Love and Acceptance - Essay Example

?Introduction Universal themes that are incorporated into novels often re-appear because of their significance and the relationship which is associated with the author. When looking at the works of Toni Morrison, there is an overlapping theme of love and acceptance. Each of the characters relates to different perceptions of love and acceptance which leads to the conflicts within each of the books. The importance of love and acceptance in each of the novels presents an understanding of different perceptions that are created by the characters over the philosophy of what love means. Examining the importance of this in Morrison through “The Bluest Eye,” “Songs of Solomon,” “Beloved” and “A Mercy,” are able to define and change the understanding of the novels and how this relates to the several angles that are associated with love and acceptance, specifically with the internal perceptions, relations to the external environment and others and the responses which are given by individual characters. The Overlapping Theme of Love in Morrison The concept of love is one which is found in most of Morrison’s novels and is one of the overlapping themes that continue to be explored. The theme which Morrison follows is one which combines the actions one takes for love as well as the perceptions of love which are attributed to different characters. The belief that is created when looking at the various novels is that the expression and perception of love is dependent on the character, background and the circumstances which are surrounding a given situation. The concept which Morrison carries with her personal philosophy is to develop an understanding of how each of the characters would perceive love as a central theme in their lives. When asked about the notion of love in the characters, Morrison states “With a character, I do what an actress does: I get inside, I try to see what it looks like and how they feel and let them do what I think they’d do. At the moment I’m writing, I love all of that, I love them…You just write what you think is your truth. Everybody isn’t everybody” (Morrison, Guthrie, 71-72). The philosophy which Morrison follows with her ideas of love and acceptance than show that there are perspectives that are based specifically on the viewpoint of the characters and how they respond to love as well as what their true love is. The changing ideology of love and acceptance then comes from Morrison’s examination of the character acceptance and flaws within each of the novels. The approach which Morrison takes is one which becomes important because the concept of love and acceptance is no longer limited and is only expressed by each of the characters. There is the ability for Morrison to change this ideology into the rejection of love, projection of dysfunctions or with the loss of romantic love. This is done with the sense of investigation and how other environmental issues and concepts relate to love and acceptance. The background of Morrison is one which incorporates an investigation of concepts such as culture, definitions of love in society and other associations with her investigation of love, specifically to show how these elements change the perspective of being in love. It is noted that this comes from Morrison’s background as an African – American living in the south and seeing the divisions and questions about identity that were a part of the lifestyle. The works which she created then questioned the ideas of culture and identity and how this led to different perceptions of love or the absence of it, dependent on the perceptions of the character. “All the books are questions for me. I write them because I don’t know something in there I really did not understand: what is the problem between a pair of lovers who really love one another but are culturally different?... How can you manage to love another person under these circumstances if your culture, your class, your education are that different” (Morrison, Guthrie, 270). The main ideology which Morrison creates is then based on perspectives of love and how this associates with both internal perspectives as well as the external environment which one faces in society. Love by Characters in The Bluest Eye The first novel which shows different perceptions and ideals of love and acceptance is “The Bluest Eye.” The first type of love which is shown is through Pecola, specifically with the concept of self – love that becomes a main theme in the book. The self – love is defined by Pecola wishing she were not as black and always wishing for blue eyes. The rejection of self – love is magnified, specifically because Pecola continues to fall back on wishing for a different identity and excluding herself from others because of this. When Pecola looks at the doll with the blue eyes is when this concept is noted. When she receives the doll she states “I traced the turned up nose, poked the glassy blue eyeballs, twisted the yellow hair. I could not love it. But I could examine it to see what it was that all the world said was lovable” (Morrison, 21). The definition of love then becomes one based on self – love as well as external definitions of what it means for an individual to love themselves. This perception becomes a driving theme for both Pecola to examine of why she cannot love herself as well as why she never believes that there is love between her and others. The perception of love begins to change with other characters and their association with each other. The examination of the absence of love becomes the main perspective, specifically which Morrison uses to create a reality of tension and conflict because of the absence of love. This not only allows one to examine how love would change the relationships but also questions how other aspects from the environment change this. The absence of love is reflected first with Cholly and Pauline, a married couple who constantly abuse and battle each other. Morrison notes that the love for each other disappears through the novel and with what is occurring. When both characters are introduced, there are statements about the love affair and the decision to marry and move up north. The love begins to disappear as Cholly cheats on her and begins drinking. When Pauline becomes pregnant he