Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [192]-208).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 17, 2010). "Department of English." Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-162).

Thesis (MA) -- Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The following thesis aims to place black, female experience at the centre of an analysis of four main texts. These texts are Yvonne Vera's Nehanda and Without a Name as well as Toni Morrison' s Song of Solomon and Beloved. By comparing and analysing these four novels, also utilising selected works from various theorists such as bell hooks and Chandra Mohanty, "mainstream" feminist theory is interrogated. Different political and social contexts are examined from the perspectives of writers and theorists that have conventionally been relegated to the margins of literary theory. The experiences of black people all over the world are marginalised and this thesis attempts to examine these texts without assuming that the experiences of the characters are "different" or "other". The first chapter focuses mainly on Morrison' s Song of Solomon but used Vera's Nehanda to comment on some spiritual similarities between an African female character and an African American female character. Chapter two focuses more strongly on African, specifically Zimbabwean, female experience during the second war of independence (or Chimurenga) in Zimbabwe. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Solomon, maar maak gebruik van Vera se Nehanda om Die tesis analiseer vier hooftekste vanuit die perspektief van swart, vroulike ervaring. Die tekste is Yvonne Vera se Nehanda en. Without a Name, sowel as Toni Morrison se Song of Solomon en Beloved. Hierdie vier romans word vergelyk. en ook, met die hulp van geselekteerde werke van verskeie teoretici soos bell hooks en Chandra Mohanty, geanaliseer in 'n poging om "hoofstroom" feministiese teorie krities te benader. Verskillende sosiaal-politiese kontekste word ondersoek, spesifiek vanuit die perspektiewe van skrywers en teoretici wat konvensioneel gesproke gereduseer is tot die marges van literere teorie. Teen die agtergrond van die gemarginaliseerde ervaringe van swart mense regoor die wereld, probeer die tesis om hierdie tekste te analiseer sonder om te aanvaar dat die ervaringe van die karakters "verskillend" of "anders" is. Die eerste hoofstuk fokus hoofsaaklik op Morrison se Song of kommentaar te lewer op die spirituele ooreenkomste tussen 'n swart vroulike karakter uit Afrika en 'n Afro-Amerikaanse vroulike karakter. Hoofstuk twee fokus skerper op 'n Afrika, en spesifiek Zimbabwiese, vroulike ervaring gedurende die tweede onafhanklikheidsoorlog in daardie land.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Departamento de Teoria Literária e Literaturas, 2007. / Submitted by wesley oliveira leite (leite.wesley@yahoo.com.br) on 2009-12-08T17:34:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_DanielledeLunaeSilva.pdf: 572794 bytes, checksum: be881fdab8dec719ca13fa01e7b8ab5f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Lucila Saraiva(lucilasaraiva1@gmail.com) on 2010-01-06T22:47:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_DanielledeLunaeSilva.pdf: 572794 bytes, checksum: be881fdab8dec719ca13fa01e7b8ab5f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2010-01-06T22:47:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2007_DanielledeLunaeSilva.pdf: 572794 bytes, checksum: be881fdab8dec719ca13fa01e7b8ab5f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Este estudo teve como objetivo realizar uma leitura comparada entre duas obras literárias escritas por mulheres em fins do século XX: Amada, da afro-americana Toni Morrison, e Ninguém para me acompanhar, da sul-africana Nadine Gordimer. Os pressupostos teóricos que fundamentaram nossa análise consistem nos estudos sobre pós-colonialismo e literatura de Homi Bhabha, Terry Eagleton, Stuart Hall, Ashcroft, Grifiths & Tiffin e Edward Said. Acerca de questões de gênero e etnia, utilizamos os trabalhos de Elaine Showalter, Barbara Christian, Mae Gwendolyn Henderson, bell hooks, Hazel Carby, Kari Winter, Deborah White, Angela Davis, Paul Gilroy, entre outros. Procuramos identificar e analisar as similaridades e diferenças nas representações de gênero e etnia nas duas obras, além de relacioná-las a outros aspectos pertinentes à nossa pesquisa, tais como diáspora, pós-colonialismo e literatura comparada. Tanto Amada quanto NPMA encenam uma tentativa de superação de diversos obstáculos comuns às duas protagonistas, relacionados à desconstrução de um passado colonial e racista. O pertencimento ao mesmo gênero fez com que as duas heroínas enfrentassem desafios semelhantes no que tange à luta contra o sexismo e a subversão da ordem patriarcal. Dessa forma, podemos afirmar que elas compartilham da necessidade de libertação, transformação e reconstrução de suas identidades e vidas, assim como do desejo de desfazer-se de um passado terrível. Contudo, é inegável que as estratégias de subversão e transgressão utilizadas por essas duas mulheres são profundamente marcadas pela diferença étnica entre as protagonistas, diferença que, igualmente, determinou a maneira como foram afetadas pelo horror do racismo. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / This research aimed at comparing two novels written by female writers in the end of the twentieth century: Beloved, by the Afro-American writer Toni Morrison and None to accompany me, by the South-African artist Nadine Gordimer. Our theoretical framework consists of the studies on post-colonialism and literature by Homi Bhabha, Terry Eagleton, Stuart Hall, Ashcroft, Grifiths & Tiffin and Edward Said. Concerning gender and ethnicity, the studies developed by Elaine Showalter, Barbara Christian, Mae Gwendolyn Henderson, bell hooks, Hazel Carby, Kari Winter, Deborah White, Angela Davis, Paul Gilroy, among others, were essential to our analysis We tried to identify and analyze the similarities and differences in the representations of gender and ethnicity in the two narratives, as well as relate them to other relevant aspects to our study, such as diaspora, post-colonialism and compared literature. Both Beloved and None to accompany me depict an attempt to overcome several obstacles faced by the two protagonists related to the deconstruction of a colonial and racist past. Belonging to the same gender, both heroines faced similar challenges concerning the struggle against sexism and subversion of the patriarchal order. Thus, we can affirm that they share the need to transform and reconstruct their lives and identities, as well as the desire to undo a terrible past. However, it is undeniable that the strategies of subversion and transgression employed by these women are deeply marked by the difference in their ethnic groups, a difference that determined the way they were affected by the horror of racism.

