In Toni Morrison’s Song Of Solomon, the legacy of racism affects every single character in implicit and explicit ways. The Dead family in particular struggles to deal with the multi-generational trauma that racism has inflicted on the family. Because of this trauma, the family’s past experience with slavery haunts them to a point in which they become enslaved by their desire for wealth by believing that wealth is the only way they can truly be set free.  Throughout the novel, the characters actions reflect the logic of their trauma. Toni Morrison attempts to give the readers a disturbing insight to the realities of the African American experience. In the novel, one of the characters who seem to be the most damaged because of racism is the patriarch of the Dead family, Macon Dead. Macon Dead has internalized the racism he has experienced by distancing himself from the black community. In other words, he is self hating, in his mind he believes he can liberate himself through exploiting the poor black community. His hate for his own people is a reflection of the hate white people have for him. Similar to Morrison’s essay, Playing in the Dark, she discusses the idea how black lives are often represented through the lens of white writers in literature and she flips that in her writing. The fear of liberation of the black man scares white people, the construction of white identity is held up high in literature which is why Macon is written that way. Hagar is another character who faces internalized racism through another form of self hatred. In the novel, Hagar is envious of light skin black woman because she perceives her dark skin as unattractive. She hates her hair, wishing it could be more like white woman hair. Hagar believes Milkman will not love her unless she was more light skin. Like Macon Dead, her experiences with racism have been internalized. By writing characters with this internalized racism, Morrison is able to show a perspective of black people that would not be shown in white literature and to also subliminally convey the message that people of color are still being oppressed, just in different ways. The novel Song of Solomon thoroughly explored the many facets of  multi generational trauma due to racism. It’s interesting to see how the experience of one family’s relationship to racism can affect them in several different ways. Whether it was racism within one selves or racism projected outwards, it was a common theme throughout the novel.

Hey Queens ,

Well I must say to been a journey wouldn’t you think . I feel like we all were able learn a couple things from each other . I sure learned things that I will always take with me when college is all said and done true say .

Blog Post 2: When I read this blog post I instantly think about how simple minded I sound but it was the start of a learning journey on my gender and I was all in for what this course had in store for me . So it was impactful in a way where I am able to look back and reflect on my growth and knowledge when it comes to feminism.

Blog Post 9 : You don’t realize how many things you choose to not comprehend properly . I honestly genuinely didn’t even know what it meant to even Disidentify with something and it made think about all the important controversial topics I disagreed on and whether or not it was because of me not wanting to understand on a deeper level or actually having valid reasons . I had a different outlook on life after that .

Blog Post 13: The book report gave me opportunities to read two phenomenal books . I always heard about Toni Morrison but in all honestly the likelihood of me reading the book had I not been told to would’ve been very slim to none but I’m glad I did . It’s like I always learn something new when it comes my people and I learned on a deeper level have a strong impact on African Americans in general

I probably still haven’t become a die hard feminist But I do believe after this course I became one in my own unique way . Reflection is somethingI always do to see what did I really take in with what was given to me , the work I put in . In all honestly. Writing this is the most Impactful one in way because there’s something about wrapping all that you learned , giving highlights that makes me feel accomplished. I feel like all woman have their own unique way in showing what feminism means to them . I came into this class not really having much knowledge but now I know a lot . It may not be everything but I learned a lot and my research doesn’t stop when this course ends . I will continue to keep up with what goes in our world because being educated about hold so much more value then I thought . We as woman have a long way to go But till then I can say I’m proud to be young black woman .

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Hey Queens

So for the past month I’ve been reading the book “ Beloved ’’ and here’s my take on it . The short novel entails about a former slave named Sethe who escapes from slavery . But although Sethe is free her mind is trapped , Sethe’s mind under goes a relapse re living the trauma she endured during slavery. Struggling to embrace freedom and to create a new better life the trauma of her past follows her wherever she goes and believes the house she lives in is being hunted by the ghost of her dead child . Sethe is mighty convinced that memories wont ever go away or will they ?