stops; however, this is short lived. The experience with Cholly and Pauline creates a perspective of romantic love and how it begins to disappear. The story which Pauline creates with this is the examination of how love can turn into hate. “It was really a simple pleasure, but she learned all there was to love and all there was to hate” (Morrison, 122). This perception is examined by the marriage and love affair, specifically by questioning how and why the love can change into one which is no longer created. The mixture of love and the absence of love are furthered with Cholly and Pecola, specifically when his father rapes her. At this point the idea of love changes to Cholly’s viewpoint, which is one that shows that love is one based only on perception. He states “Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly” (Morrison, 152). This particular statement shows the reality of love that Morrison examines and how each of the characters in the book expresses love according to their characteristics. When this is altered, it turns into hate and into characteristics of the absence of love. This main statement shows how Cholly becomes a voice of what love may mean while opening the possibilities of what love is. This is one which is defined by perceptions of each of the characters as well as the beliefs of each with the experiences that are a part of the story. Changing Love in Songs of Solomon The perceptions of love begin to alter with the concepts that are created in “Songs of Solomon.” The absence of love is not as consistent as examining the family dynamics with love and how one creates a sense of identity according to love that is within the family. The primary character which shows the concepts of love and acceptance is Ruth, specifically with the ways in which she associates with love between her children, especially Milkman, as well as through Freddie and her father. The expression of love is observed through the voice of Freddie first, as well as the unsettling which he received with Ruth’s decisions to show love and affection. “Her steady beam of love was unsettling, and she had never dropped those expressions or affection that had been so lovable in her childhood” (Morrison, 23). The unsettling love that is shown by Ruth is one that is questioned because of her identity as well as the expressions which she has with this. The expressions are based on a childlike perspective as well as one of a mother that is misunderstood by Freddie because of the lack of romantic love which he feels toward his wife. The expressions that Freddie expresses with Ruth’s love are followed by the growing belief that Ruth’s love for her father and son are more than her romantic love. There are several instances which show this. The first is with Ruth breast feeding Milkman while he is in his adolescence. This shows a type of motherly love toward the son; however, it is distorted because of the time lapse which occurs. The same distortion and lack of proper identity with love is seen with descriptions of Ruth toward the love of her father, specifically with descriptions of her lying beside him and kissing him after his death. The concept is one which shows that Ruth has a desire to be accepted as a mother and daughter more than as a wife, with the distortions of identity taking over the ideology of love and changing the concepts of love and family. The confusion which occurs comes first from Freddie and is followed with the actions of Ruth and the inability to allow her concepts of love to grow or change or to fit with forms of identity that alter with time. The main conflicts with Ruth are followed by the beliefs which Milkman has toward women and the concepts of love. This is first seen with the understanding that his mother naturally accepts and loves him, specifically which remains unparalleled through any other woman. When Hagar falls in love with Milkman, he rejects her because this acceptance is absent. The perception and discovery which is made is one which is based on trying to find a specific type of love that can be copied from expressions of the family to others that are in society. “Her confirmed, eternal love of him, love that he didn’t have to earn or deserve, seemed to him natural. And now it was decomposing. He wondered if there was anyone in the world that liked him. Liked him for himself alone” (Morrison, 79). This concept is one which shows how the wrong expressions of love also lead to confusion between other members in the expression of love. Milkman is left with the inability to find love of himself or from others that compares to his mother. The distortion of love then comes from the identity of each of the characters and how the basis of this in the family leads to conflicts in society and within other relationships. The perception of love then alters because of the inability to have love that compares to what was originally felt. Beloved and the Absence of Love Perceptions and changes of love which occur with Morrison are furthered with love that does not last, specifically because of psychological distortions or because of external events which occur. In “Beloved,” Morrison examines the absence of love and how love can turn into distorted actions because of justifications which occur. The first characters which show this are Denver and Beloved, specifically with the love that Denver has to Beloved, but which cannot be expressed because she is only a ghost. This shows the absence of love between a mother and daughter, specifically with the external circumstances taking the love away from both. The observation is one which is noted as a form of safety with the expression of love between family members. “For a used – to – be – slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love. The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a cracker sack, well, maybe you’d had a little love left over for the next one” (Morrison, 57). The concept of not loving or dispersing love then becomes a main theme, specifically with the love toward Beloved from the mother as well as the belief of how loving too much could be dangerous. This perspective is one which leads to absence of love and to distorted perspectives based on the external environment and conditions of the characters. The lack of love and the