This study focuses on how the heritage of slavery has affected the mothering of two mothers in Toni Morrison's novels Sula and Beloved and how this is portrayed in the novels. It has made a comparison between the mothers and many similarities are found in the lives of these women although they live in different time periods. The essay also elucidates aspects of power and powerlessness as well as the consequences of motherlove.

The purpose of this essay is to analyze how loss affects the identity of the main characters in Toni Morrison’s Sula. An examination of the African-American community in Sula reveals a history of collective loss, both material and non-material, which limits the identity formation of the individual. This burden challenges the protagonists of the novel, Sula and Nel, as they come of age in the 1920s and continues to trouble them throughout their lives. By first defining loss and identity and then examining how loss affects identity in the community, family and individual, this paper will argue that although loss can limit the individual, it can also act as a catalyst for personal growth. Furthermore, I will show that despite the fact that Sula and Nel react differently to loss they both gain a sense of selfhood in the end.

The purpose with this essay is to show how the protagonist in Toni Morrison's novel Beloved can be regarded as a traditional gothic heroine. Yet, she is given different roles and actions than a conventional gothic heroine. It is also argued in this essay that Morrison's heroine is given different qualities in order to reveal important messages. First, a short description of the plot is made in order to show the gothic elements in the novel. In the following, Sethe is dealt with in relation to four traditional gothic elements. These four all appear in the novel. These are: The heroine, the villain, the setting with the haunted house and the supernatural force. Then, Sethe as a different gothic heroine is analysed. Finally, Morrison's messages are brought up.

The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to a dialogue that considers the relationship between history, literature, and empathy as a literary affect. Specifically, I explored sites of literature’s transformative potential as it relates to cultural studies and the ethics of deconstruction. Via a deconstructive, post-colonial reading of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I considered how subjects in our current socio-political moment can feel history. Emerging from a post-structurally mediated engagement with history, signification, and feeling, I argued that empathy, as it is contentiously presented in the context of deconstruction, is not necessarily a reductive or essentialist approach towards relating or “being-with” an-other. Instead, I proposed that the act of reading historiographical novels that take constructions of the Atlantic Slave Trade to task might generate an affective empathy, which could in turn engender a more empathetic relationality and way of being-in-the-world.