CC BY
74
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20534/EJLL-17-1-34-38
Tahirova Vafa Aghali, Azerbaijan University of Languages (AUL) E-mail: [email protected]
Analysis of Afro-American literature from the View of Multiculturalism (on the works of Sula, Morrion, Tar baby, Mercy written by Tony Morrison)
Abstract: In the early decades of the 20th century, racial injustice and widespread lynching and other types of violence against the Afro-Americans continued to take place. In the context of the colonial era, slavery and immigration are to be regarded as the essential factors of American multiculturalism. In a growing multicultural world, the connections and interactions between individuals become more and more complex. This idea is present throughout Toni Morrison's novels, and especially in Sula, Tar baby and Mercy. In the search ofAfrican American identity, the author comes to conclusion that the survival ofblack people in a white society depends upon their emphasis on loving their own race, their own culture and loving themselves and not to get trapped in white superiority or white standards of beauty.
The article devoted to the study of above-mentioned problems consists of an abstract, an introduction, and subtitles, with the names of the three works subjected to the analysis, each of which is analyzed in details as to the view points of the author of the article. In the "conclusion" the main ideas put forth in the article is represented in the generalized form.
Keywords: multiculturalism, afro-American literature, search of identity, self cognition, cultural identity.
1. Introduction
In the midst of the XX century, increase ofnational traditions turned to the actual problems and as a result of this the term "multiculturalism" entered literature. This term, having entered the political sphere in the widest sense of meaning began to serve the protection of distinctive cultures and principles of their development, including the recognition of the rights of different races, ethnic and cultural groups. The idea of "Multiculturalism" contradicted to the idea of "melting pot", namely, to the conception of puncturing of all the cultures. Differentiation in the composition of American population has always been one of the factors seriously influencing on American literature. The fact that American literature is different from other national literatures is as to the ethnic and racial differentiation which American literature composes. United States is a multi-cultural society in which reside the people of European, African, Latin American origin. At the last decade of the XX century literature of local residents-literature of American Indians written in the English language, literature of American minorities, literature of Chicanos, including Asian-American literature began to be formulated and spread widely. We may say the richest layer of American literature consists of Afro-American literature. Just for this reason it is necessary to study the American literature from the aspect of Multiculturalism prism. Mul-
ticultural literature is a piece of literature where the main character and story revolves around a person who is one of the members of major minority groups such as African American, Latino, Native American, Asian Americans and also women, handicapped individuals, and individuals with different sexual preferences.
If we take this determination as the main one, the works of Tony Morrison, are the novels, reflecting multiculturalism in the modern society of USA in the real sense of meaning. In all his novels the ancient past of American people, their traditions and myths take place in a certain degree. Racial theme is nearer to Tony Morrison's creative activity, though in the course ofhis creative activity, his attitude to this problem changes. Tony Morrison gradually passes from the racial problem, to the problems, created in the own atmosphere of Afro Americans.
Despite the fact that Afro-American literature possesses distinctive, mixed, class varieties, the author managed protecting its roots, genre and stylistic features and developed its original prosaic paradigm. Consequently, Afro-American literature today is distinguished by its unique aesthetics value. The status of Afro-American literature found its affirmation. Resulting at last by the fact that Tony Morrison was considered worth of Nobel Prize in 1993. In Tony Morrison's works the idea of ethnic self-cognition found its reflection. He addressed to this theme for the
purpose of opposing the white people ofAmerica against the black ones. His aim in doing this was to help his people to cognize their own existence and to protect it. Morrison's heroes live with the desire to overpass the inerasable bitterness of slavery, rooted in their memories, and enter a new cultural society.
