Color and Race in Toni Morrison's "Paradise"

Diploma Thesis , 2011 , 87 Pages , Grade: 1,3

American Studies - Literature

This thesis explores the complex interplay of race and colorism in Toni Morrison's "Paradise", focusing on the racial tensions within an isolated African American community. Morrison’s narrative delves into the historical and cultural roots of racial conflict, particularly examining how internalized racism and colorism impact community dynamics and individual identities. By analyzing the novel’s portrayal of exclusionary practices and the concept of "The Disallowing," this study highlights the destructive consequences of rigid racial hierarchies. The thesis also investigates the broader implications of Morrison's work, situating Paradise within the larger context of African American literature and postcolonial discourse. Through a close reading of the text, supported by interdisciplinary approaches, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the themes of trauma, identity, and community in Morrison’s literature, offering insights into the ongoing struggles with race and color in American society.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Research Report
• 1 The Great Disillusion
  • 1.1 The Search for Paradise
  • 1.2 The Entrance Criteria to Paradise
  • 1.3 Barred From Paradise
  • 1.4 Overcoming the Refusal
  • 1.5 The Heritage of Trauma
  • 1.6 The Nature of the Disallowing
    • 1.6.1 The Disallowing as a Matter of Lack of Money
    • 1.6.2 The Disallowing as a Matter of Skin Color
    • 1.6.3 Money or Color?
• 2 The War Against Whites
  • 2.1 The Invisible Presence
  • 2.2 Early Struggles
    • 2.2.1 Black Codes, Jim Crow and Paradise
    • 2.2.2 The Double V Campaign and Paradise
    • 2.2.3 Deadly Segregation
  • 2.3 Materialized Threat
  • 2.4 The Riddle of the White Girl
    • 2.4.1 Morrison's Deconstruction of Race
    • 2.4.2 The Racelessness of the Convent Women
    • 2.4.3 The Risk of Racelessness
• 3 The War on Color
  • 3.1 Skin Color and Isolation
  • 3.2 Eight-Rock and the Consolidation of Bloodlines
    • 3.2.1 Ruby's Color Outcasts
  • 3.3 Understanding Eight-Rock Color Hierarchy
    • 3.3.1 Eight-Rock as Exceptional
    • 3.3.2 Effects of the Eight-Rock Politics of Exclusion
    • 3.3.3 Ruby: a Mirror of American Society?
    • 3.3.4 The Oppressed Who Become Oppressors
    • 3.3.5 Eight-Rock as a Matter of Black Male Identity
  • 3.4 The Eight-Rocks and the Paradox of Light Skin
  • 3.5 Colorism, America and Paradise
    • 3.5.1 Oppositional Colorism
    • 3.5.2 Colorism in Contemporary (African) America
    • 3.5.3 Ruby's Oppositional Colorism

Objectives and Key Themes

This thesis explores the complexities of color and race in Toni Morrison's novel Paradise. The work examines the interwoven stories of an isolated African American community in Oklahoma, seeking to understand how the community navigates issues of self-imposed racial exclusion and its effects on individual and collective identities. The thesis delves into the historical and social contexts of the community's founding and the events that shape their experiences, ultimately exploring the ongoing struggle for racial justice and self-determination within the context of the novel.

• The legacy of racial trauma and its impact on the African American community
• The complexities of colorism within the Black community and its social implications
• The pursuit of racial purity and its consequences for individual and collective identity
• The influence of historical events, such as the Jim Crow era, on the present-day community
• The struggle for self-determination and the search for a space of belonging for African Americans.

Chapter Summaries

The first chapter, "The Great Disillusion," delves into the history of the citizens of Ruby, their motivations for leaving the South, and the experiences that shaped their journey to Oklahoma. It examines the "Disallowing," a traumatic event that defines their sense of existence and drives their desire for a racially pure haven. The chapter then analyzes the scholarship surrounding the Disallowing, exploring whether its origins lie in financial or color-related motives.

The second chapter, "The War Against Whites," investigates the presence of whites in Paradise and the conflicts that may have arisen from their interaction with the community. By contextualizing events like Jim Crow and Black Codes, the chapter explores the impact of white society on Paradise's inhabitants and their attitudes towards whiteness. It also delves into the "riddle of the white girl," a complex figure in Morrison's narrative, and analyzes her representation and symbolism within the scholarship. Utilizing the oppositional culture theory and the concept of racelessness developed by Fordham and Ogbu, the chapter further examines Morrison's efforts to deconstruct race and create raceless characters, highlighting the inherent risks of such a strategy.

The third chapter, "The War on Color," focuses on the color-related aspects of the novel, examining the effects of the Disallowing on the town's color hierarchy and its politics of segregation and discrimination against color outcasts. The chapter concentrates on the women of the Best family, who are particularly impacted by this hierarchy. It then delves into the classic reading of Paradise, exploring the different perspectives within the scholarship regarding its color issue, including the oppositional colorism that informs the community's dynamics.

Keywords

The core keywords and themes explored in this thesis include: Paradise, Toni Morrison, African American literature, colorism, racial trauma, racial exclusion, self-determination, Jim Crow, Black Codes, oppositional culture, racelessness, color hierarchy, segregation, discrimination, and the search for utopia.

• College: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Fachbereich Translations-, Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft)
• Course: Diplom-Übersetzer
• Grade: 1,3
• Author: Héder de Oliveira Machado (Author)
• Publication Year: 2011
• Pages: 87
• Catalog Number: V1500704
• ISBN (PDF): 9783389063217
• ISBN (Book): 9783389063224
• Language: English
• Tags: Toni Morrison, Paradise, race, colorism, African American literature, racial conflict, cultural identity, community dynamics, postcolonialism, African American history, trauma, isolation, American South, intersectionality, racial hierarchy.