Deconstrution Of Dichotomies In Toni Morrisonâ€™s Paradise

Zeng Na

doi:10.31686/ijier.vol3.iss7.404

Authors

Zeng Na

China West Normal University, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol3.iss7.404

Keywords:

deconstruction, dichotomies, Toni Morrison, Paradise

Abstract

In her 1998 novel Paradise, Morrison plays with her reader’s desire in terms of gender, race and religion where binary oppositions can be easily constructed in the process of reading. However, as this paper seeks to prove, all these dichotomies are ostensible and false. It is not Morrison’s intention to construct a disparate paradise as opposed to all-black patriarchy Ruby with its rigid Christian religion. It is Morrison’s intention to invite the readers into the program of deconstructing the dangers of this utopian desire. As the present paper finds out what Morrison really endeavors to critique is dichotomy itself. In the progress of the novel, we can see that simple dichotomies of race, of gender, and of religion are undermined, and set interpretations are shattered.

Author Biography

Zeng Na, China West Normal University, China

School of Foreign Languages

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