Who Knew Chloe Anthony Wofford born to George Wofford and Ramah Willis Wofford on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio would be the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. What a remarkable accomplishment! Chloe Anthony Wofford is recognized today as Toni Morrison. Morrison was the second of four children born to George and Ramah Wofford. Morrison grew up during a time where racism was a prominent way of life for many Americans. However, Morrison was fortunate to have been nurtured in an integrated neighborhood. She was the only African-American in her Kindergarten class and the only student that could read. Obviously, there was no reason for Morrison to feel inferior amongst her classmates. Morrison’s parents expected greatness from her and her siblings, even is society did not. (Toni Morrison biography- Facts, Birthday, Life Story-Bio..., 2014)
Morrison was really dedicated to her education as a youth; she read countless amounts of European Literature and studied Latin. She graduated with honors from Lorain High School at the age of 18. Morrison went on to attend Howard University where she continued to pursue her love for literature. She chose English as her major and classics as her minor. Morrison went on to further her education at Cornell University after graduating from Howard. Once she completed all her schooling, Morrison went on to teach English at Texas Southern University. Almost two years later Morrison went back to her home town to teach English at Howard University, her alma mater. There Morrison met Harold Morrison, a Jamaican architect to whom she later married. Soon after, the Morrison’s gave birth to Harold the first of two sons. Morrison began to write shortly following Harold’s birt...
... middle of paper ...
...ke “Paradise” in 1988, “Jazz” in 1992, “Love” in 2003, and “A Mercy” in 2008. (Byam, 2013) (Toni Morrison biography- Facts, Birthday, Life Story-Bio..., 2014) (Editors, 2014)
Toni Morrison is admired by many because she writes freely and opens the eyes of many, always teaching African-American people to be proud of their heritage. In her work she promotes positive self-growth to her readers by keeping them in touch with their practical tradition.
Works Cited
Byam, L. (2013). The Northon Anthology American Literature. In Byam, Toni Morrison (pp. 2585, 2600). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Editors, S. (2014, april 9). Retrieved from SparkNote on Bloved: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beloved/
Toni Morrison biography- Facts, Birthday, Life Story-Bio... (2014, February 4). Retrieved from Biography.com: biography.com/people/toni-morrison-9415590
Zora Neale Hurston and Maya Angelou are arguably the most influential writers of the mid 20th century . Their work has inspired young African Americans to have more confidence in their own abilities. Their work has also been studied and taught countless times in many schools across the U.S. But the main reason why their work is considered classics in American literature; is because their work stands as testament to the treatment, and struggles of African Americans in the mid 20th century America.
Davis, Cynthia A. "Self, Society, and Myth in Toni Morrison's Fiction." Contemporary Literature 23.3 (1982)
Grimes, William. "Toni Morrison Is '93 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature." The New York Times 8 Oct. 1993, Late Edition ed.: n. pag. Print.
Solomon, Barbara H., ed. "Critical Essays on Toni Morrison's Beloved." New York: G.K. Hall & Co. 1998
The cast. Slavery in the civil war and the African American struggle throughout history influences Beloved’s author throughout her works. Born in Lorain, Ohio on February 18, 1931, Chloe Anthony Wofford became one of the most influential and inspiring authors of the century. The second child of four, Chloe was extremely independent and eventually changed her name to Toni. After leaving home, she attended Howard University and Cornell University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Master of Arts Degree, respectively. Marrying Harold Morrison in 1958 brought great joy to Morrison, but they divorced in 1964. From that relationship, she was blessed with two beautiful children, Harold and Slade. She often uses her sons’ names in her works, such as Harold’s in Beloved. Morrison has written 7 novels, including The Bluest Eye, Beloved, and her last novel to date, Love. The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Morrison for Beloved, as well as the Anisfield-Wolf book Award in Race Relations in 1988. Morrison also received the American Book Award in 1988 making Beloved one of her most decorated novels. Breaking many barriers in the art field, the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature was bestowed on Morrison. This established her as the first African American to win the Award. Beloved is her most acknowledged novel across the country, and was rated one of the New York Times best novels of the past 25 years.
At the age of 7, Maya Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. The boyfriend turned up dead later by hand of her uncle. Traumatized by what had happened, she thought her words had killed her rapist so she became mute so her words couldn’t harm anyone else. "Angelou maintained nearly complete silence for five years,"(Author Study: M. Angelou). She moved to Arkansas where she continued to stay mute. “During these years, she retreated to a sheltered world of writing in which her creative being spawned and flourished” (Gaines 1). She started to dig her head into the books and that is known to be the beginning of her writing. “She read black authors like Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as canonical works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe”(Maya Angelou).
Stanley, Sandra. "Maggie in Toni Morrison's "Recitatif": The Africanist Presence and Disability Studies." Project Muse. The Johns Hopkins University Press, n.d. Web. 5 Feb 2014. .
