Chapter One Introduction

With regard to African American, Toni Morrison writes as follows,

There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves […] there is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There’s no 300-foot tower, there’s no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There’s no 300-foot tower, there’s no small bench by the road. There is not even a tree scored, an initial that I can visit or you can visit in Charleston or Savannah or New York or Providence or better still on the banks of the Mississippi. And because such a place doesn’t exist […] The book had to. [1]

The novels with African Americans as the focus are remarkable and in high demand, because they not only accomplish certain strong functions but also suggest what the conflicts and problems are. It can be obtained from the characters in Morrison’s novels that releasing the traumatic memory of slavery need the assistance, which serves as a crucial witness. However, unfortunately, American culture has failed to take in the slavery experience to undertake the function of a witness. Wiping off black experience in the white culture, in essence, and erasing any witness to the terror of the Middle Passage[2], are known as the reasons why many characters in Morrison’s novels revert to nostalgia for psychic support. Moreover, the social structure fails to provide a positive gaze to help and support to construct the subjectivity of African Americans. Therefore, Morrison’s novels serve as the witness for her characters, as well as for African Americans in general, after years of repression, to release their deepest desire, redefine their relationship with themselves, others, and white culture, mourn, and heal.