The story takes place in Cincinnati Ohio in 1870’s towards the end of Civil War .She lives with her daughter Denver , her two sons who eventually run away from the hunting house by the ghost of her dead daughter whom she killed back when Sethe was escaping from sweet home farm .. When Sethe encounters with Paul D again ( former slave who also worked in the same plantation as Sethe ) He is the spark of Sethe’s mind resurrection of memories back in slavery . Sethe meets a woman that goes by the name of Beloved who is a spirit that is a reincarnated of Sethe’s dead daughter due to the things that she knows only Sethe will know but Sethe believes she is a a woman who was locked up by a white man but not for long . Although in my option whatever her complex identify is I believe Morrison uses the character Beloved a a sort of catalyst to being emphasis on the emotional distress Sethe and Paul D undergo . Beloved represents the past returned to haunt the present. The characters’ confrontations with Beloved and, consequently, their pasts, are complex. The interaction between the two become toxic in a sense because whenever she’s with Beloved she’s paralyzed in the past. Beloved’s presence consumes Sethe’s life to the point where she becomes depleted. She hardly eats, while Beloved grows bigger and bigger, eventually taking the form of a pregnant woman. Towards the end of the novel Denver reaches out to the black community for help. Some of the village women come to the house to exorcise Beloved.  Mr. Bodwin ( Do gooders of the neighborhood) approaches the house and Sethe mistakes him for Schoolteacher ( replacement for the original owner of Sweet home the plantation where Sethe ) School teacher was a mean man who consistently abused the slave owners . Crazed, she tries to attack him but is restrained by Denver and other women. Beloved disappears.

Although I don’t think “ Playing in the dark ’’ have much in common other than Tori Morrison passion on displaying the struggles we go through as black individuals whether she uses examples of slavery or present struggles in literature our Identity plays a big role . In “ Beloved ’’ the destruction of identify under slavery is presented and in “ Playing In the Dark ’’ There is a misleading representation of black people which is why Toni Morrison felt the need to point it out so people can see it from a black persons point of view hence why roots truly are important to our identity be cause it shapes and molds us and one things for sure what our ancestors endured it surely does have a big impact on why we act the way we do .

Well that’s all for today Queens , thanks for tuning in !!

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The three blog posts that I have done that were most important or impactful to me have to be : Blog Post #’s 5, 6, and 11. The reason why i choose blog post #5 (even though it doesn’t really relate with feminism) is because it has taught me about the world and the people that live in it, that we are strong and will continue to be productive and move forward with life despite hardships that may occur. The reason why i chose blog post # 6 is because of how personal this blog post was, It taught me that the world has changed and how my mother used to live in a place and time that didn’t accept individual expression, it made me understand and sympathize with my mother’s struggles which helped me have a better understanding of women’s struggles in general. The reason why i choose blog post # 11 is because I never really though of one’s gender in this way, that it’s a performance. Judith butler helped me understand something i never knew existed even though everyone(including myself) does it automatically.

In the book Playing in the Dark the author Toni Morrison highlights how Blacks are usually represented through the lens of white perception rather than the other way around.​ The book explains how early American writers sought to define their works in contrast to European writers. That American writers highlighted their freedom by contrasting it with the enslavement of black slaves. Regularly, black presence is used to define whites in literature such as in the stories of Edgar Allan Poe.​ It is important to note that though she is an African American that examined white literature, she remain neutral throughout her book and simply highlighted issues rather than giving her own opinion. This book is different than Judith Butler’s book because of how neutral Morrison was compared to Butler. Morrison also focused more on the issues of race rather than gender.

Material feminism is a way of understanding women’s oppression through capitalism and patriarchy. Material items play a huge role in the production of gender normalities. Industries such as the beauty industry market off of women’s insecurities by overproducing products claiming that they are “the next best thing”. We feel obligated to constantly upkeep ourselves in order to play the role of a woman. In the entertainment industry, women’s bodies are capitalized because of the belief that “sex sells”.