26th Annual Student Research Conference
Inexhaustible Complexity: Opposing Yet Coinciding Viewpoints in Toni Morrison's Tar Baby
Amanda B. Hamilton
Dr. Linda Moore, Faculty Mentor
Jadine Childs is one of Toni Morrisons Tar Baby (1981) more complicated characters, especially in the overall opinion of her from other characters in the novel. As Jadine journeys through Paris, the Carribean Islands, New York, the Deep South, and back again, she is criticized, idealized, pitied, and envied by various characters for her actions and her status as an educated, wealthy Black American woman in the 1970s. Critics have also argued passionately over Jadines role in the novel be it that of the temptress, the feminist, or the orphan and the extent to which she fulfills that role. This paper will consider holistically the conflicting viewpoints expressed by Morrisons characters and by critics who have discussed Jadines character. Instead of confining Jadine to a narrow caricature or trope, these various opinions combine to produce the realistic portrait of a complicated young woman.
Keywords: English, Literature, Literary Analysis, Deconstructionist, Toni Morrison, Tar Baby, Oral Paper
Topic(s):English
African-American Studies
Women's and Gender Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 207-3
Location: VH 1320
Time: 10:00