Toni Morrison

Add a comment with your reflections on this author.

8 comments:

Rebecca (Rose) said...

Toni Morrison focuses her novels on African-American families and how society affects them. Morrison also enjoys incorporating colors into her novels. Even though at times her novels are confusing there was never a point where I was bored and not intrigued to read. The novels I read are Beloved, Sula and The Bluest Eye. The only book that I did not enjoy reading was Beloved, this was the most confusing book ever and it was hard to connect this book to the other two novels. Her novels are not at all long, mainly around 220 pages. I would not recommend these books if you don’t like reading about rape, abuse and sex because these are main ideas in the novels. I would definitely recommend Toni Morrison for the Author Thesis Project.

Noor (Brown) said...

Toni Morrison’s novels, though far from lengthy, are full of symbols and metaphors, which can often intimidate the reader. However, these figurative devices are what keep the reader engaged in her works. Those who take on the challenge of reading Morrison’s novels must do a significant amount of analysis in order to determine the main ideas of the novels. Morrison’s most common themes are women and their independence, race and racism, and the unbreakable bonds established within a family. Often, the chapters in Morrison’s works do not go in chronological order. This can make her books seem like a puzzle, and the reader has to fit together the order of events. Additionally, Morrison usually has different characters narrate each chapter, which allows the reader to see the main plot of the story through different perspectives. I would recommend Morrison’s novels to students who are capable of excessive analysis, enjoy putting together the puzzles of her works, and who are interested in learning about the culture of African Americans.

Anna (Anderson) said...

Toni Morrison writes beautifully, but her plots can be confusing and difficult to understand; in most books she jumps around, switching narrators and time periods without warning. I loved reading her novels because they are captivating and well thought out, and she writes so that even the characters who commit the most heinous acts become relatable. If you are motivated to read her novels for both completion and understanding, the writing will be easy because there are lots of shared themes. When you’re reading, choose a theme early to focus on! Even if it isn’t the one you write about, it will give you a place to start. I chose Toni Morrison because she has been widely praised so I thought she would be interesting to explore. I recommend Toni Morrison if you’re willing to put in the effort; her writing is some of the most thought-provoking material I’ve read.

Nora said...

Nora Dowd

Although Toni Morrison’s novels are graphic and explicit, the themes illustrated in the books allow for an abundance of higher realizations. The themes running through all the books similarly relate to each other very well allowing for several cohesive perspectives on them. The beginning of the books prove to be confusing in terms of identifying characters, switching time periods, and internal thoughts vs. conversations but as the book goes on, questions are answered. The intensity of the subject matter let me form strong opinions and detailed notes leading to a strong and easy to support thesis. Some parts were tough to read, but in my opinion, it was worth it because of the deep and strong themes. I would recommend Toni Morrison to anyone who is overwhelmed with the reading requirement of Author Thesis because of the shortness of her books, and also the prevalent and powerful themes throughout them.

Sabrina (Maxwell) said...

The works of Toni Morrison are full of lyricism, symbolism, and figurative language. Her novels are very complex in terms of ideas as well as plot. As a result, some of her novels, such as Paradise, may seem confusing and disconnected as they jump around from character to character and plot point to plot point, but, ultimately, the pieces of the puzzle fit themselves together to create a complex web of ideas that give the reader greater insight about Morrison’s ideas. Throughout her novels, Morrison visits the topics of racism, family values, and class differences, and most of her characters are black Americans. Choose Toni Morrison if you are not afraid of complexity and want to receive greater insight into the realities of life for Americans in the twentieth century.

Anonymous said...

I choose Toni Moorison mainly because I wanted to explore the writing of an author who wasn't classical, male, or white. I also wanted to read something different from the classical english novels, so I decided on Toni Morrison. While reading I really enjoyed the her novels because they were unique, and challenged ideas and put different perspectives on subjects such as race, class, beauty, and gender roles. Her writing is very figurative and poetic, which at times can be challenging, however is also very beautiful. When analyzing the text, you do have to dig deep, but once you find the patterns and themes in her writing it makes your author thesis project fun and interesting. Overall, I would recomend Toni morrison if you like strong themes, dense poetic language, and can read her books with a very open mind as well as being accepting of different opinions.

Samantha L. (McCarthy) said...

I chose Toni Morrison because my cousin, who is an English teacher, recommended her to me. At first, I was a little skeptical, as she writes about topics that I would not normally read. Honestly, one of the first things that drew me in were the shorter length of her books. The first book I read was called Sula. Within the first 20 pages, I was already entranced. Toni Morrison has such a captivating, passionate style of writing that makes the reader fall in love. She makes characters who you hate to love, and who you love to hate. Sula was a story of friendship, and how the world corrupted it in such a foul way. But it also showed the reader how a friendship can always last longer than a person's life if the two care for one another. My second book, Tar Baby, was like a modern day, realistic Romeo and Juliet. It battled wealth and race prejudice, as well as stereotypes and expectations. But, unlike the famous Shakespeare play, it didn't end in a happily ever after. Toni Morrison's book are filled with rich literature, symbolism, and a genuinely that is hard to find in most modern day books. She made it easy to read her books for author thesis.

Maya (Maxwell) said...

I chose Toni Morrison because I wanted an author whose books I could really unpack and take away multiple themes from. Toni Morrison solely writes about African Americans and talks a lot about slavery, racism, and sexism in her books. I wouldn’t recommend her books if someone was not comfortable reading about topics such as rape, assault, etc. but if you are able to learn from those scenes and understand that they are true to the lives of some people, then I would definitely recommend her books. I read Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and God Help the Child. Beloved was definitely the hardest for me to read because she changed narrators a few times in the book without telling the reader and it was my first book of hers so I was just getting used to her writing style. Her writing is honestly some of the most beautiful writing that I have ever read and although it took me a few chapters to get used to her descriptive language, it is well worth the extra effort.

American Author Thesis

Now that you have written your essay, we ask that you reflect on the reading portion of the experience and write 100-150 words about your author.

Think of what you write as advice for someone next year and beyond, someone who (like you were doing last fall) is thinking about choosing your author - and maybe even the same three books - to read for the assignment.