In the most novels of Morrison a vast place is given to the importance ofknowing Morisson's heroes as personalities, formulation of the notion of "identity", the influence of environment and society on these themes. Eyerman Ron in his book named "Cultural Trauma: Slavery and the Formation ofAfrican Americans" noted that as a result of cultural trauma personality and its essence will tragically frustrated, social structure will be smashed to pieces and all these at a certain degree will influence on the people, having gained solidarity. African slaves, having seen racial pressure around them and from the society, had united. As far as the characters in Morrison's works are concerned, the trauma, being the object of the theme of slavery does not exist as certain structure or a certain experiment, but it is a type of memory of collective recollections having put the foundation of formulation of the concept of personality of persons. The main problem, which Afro Americans coped with in their attempts to formulate the notion ofpersonal-ity, related to themselves, was the determination of their problems with their existence, by the white people. As to the thoughts of Neal, Anthony in his work "A conceptualization ofan African American Connotative Struggle each of Africa American was worried by the name which they carried. The reason of this lay in the fact Americans gave the name of"Negro" to the people ofAfrican origin, which alongside describing them physically deprived them from their cultural belonging. It was a word determining them as black-skinned or slaves. This classification only served to remember the bitter sides of slavery and diaspora.
2. Sula in the Search of Identity
The main hero in the work Sula belonged to the black society in Bottom. Sula knew that black people were looked down as ones who experiences low mode of life. Being a teenager, she understood that she enjoyed the life then, when she experienced the mode of life in the way which fitted to her own will. Sula found strength not in living in the society to which she herself belonged, but she found strength in the way, she revolted against such a society. Once, when she talked to her granny Evayl she said to her that she wished to build up her own life (Sula, 92). Sula's intention sounded as opposing to the system of racial-discrimination. She wished to leave the district in which she had lived until now and to go to a place where she might achieve a different life from the one she had
once. She, having entered a college, threw herself upon a city life. Sula pledges a heavy task upon herself. She wants to become both-African and American and also wishes to make transition from one life into the other one. Nevertheless, Sula cannot find a proper place for herself, to realize her dreams. Thus after 10 years Sula goes back to Bottom again.
Perhaps she realizes that she is not accepted by the world ofwhite people, and for the reason, she comes back to her native land again. But after she returns home many changes take place. When she comes back to rejoin her root she is accepted as an immoral woman who attracts men's attention, as the one who revolts, as a woman of mockery.
3. Jadi's attempts to cognize oneself in the work Tar baby
The modern Africa-American in which Tony Morrison touches upon in one of his novels "Tar baby" is the problem of extremity with which modern Africa-American cognizes the reality. For peaceful coexistence of African Americans this extremity means self-killing. Thus, for the hero of the novel there are two possibilities: either experiencing falsehood to join the world of white people (as Jadi had done) or "Cooking pies in the cellar of the church", namely living far away from the cultural centers, getting education and not reaching the aims in life. In fact, he wanted neither to be black nor American, he only wished to be a man within her soul. By his novel Toni Morrison wanted to make the Americans know that it was impossible to be a part of American culture as a whole or to live only with the African past of his ancestors. As to Toni Morrison the originality of Africa-American nationality lies in the fact that in the Africa-American history, culture and mode of life African and American cultures are not separated from one another by their influence on one another.
The struggles of women heroes in the novel, for getting place among the American society brought bigger problems to their lives and in the end the author ended the lives of these characters with the unpleasant ending. We may say, that none of these personages is able to live under hard conditions. Sula and Jadi's attempts to become different ones, made a negative influence on them. The results of personal choices of these characters rose from the disagreement against the status of black women in the society. Search for identity in life revealed itself in the struggles of characters for the sake of saving their lives. Sula and Judi tried to avoid physically sacrificing their lives in attempts to find their identities. Both Sula and Judi were freed from slavery, but they had
managed realizing only a part of the problem of identity in life. They were not satisfied with their lives at all. The search for identity resulted in failure for the reason they had not mastered the values of dominant culture. Toni Morrison stressed the fact that in the society of the whites, the emancipation of black women is not in the conception of the society of the whites or in keeping to the conception of their beauty, but it is in their love to own selves, their own black races, and their own cultures.