Work Cited PageCentury, Douglas. Toni Morrison: Author New York: Chelsea Publishing, 1994Childress, Alice. "Conversations with Toni Morrison" "Conversation with Alice Childress and Toni Morrison" Black Creation Annual. New York: Library of Congress, 1994. Pages 3-9Harris, Trudier. Fiction and Folklore: The Novels of Toni Morrison Knoxville: The university of Tennessee press, 1991Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Plume, 1973Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume, 1970Stepto, Robert. "Conversations with Toni Morrison" Intimate Things in Place: A conversation with Toni Morrison. Massachusetts Review. New York: Library of Congress, 1991. Pages 10- 29.
...al stereotypes to allow the readers to make their own assumptions based on their personal thoughts and beliefs. Many of the stereotypes that Morrison chose to use portray more of a socioeconomic class and not discriminating by race. As the setting or environment changed, it will be seen as a symbol of transformation of both Roberta and Twyla friendship. Each circumstance that they went through was distinctive. It tested the strength of their relationship with one another and exemplified their struggles they were facing in society. They had to adjust their beliefs to match the changing phases in the United States as many blacks and whites today still face problems in society about racial stereotypes and segregation. Toni Morrison portrayed racial identity not by black and white, but as irrelevant to relationships but rather by means of distinguishing between people.
Beloved is one of Toni Morrison's most famous novels that was published in 1987 and earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the following year. In it the author vividly displays the horrors and devastating consequences of slavery and honors all the victims by giving them a voice to tell their unembellished side of the history. Although a person’s name plays an important role in the development of one’s identity and self, the names given to the African-American slaves by their masters were only one of the instruments of oppression and dehumanization they were subjected to that lead to the eventual loss of identity, both individual and collective.
Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. Toni Morrison’s father, George Wofford, worked primarily as a welder, but held several jobs at once to support his family (Toni Morrison Biography 1). As a welder, he was a hardworking and dignified man who took a great deal of pride in the quality of his work and always made sure that his dress game was on point (1). He was also a well-dressed man, even during the depression and later started to become racist (1). This made Toni Morrison start to mistrust all white people (1).
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou “Quotes”). Maya Angelou is an African American author who wanted the whole world to know who she was. Even though Maya Angelou’s life was full of disappointments and miseries, she still managed to rise above them all to become a successful poet. Racism played a really big role in Maya Angelou’s life. Maya Angelou witnessed slavery when she was very young and wished that someday all men will be free. Maya Angelou had many difficulties, and her family was one of them. None of her marriages worked out, and had a son to raise on her own.
I preface this paper by a consideration of why Jim Morrison can be discussed within the discourse of religious studies. I suggest four possibilities. The first is the place of religion in late modernity; that is, as individualized, subjectivated and deinstitutionalized. These factors contribute to the circumstances under which Morrison may be understood in religious terms because of the conditions they create. Religion may be deinstitutionalized (Luckmann 1967; Bibby 1990), but people are still religious (Chaves 1994). This enables religion to exist in other ways; one way is through dead celebrity. In an article entitled “Is Elvis a God? Cult, Culture, Questions of Method,” John Frow (1998, 208-209), after discussing the apparent failure of the secularization thesis,1 remarks, “ . . . religious sentiment . . . has migrated into many strange and unexpected places, from New Age trinketry to manga movies to the cult of the famous dead . . . we need to take religion seriously in all its dimensions because of its centrality in the modern world.” Further, religion as individualized and subjectivated (Hervieu-Léger 2000) allows people to create their own systems of meaning and transcendence. Dead celebrity, using Morrison as an exemplar, is one system.
Another art that blacks influenced is literature. For example, Richard Wright was one of the first writers to address and protest against the racism problem in America. In his book, Native Son, he shows how a black boy is driven to kill a white woman. He also wrote essays for a book written by former communists who were displeased with the party. Most of his works show the struggles of black Americans. Likewise, novelist Toni Morrison writes about the struggles of black females. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and in the late 1980s, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book Beloved. This book shows the effects of slavery on a former slave after the war. Morrison is not the only woman to receive awards for work. Maya Angelou given many awards, including Grammys in 1994 and 1996. She received the one for the recording of her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” recited at President Clinton’s inauguration and one for “Phenomenal Woman.” She along with many others has shown explemary talent in literature.
Maya Angelou was a highly skilled poet who used her writer’s voice to strengthen and guide civil rights. Angelou was born in St. Louis on the 4th of April, 1928 and is still currently writing (bio.com). A victim of sexual assault, Angelou spent years after as a virtual mute (poetryfoundation.org). Facing racial prejudice and discrimination through all her youth, a lot of her works were centred around prejudice and civil rights (poetryfoundation.org). Angelou is a strong civil rights activist and her writings such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings certainly reflect that. Angelou was an influential and passionate person with strong motives . Angelou was the first African-American woman to have a non-fiction bestseller, impacting the literature world (bio.com). Angelou was a coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X to bolster civil rights (poetryfoundation.com). Overall, Angelou’s works have affected not only poetry but fr...