distortions which form continue with the understanding of Sethe and Paul and how both relate to their family. This is created with Paul trying to love the family enough to bring them out of the distortions of having Beloved as a ghost. However, this leads to an absence of love as he cannot pull them out of the problem. Eventually, this distortion leads to an affair between Paul and Beloved and which causes Beloved to have an affair. However, this basis is not of love, but is instead because of the curse needing to release so the absence of love can exist and the memory of the ghost becomes the main focus of the family. The love then becomes the thing that binds in the family because of memory through the ghost, while the curse placed on Paul with false love is able to lead to the freedom of Beloved. The distortion of love is then one placed on the situation, memories and the beliefs one has, as opposed to the acceptance of what has happened. This continues with Sethe changing into another form of love with his curse that is over the family and which leads to her understanding that love should be based on specific actions. Sethe relates this to her time in slavery, specifically which leads to her deciding to kill her children out of love and to protect them from the cruelties of what may happen to them if they continue to live. This is combined with Sethe’s reality and understanding that if an individual didn’t have self – love than there would be no love at all. The confusion which occurs with this character is based on the misunderstandings of self – love as well as the distorted love which she has toward Beloved and her own children. This is enough to take away the lives of the others and to remain with only enough love to survive. She states, “In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard” (104). The speech which is given is based on love of the body and the need for each individual to love their own identity. This becomes a conflict, specifically with Sethe and the inability to show love toward self or to the others because of the conditions of slavery. This shows how there is a direct relationship between the internal and external conditions and how this distorts love to the point where it cannot exist. A Mercy and Love and Acceptance Another representation of love that is given by Morrison is through “A Mercy.” The investigation of love and acceptance in this particular novel is filled with ideas of self – love and acceptance, despite the external environment. The characters of Florens, Jacob Vaark and his wife Rebekkah all show this similar characteristic because of their condition in colonial America and the problems which have arisen in this specific space. The concept of love is first seen as limited because of the suppression from society, first which is described because of the colonial world and the fear which was surrounding this. “They will approach, run to us to love and play which we misread and give back fear and anger” (Morrison, 5). This particular quote shows how the external environment and the mistrust which is the main guide eliminates the idea of love and causes each of the characters to be isolated within the given environment. This is leading force throughout the novel and creates an understanding of the absence of love because of the environment. Morrison expresses the absence of love not only because of the colonial environment but also with the suppression that is related to each of the characters. The two characters which show this most are Florens, specifically with his life as a slave. This is followed by Rebekkah, who is brought as Jacob’s wife, but which has no love for her husband and is only expected to carry out specific duties. There are several occasions in which the characters admit that self love and finding love outside of this oppression is difficult and impossible to find. The external environment is one which becomes controversial because the love that is desired cannot be found, but repression is only find in its place. “Understand me. There was no protection and nothing in the catechism to tell them no. I tried to tell Reverend Father. I hoped if we could learn letters somehow someday you could make your way… He believed we would love God more if we knew the letters to read by. I don’t know that” (Morrison, 191). This excerpt shows how there is a belief that love is something that is found outside, such as through the reading or the practice of religion. The narrator’s response of not knowing that is based on the understanding that there is no love outside of the environment. The exploration of love in this novel then becomes a battle between internal and external love with the characters becoming isolated and not being able to find the necessary love through the environment and expectations which they are given. The concept of not finding love in the external environment is one which further leads to questioning of self love and how one cannot find the internal love because of the conditions of loneliness and suppression. Florens explores this most with her life as a slave, which he continuously states as taking away his self – love. The external environment in this instance takes away his desire to love and the concepts of love which should be felt. When faced with living as a slave or being free, Florens is unable to respond or understand the concept because of the external environment taking away her own love. This is combined with the response that there is only emptiness inside of her because of this. “I have shock. Are you meaning I am nothing to you? That I have no consequence in your world? My face absent in blue water you find only to crush it? Now I am living the dying inside. No. Not again. Not ever. Feathers lifting, I unfold” (167). The concept of living the dying inside as well as the understanding that the environment which leads Florens to believing she is nothing but emptiness becomes the main exploration of the lack of love. This becomes a main theme as the isolation and suppression of the individuals also creates an absence of love which is furthered by fear. Each has to explore how this can be overcome both internally as well as with external relationships, despite the conditions which each faces. Analysis of Love and Acceptance in