4. Multicultural aspect of the work "Mercy". The Notion of Cultural identity
Toni Morrison's work "Mercy" (2003) is a historical novel, reflecting the newly invented occurrences in America in the XVII century. Throughout the novel Toni Morrison highlights the historical stages of the place, having taken the name of USA at present, and early formulation of the society of slavery in this place. The story, dealing with Africans, native Americans, Hollanders, Portuguese, English and personages of mixed nationalities, Toni Morrison highlights American ethnic group in the first plan, but he describes typical and general ties between the white misters and black slaves, in the second plan. The fact that a special importance was given to the concept of mul-ticulturalism and to the issues linked with formulation of American society in his work "Mercy" was reflected in his scientific article called "Studies on self belongingness, cultural identity and on the creation ofAmerican people" as well. Including the United States of America in which racial enmity is reigning, where racial and ethnic assimilation is still going on and though multiculturalism with some other peoples still remain as the major source of social and political tension, this work alongside propagandizing equal feelings of respect, against the cultural distinctions in the society, make the individual attitudes with other peoples easier, encourage them to take their places among the humane social groups. Approaching the problem from this point of view, we can see that individual identities play dynamic role in the establishment of multicultural societies.
In the rich stories of the work "Mercy" multicultural-ism has found its reflection. In fact, the most narrator of the story is Florence, but Toni Morrison has given changes to other personages as well: in the second section of the story Anglo-Holland farmer Jacob Vaark, in the fourth section Lina from American origin, in the sixth section, an English woman — Jacob Vaark's wife, in the eighth section the left alone girl Sorrow, in the tenth section two servants Williard and Scully working on a contract, but in the last section mother of Florence — a woman slave. They speak of their physical and emotional suffer-
ings which took place in their lives. Indirectly, the story has been formulated not by a straight line, but on the ground "numerous independent and separated from one another thoughts and views". Thanks to this polyphonic style Toni Morrison acting from opposite tendencies in the novel, traditionally has given a place to the narrator ofthe place in the centre. He, making the personages speak of their own stories has tried to show who they are. The personages, while speaking on the occurrences happening with them, physical and psychological traces are obviously visible in their fights for life. In the novel, it is also dealt with, how they, including Jacob Vaark came to New York to form associations of different types. They are described as the representatives of ethnic groups. But their own identities attract the attention as the identities of ethnic groups to whom they belong. The fact that the personages recognize themselves in the work "Mercy" causes to distinguish them as Africans, local Americans, Europeans, or as the representatives ofmixed races. At the same time, the expression of concept of identity of these personages finds itself in the type of identities of Africans, Americans and Europeans and in the expression of identities of the persons of mixed races. But the concept of identity is linked with the concept of self-cognition reflecting the senses, thoughts and convictions of an individual. In fact, it is necessary to distinguish the concepts of active self-cognition from passive self-cognition, because "active self-cognition" consists of concepts, having found their places in their consciousness about themselves. This in itself can be expressed as "phenomenal identity". "Passive self cognition" includes notions, having found their reflections in the consciousness, but not taking part in the process of formulation of self identity. As it has been mentioned above, the person who for the first time narrates the story is Florence. She is the first personage introducing herself. In the narrative of the first person we distinguish the function of identity as protagonist (testing her own self) but, the person who narrates the retrospect story, we distinguish her as the identity speaking about herself.
In the specimen of this, the concept of "Man hood" expresses both the thinking individual ("I think") and the object of thinking (about me). Florence is thinking because she is existing. In the first section of the work Florence sees Jacob Vaak's coming to the plantation as the "Mercy of God" (po.167). Florence giving information about herself in fact, giving the reader the chance to realize about her identity, the first section of the work can be considered as the biography of Florence. Here, details about her life takes place as well. Despite the fact that Florence has not any education, she is a very capable girl.
