Toni Morrison

A detailed Summary of Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio, in 1931. Her birth name is Chloe Anthony Wofford : she changed her name into Toni, because her friends mispronounced the real one. Her father worked on shipyards : she had no wealthy background. Actually, her ancestors were slaves and when she was young, her grand-grand told her what the life of Black people was at the beginning of the century. Thus, Toni Morrison was brought up to be proud of her heritage and rich cultural background. She faced discrimination as soon as she started dating and touring with a repertory company : at that time, restrooms were still separated for White and Colored people. thus she saw firsthand the life of Black American, that her parents had escaped by moving North. In 1958, Toni married Harold Morrison, a Jamaican architect. She had two children with him but her life was unhappy. She divorced in 1964 and moved to New York with her two sons.

Toni Morrison was an excellent student and she always graduated with honors. Her degrees - a BA in English and a Master of Art at Cornell - allowed her to teach, what she did. She was instructor in English until 1964. After her divorce, she worked as senior editor at Random House

Toni Morrison is writer committed to the African-American cultural issue : she tries to put an end to the culture of silence. She thinks her work can help African-American to re-build their collective memory and their Black identity. This side of her work is totally political. Toni Morrison uses fiction to put an end to the 'historylessness' of Afro-American people. Moreover, she co-chairs the Schomburg Commission for the Preservation of Black Culture, what emphasizes her commitment. However, Toni Morrison's work is no kind of mea culpa for Black people. Her whole work is intended to be strongly positive, that is that "Her project rises from delight, not disappointment."

in New York, where she finally came to writing, as an increasingly full-time occupation. Actually, Toni Morrison came late to writing. It's only in the early 60's that she joined a small writer's group, to escape her unhappy married life. She needed company of other people who appreciated literature as much as she did. At Random House, she edited books by prominent black Americans like Muhammad Ali, Andrew Young and Angela Davis and find there the opportunity to send her own first novel - The Bluest Eye, that she wrote years before - to various publishers. And it was released in 1969. Nonetheless she began writing late, she wrote within the last 30 y

Some common words found in the essay are:
Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison's, Anthony Wofford, Magazine Furthermore, Bluest Eye, Literature Nobel, Black American, toni morrison, Ophrah Winfrey, Morrison Jamaican, Art Cornell, black people, actually toni, toni morrison's, black american, life black, actually toni morrison, random house,

Approximate Word count = 895
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.

Toni Morrison

Related Essays

Professional Essays

Saved Paper

Newest Essays

Testimonials