural identity. So, it is significant to identify the cultural tradition in Song of Solomon.

2.2.1 The oral tradition

Oral tradition has a long history in all nations of African. The African exchange information, such as the historical changes of all ethnic groups, ethics, ancestor’s dying words, and even technology, mainly through speaking and memorizing. In this way, the oral tradition is not only for day-to-day communication, but also as a way to store wisdom, or a medicine that treats the trauma of the mind (Ai, 1999:201). For African American, the oral tradition is a precious cultural heritage inherited from their African ancestors, including folk tales, stories, songs and myths. Toni Morrison portrays blacks telling stories and myths, singing folk songs and many other oral traditions. This is because she deems that the black must shoulder the responsibility of passing on the myths, stories and imagination from generation to generation. From the cultural point of view, these are interwoven and are the reasons why the black nation maintains its independence and integrity(Guthrie).

Take storytelling as an example. Before African tell stories, usually they will say a prayer, praying their ancestors to bless their use of verbal truth. Through stories passed down from generation to generation, black descendants strengthened their link with their ancestors. While listening to the story, the children must listen carefully, which is an ability vital for their survival.