浅析《所罗门之歌》中的非洲传统文化

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Abstract In contemporary American culture, black culture is an indispensable element in contrast to white culture. Both conflict and fusion exist in these two cultures. In Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison makes an utmost effort to promote African culture and remind Afro-Americans of their traditional culture. This paper first introduces traditional African culture to offer the readers a better understanding of the development and content of African culture. The main part begins with Morrison’s attitude towards culture choice, and then presents African culture reflected in Song of Solomon in three aspects: the importance of naming, African myths and the relationship between human and nature. The final part comes to a conclusion that inheriting and developing African culture is significant to Afro-Americans.54638

Keywords: Song of Solomon；African culture; the importance of naming; myths; human and nature

摘要在当代美国社会，黑人文化是不可或缺的存在，与白人文化形成鲜明对比。两种文化同时存在必然产生冲突和融合。莫里森在《所罗门之歌》中通过描写黑人青年奶娃的寻根之旅，极力倡导黑人文化的发展，呼吁美国黑人不要忘却自己的祖先和传统文化。本文首先介绍非洲传统文化的发展进程以及包含的内容，主体部分简要表明莫里森的文化立场并从命名的重要性、非洲神话故事以及人与自然的关系三个方面分析小说中折射的非洲传统文化。最后总结得出继承和发展非洲文化对于黑人来说意义重大。

毕业论文关键词：《所罗门之歌》；非洲文化；命名的重要性；神话故事; 人与自然

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2.Literature Review 2

3. An Introduction to Traditional African Culture 3

4. An Interpretation of the Traditional African Culture in the Novel 4

4.1 The Importance of Naming 5

4.2 The Myths and “Song of Solomon” 7

4.3 The Relationship Between Human and Nature 9

5. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 12

1. Introduction

Afro-Americans had been through quite a struggling time in twentieth century. In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance gave rise to the explosion of black culture and meanwhile aroused the blacks’ consciousness of dignity. In the 1950s and 60s, a more famed and far-reaching black movement had been witnessed by Americans—The Civil Rights Movement. With the enormous cultural and social impacts brought by these movements, a big amount of black writers sprung up and found their voices in the 1970s. Toni Morrison is the representative among them who especially emphasizes on the reconstruction of traditional African culture and cultural identity of Afro-Americans.

Toni Morrison is the first black woman to receive Nobel Prize for Literature, one of the most celebrated novelists in contemporary American society. Morrison powerfully evokes the historical legacies of displacement and slavery in her fictions that have been bequeathed to the African-American community. This outstanding black woman has published 9 novels since 1970, including The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Tar Baby (1981), Jazz（1992）etc. As the third book written by Morrison, Song of Solomon was published in 1977 and was awarded the National Book Critic’s Circle Award and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award. There is an epigraph: “The fathers may soar, and the children may know their names.” (Morrison, 2005: 1) It preliminarily unfolds the myths of flight and naming which imply the cultural and mythological elements running through the story. The novel mainly tells about how a black young man eventually finds his root. It is generally pided into two parts, firstly it portrays Milkman’s urban life in Michigan while the second part emphasizes on his search for the family history. Raised in an African-American upper-class family, Milkman knows nothing about his family history or culture and has been always living in confusion. On his first trip to Danville, Pennsylvania, where his father and Pilate were born, he figures out the meaning of the song “Song of Solomon” and finally realizes his dream of “flight” which brings the novel a full circle from the suicidal “flight” of Smith. By embracing the traditional culture and his ancestral roots, Milkman finally finds his identity.