Thus, the fact that she writes from bible "Signs of Nikey trust" by heart, was a great courage, but she had received neither religious education, nor she had a family name, nor she bore any Christian name. She was also deprived of the special distinguishing identity, which 5 families possessed. Namely, her partial culturalization was connected with her adoption of Christianity. From the view of linguistic level, the fact that Florence possessed both father and mother and also the fact that the African slaves had lost their mother tongue caused the fact that Florence was unable to speak in the African dialect. And just for this reason when Jackob Vaark was brought to the plantation he could not pronounce even a word. At last, he explains the reason why he was culturally isolated in the eleventh section like this: "I am like a wasted field, but nevertheless I am with all my soul and body I am Florence (p.161). Like some other African slaves Florence does not possess any cultural heritage. The experiences which she had "earned", did not differ from the experiences gained by the slaves who were bought by the way of exchange or who were sold. After Jackob Vaark came to the plantation the sexual violence committed on Florence had been prevented, but her separation from her mother undoubtedly, had left psychological wounds with her, because she was a slave. Just the same is told by her mother who speaks of, how she was captured, how she was sold and brought to America. At the same time she draws the readers' attention to the psychological and physical traumas which was "gained" as a result ofbecoming a slave. Both Florence and her mother were black-skinned women. "To become slaves in these places always meant to be aching pits, it will leave signs on the surface and under it will always hurt with pains (p.163). As the "concept of identity" introduced by polyphony created condition for the protogonists to see it in a different way, nevertheless, it is considered as one of the signs ofmulticulturalism. In the polyphony of the narrator of the story we see a connection between the concept of "ownself" and the culture of the person. Thus, we may say that multiculturalism is the whole of experiences attained by separately - taken individuals, including the members of different ethnic and social groups. In the novel the reader can discover the identity of not only Florence and her mother but also they can discover the cultural identity of personages from different ethnic groups such as Lina from local Americans, by the way of polyphony. The fact that Lina comes to Jackob Vaark's plantation is spoken in the fourth section of the story and the occurrences taking place here is narrated by the third person singular. In this section it is mentioned that Lina is an American orphan girl and that she had hardly escaped from the disease of
measles which caused the deaths of numerous people in the tribe in which she was. Lina could recognize neither herself, nor her parents. Presviterians having made her a slave, sold her to Jackob Vaak at the age of fourteen. As Florence, she too bore the Christian name. Her name was Messaline and just Presviterians had given her this name. But shortening her name they called her Lina which gave the meaning of "only one silver wish" (p. 47). "She possessed no right by law, she had not even a family name and before Europeans her no word counted" (p. 52). Slave owners usually give their slaves other names, besides the ones, which they possessed. Doing so, they turned their slaves to four — legged animals, making them being unaware of their own conditions. It was impossible to see the smallest signs of the concept of equality among the slaves shortly speaking. Even by the given names the slave owners depredated the personalities of their slaves. The distorted name given to the distorted identity, the depredated names given to the depredated personalities were unreliable names given by the will of the slave owners. Despite the fact that Lina's story was narrated by the III person singular, Tony Morrison sometimes created conditions for overpassing beyond the frame. Later on he used direct speech, purposed at creating condition for the reader to specify the truthfulness of information or occurrences taking place in the novel. Lina saw herself as the one ex-ciled in her native land: "You (a forest beech) and I, this land is our home... But unlike you I am exile here" (p. 59). As it is known Lina's identity was changed. From her thoughts it became clear that both her identity and her native lands were stolen from her. In fact "comparative European forces, for the purpose ofestablishing a new world, when they desired to expand the borders of their lands, seeing the local Americans as the object of attack, they deprived the local Americans both from their native lands and political wholeness". Some of the American lands occupied by the local Americans by the thought of expanding the territories which the king had presented to them under the rule of the king, these territories were made colonies, because "these territories were considered the territories intended for certain purposes". Development of colonies being Jackob Vaark at the head, the fact that the European colonists ruled over the agriculture by the methods of capitalist way of ruling, created favorable conditions for homosexual Skulls and Willard who were workers by a contract and European slave woman called Sorrow working together in his plantation. Generally speaking the reason, why Toni Morrison wanted to use polyphony was the desire to supply the readers with deep knowledge linked with individual identities of different personages. But on
the other hand by this, he showed higher moral qualities linked with individual identities of personages, and social conditions of slavery in the colonial America. That's why, the theory of polyphony turns the work of "Mercy" into the "piece of art expressing numerous independent and separate from one-another thoughts", because this work composes the characters, who are able clearly to express their own identities. Toni Morrison, by showing personages from distinctive ethnic groups, and separately - taken individuals, puts forth his own thoughts linked with genesis of Present day America. Soon after this, he creates possibilities for us to approach the formulation of American identity consisting of different ethnic identities from multicultural point of view.
