Abstract： Song of Solomon is one of Morrison’s representative works, which centers on the search for cultural identity. It takes hard seeking cultural identity of the Dead family as the main clue and choice for Negro self-value in different historical periods as the entry point, by connecting black groups’ search for identity with their cultural orientation in American society to show wandering, confusing and painful survival state of the black Americans who are marginalized and dominated by white American cultural values.

The thesis, focusing on the theme of cultural identity, analyzes the process of the construction of black cultural identity by applying the post-colonialism theory. It interprets the protagonist's difficult and bumpy history of cultural identity, through tracing back to the novel's plot structure pattern, which is, losing, searching for and constructing the cultural identity of black people. The thesis will analyze the complex psychology of the black people on the edge of the other who encounter the other cultural predicament to know how does the protagonist return to black traditional culture, accomplish the construction of cultural identity and gain a sense of national belonging ultimately.

Key words:  Song of Solomon  post-colonialism  black’s cultural identity

中文摘要：《所罗门之歌》是莫里森以寻求文化身份为中心的一部代表性作品，它以Dead家族寻求文化身份认同的艰难历程为主线，以黑人在不同历史时期的文化价值选择为切入点，将黑人群体对身份的追求和他们在美国社会中的文化取向联系在一起，展示了被白人文化价值观边缘化、支配的黑人的漂泊、困惑和痛苦的生存状态。

本论文围绕文化身份这一主题，结合后殖民主义理论，解析小说主人公建构黑人文化身份的过程。论文将通过追溯该小说的情节结构模式，即黑人文化身份的丧失－寻求－建构，分析主人公充满艰辛和坎坷的文化认同历程，挖掘处于他者边缘的黑人遭遇文化困境的复杂幽微的心理，探索主人公如何回归黑人传统文化，完成文化身份建构，最终获得民族归属感。

关键词:《所罗门之歌》；后殖民主义；黑人文化身份

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Toni Morrison-1

1.2 Introduction to Song of Solomon-2

1.3 Literature Review-3

1.4 Thesis Structure-4

Chapter Two Post-colonialism-5

2.1 Definition and Development of Post-colonialism-5

2.2 Major Schools of Post-colonialism-6

Chapter Three Interpretation of Black’s Cultural Identity in Song of Solomon from the Perspective of Post-colonialism-8

3.1 Loss of the Black’s Cultural Identity-8

3.1.1 Loss of Names-8

3.1.2 Loss of Sense of Responsibility-9

3.1.3 Reasons for Loss of Cultural Identity-9

3.2 Searching for the Black’s Cultural Identity-11

3.2.1 Introspection-11

3.2.2 Influence of Woman Mentor-11

3.3 Constructing the Black’s Cultural Identity through Cultural Hybridity-13

Chapter Four Conclusion-15

References-16