Abstract: Toni Morrison is the first female black writer who won the Nobel Prize for the literature award. Her works, basically, pay close attention to the plight of the black Americans and their resistance. The first work of her does a detailed description and thorough discussion to the living situation of the black Americans, reflecting their humiliating lives under the condition of being colonized and the identity crisis they face. Based on the theory of postcolonialism, the paper intends to disclose the living status of black Americans and the two main reasons which lead to their identity crisis and it tries to uncover the road of reconstructing the black identity, calling for black Americans’ self-esteem and correct view of their own identity to stick to their national culture. 

Key words: identity crisis; postcolonialism; black American; identity reconstruction

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1.-Introduction-1

2.-Postcolonial Theory-3

2.1 The Social Context and Developing Process of Postcolonial Theory-3

2.2 The Main Foci of Postcolonial Theory-6

3. Identity Crisis of the Black under the Postcolonialism-7

3.1 Erosion of the White Main Stream Culture-8

3.1.1 Pecola’s Self-loathing and Her Blue-eye’s Fantasy-8

3.1.2 Pauline’s Illusory Happiness in Her Movie-star Fantasy-9

3.1.3 Cholly’s Split Personality-11

3.2 The Internalization of Racism-13

3.2.1 Geraldine’s Rejection of Her Black Identity-13

3.2.2 Soaphead Church’s Alienation from the Black Culture-15

3.2.3 The Apathy Community’s Loss of the Black Culture-17

4. The Reconstruction of the Black Identity-19

4.1 Eliminating Racism-20

4.2 Subverting the Standard of the White Culture-21

4.3 Inheriting and Developing the Black Culture-22

5. Conclusion-24

References-25