ABSTRACT

As a black female, Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize-winning writer, pays great attention to the growth of the black women, racial and sexual discrimination against them, as well as their marginalized position. Written from the perspective of the black women, Morrison accuses the white of their sins against the black ethnicity. As for the trauma they bore, Morrison shows great sympathy, appealing to the black to construct national culture and pursue individuality. 

Beloved, one of Morrison’s most renowned works, is a traumatic narrative. Morrison endows this novel with a deep sense of trauma by applying novel narrative techniques such as non-linear narrative structure, and multiple narrative focalizations. The superb narrative art makes Beloved stand out as one of the masterpieces in literature. Therefore, to delve into the novel as a traumatic narrative, this paper resorts to the trauma theory of Cathy Caruth and the narrative theory of Gerard Genette, focusing on the traumatic themes conveyed and the narrative techniques employed by Morrison. It argues that through the special narrative mode Morrison intends to restore the black history of blood and tears by combining the past with the present, and her delicate description of the characters’ psychology reveals the ineffable trauma they bore.

Keywords：Beloved; Traumatic Themes; Narrative Techniques

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-2

2.1 Critical History of Beloved-2

2.2 Critical Inadequacy-4

Chapter Three THE TRAUMATIC THEMES IN BELOVED-5

3.1 The Persecution of Slavery on the Black Ethnicity-5

3.2 Loss of Self as a Black Woman-6

3.3 Twisted Maternal Love-7

Chapter Four NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN BELOVED-9

4.1 Non-Linear Narrative Structure -9

4.2 Multiple Narrative Focalizations-11

Chapter Five CONCLUSION-13

WORKS CITED-15