Morrison When examining each of these novels, it can be seen that different perspectives of love and acceptance are defined according to the character and the actions which are taken. The first way in which this is approached in all novels is based on the search of love that is examined by each of the characters. This is a similarity between all, specifically as each looks to the external environment to find the love. However, slavery, oppression because of identity and a lack of acceptance in the environment cause all to no longer believe in love or to distort this with their individual identity. This leads to Pecola wishing to have blue eyes and to Florens finding only emptiness as a slave with no love. The absence of love and the absence of relationships because of identity in the external relationships then becomes a constant theme of love and acceptance in all the novels, all identified with the perspectives of the characters (Bakerman, 541). The lack of external love, which is substituted for labels and identity than follows with the several instances of self – love that Morrison points out. In some instances, this is based on the individual finding self – love, while others express the absence of love. Morrison uses this as a way of trying to create different understanding of what love means and how it can be used as a main expression within society and toward others. This is a different type of love which Morrison uses in all of the novels, specifically with each searching for self – love or recognizing that there is an absence of this with their associations with themselves or with others. The instance with this is in “Beloved,” when it is noted that the body is one can only be loved by the self because no one else can love this. In this instance, Morrison highlights the importance of self – love, mostly which is given away to relationships and the external environment which all characters fight against (Morrison, Guthrie, 267). All of the books express the concepts of love and acceptance with the external environment, relationships that highlight this and with the presence or absence of self – love. It is through these three foundational aspects of love that different perspectives can be created. The perspectives are based on the characters changing expressions of love according to their characteristics, as highlighted in “The Bluest Eye” by Cholly. This is furthered with perceptions that are altered according to one’s identity and relationship to others, such as seen with the Milkman finding no substitute to love from his mother or from Sethe not finding love outside of Beloved. Each of the characters expresses their own love or lack of love depending on their circumstances, perspectives of life and circumstances in life. The love and acceptance then becomes dependent on the identity of each character and how they view themselves. The importance in each of Morrison’s novels becomes specific to the idea of perception when it comes to the theme of love. Instead of having the universal love of romance or love for another, Morrison uses each character to expand perceptions of love. This sometimes involves relationships to others, such as with family or friends, or may be an examination of how love alters according to the environment. However, it is noted that in each of Morrison’s novels, there is a direct relationship and change in perception because of the conditions that each of the characters have been through, how they have responded to this and what the results are with their internal beliefs and toward others has become. The external relationships and internal beliefs that lead to the perceptions of love and acceptance then become a central form of understanding and evaluation with each of the characters, specifically by looking at how the perceptions of love changes their reactions to given circumstances. Conclusion The concept of love that is described by Morrison is one which is inclusive of examining the various perspectives of love and how characteristics change what love means. The perspectives are altered by both the internal beliefs and the external environment that is associated with this. Morrison expands this by examining the relationships to love according to the internal perspective and the situations that are in the external environment. Through this, Morrison is able to create a deeper understanding of what it means to examine perspectives of love. The characters all create a different ideology of what love and the absence of love means with the internal perspective, external environment and the relationships to identity that are created. This makes the universal theme of love one which is associated with the dynamics of each character and their beliefs created about love and acceptance. The characters which Morrison creates are important to note because they exemplify the several forms of love or absence of love which could exist. As Morrison states in her own analysis, there is the ability to create an exploration of love by looking at the main attributes and problems of the characters. This creates a different understanding of the relationships which are created. The characters all relate to each other, specifically because they are looking for love or understand that there is an absence of the love that is needed. There are also similarities because the love is altered according to the internal beliefs and the external conditions which one is in. The difference is reliant on the circumstances of the character, how they respond to given situations and beliefs that alter the ideologies of love. The concept of love and acceptance in Morrison then becomes a central theme that alters according to the perceptions and beliefs of each character. Works Cited Bakerman, Jane. “Failures of Love: Female Initiation in the Novels of Toni Morrison.” American Literature 52 (4), 1981. [Print]. Morrison, Toni, Danielle Guthrie. Conversations with Toni Morrison University Press of Mississippi: Mississippi, 2011. [Print]. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. Penguin Group: New York, 1994. [Print]. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. Penguin Group: New York, 1977. [Print]. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Alfred Knopf: New York, 1987. [Print]. Read More