Blog post 13

The Toni Morrison book I have chosen for this week is called “Tar Baby”. The book is a love story. Jadine and Son are two lovers who become romantically involved fate has brought them together. They met by chance. Son is a young black man and he is from Florida. He goes on a yacht and floats away. He foes to an island called Isle des Chevaliers. He finds a refuge within the Street family home that is a secret and hidden. This is where he meets Jadine Childs who is the niece of two of the Street’s in-house servants. Jadine and Son’s life experiences differed tremendously even though they are both African American. Tar Baby is set in the late 1970s, which was a time period that can be seen as a peak in the social progressive values. Jadine grew up rejecting the fact that she is black and hung out more with white people because she was surrounded by white people. Son was represented as a black man who is proud of his skin color and wears it with honor. Jadine and Son end up getting to know each and living on a carefree journey of love. When Son takes Jadine to his hometown, she realizes the differences between them. Jadine then leaves Son and the relationship. In the beginning of the novel, Jadine can be seen as the “tar baby” because she tries to please everyone and hold every relationship together. She tries to be someone she is not to be happy with Son. She also held together the Street’s marriage which should have ended a while ago. By the end of the novel Jadine becomes a new person. She stops trying to please everyone and stops trying to fit in to the gender and race roles society has constructed for her.