Abstract

    Toni Morrison is a household name in American and world literature arena, and she is the first black female Noble Prize winner in literature. As black female writers, Toni Morrison and her contemporaneous female writers, like Alice Walker and Nora Houston, always concentrate on black women who are vulnerable to oppression and humiliation in American society. Beloved, generally acknowledged as the most striking and sophisticated masterpiece of Toni Morrison, vividly presents the life of African American women in the 20th century.
This thesis carefully explores the historical and social background of Beloved in order to reveal the tragedy and growth of black women. The first part of this thesis briefly summarizes the story of Morrison and her novel, and analyzes why Morrison writes such a story. Part two concerns the origin, development and devastating influence of slavery, which proves to be the leading cause of black women’s tragedy, and then it introduces the growth of the black literature which gives birth to Beloved. Part three discusses the black women’s miserable life under the class, racial and gender oppression, and it also analyzes the main female images in this novel to trace the growth of black women.
This thesis does not aim to frighten the readers with the miserable life of the protagonists, but to reveal that African Americans are a people full of hope. Only if they recognize their cultural identity and regain ethnic consciousness, could they confront their history, recover from the trauma of the past, and find a way out.

Key words: Morrison; Beloved; American black women; oppression; awakening

摘  要

    托尼•莫里森在美国、甚至世界文学界都是一个家喻户晓的名字，也是世界文学史上第一位获得诺贝尔文学奖的黑人女作家。作为黑人女性作家，她和同时代的爱丽丝•沃克、诺拉•休斯顿等都女性作家一直关注着在美国社会中最容易受到压迫和凌辱的黑人女性。《宠儿》被公认为托尼•莫里森最震撼、最成熟的代表作，生动地给读者呈现了黑人女性的生存状况。
    论文主要从《宠儿》的写作背景和社会背景两方面来透视美国黑人女性的悲剧与成长。论文第一部分简要介绍托尼•莫里森的经历及这本小说，并呈现莫里森的写作目的。第二部分首先介绍美国的奴隶制，包括它的起源、发展以及影响，这也是故事发生的根源。接着作者又对孕育《宠儿》的生命之壤黑人文学作了介绍。第三部分通过阶级压迫、种族歧视和性别歧视等角度分析了美国黑人女性悲惨的生存状况。同时还结合对作品中主要女性形象的分析，追溯了美国黑人女性的成长之路。
    本文并非想以美国黑人的悲惨生活来震慑读者，而是让读者看到，非裔美国人是一个充满希望的民族。他们只有认同自己的文化、重获民族意识，才能直面历史、从过去的阴影中走出来。

关键词：莫里森；《宠儿》；美国黑人女性；压迫；觉醒