Conclusion
We cannot say that multiculturalism is something a new tendency for USA. On the contrary, historically the territory of the United States has been a residential territory for all the ethnos and nationalities. In this country national literature was formulated much before the foundation of the course of multiculturalism.
From the view ofpost modernism, which intends cognition of notion in a different way, in the middle ofthe last century the problem of multiculturalism in literature was highlighted and it demanded all rounded investigation.
It is necessary to note that at present multiculturalism has turned to a philosophy involving a number of countries, even countries, the ethnic compositions of which, all through the history has been homogeneous. This philosophy acts as a new method of globalization. But in the USA it possesses a new status and it has historic reasons for that. The first reason is that the USA developed in a short period of time. The second reason is that USA is a multinational country because this country is distinguished by
the plurality of ethnoses in the world. The third reason is no longing for the unification of different ethnic, language and religious groups. Despite the fact that approximately, all the languages and peoples existing in the territory ofthe United States have their representations, none of them is distinguished as dominant, and in attitude to other multicultural signs do not possess any ruling position.
Toni Morrison deeply plunges the reader into the roots of the construction ofAmerica's multicultural identity which results from the coexistence of many ethnic groups; namely, Africans, Native Indians and Europeans. Their meeting on the American soil results from immigration and slavery. Thus, the representative characters of the respective ethnic groups have their proper histories which are mainly characterized by the physical and psychological trauma they have all experienced. Therefore, to make the reader know their individual sufferings, Toni Morrison uses polyphony as a narrative device which allows each character to express his/her own history. Accordingly, Toni Morrison points out the construction of self-identity or individual self, which is one of the prominent factors of multiculturalism in colonial America. It is that plurality of consciousness which resulted with the construction of the American identity itself. It is in reference to multiculturalism that in 1776 the founding fathers of the United States of America designed the National Great Seal of the country with the Latin phrase "E Pluribus Unum", which means "out of many, one", signifying that Americans are from a variety of sources. It is also important to note that this phrase was considered a de facto motto of the United States for nearly two hundred years until it was changed to "In God We Trust" in 1955. So, Toni Morrison explores her vision of the American genesis almost in all her novels.
References:
1. Eyerman Ron. Cultural Trauma: Slavery and the Formation of African American Eds. Jeffrey C. Alexander and Steven Seidman. New York: Cambridge University Press, - 2001, Print.
2. Neal, Anthony. The naming: A conceptualization of an African American Connotative Struggle. Journal of Black Studies September - 2001. - Vol. 32 - No. 1. Print. - P. 50-65.
3. Toni Morisson Sula USA - 1973.
4. Toni Morrison Tar Baby USA - 1981.
5. Toni Morrison A Mercy USA - 2008.
6. White J. (2009). Bakhtinian Dialog ism: A Philosophical and Methodological Route to Dialogue and Difference? [Online]. Available: http://citeseerx.ist. psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.359.7435&rep=rep1&type=pdf
7. Kelman HC. The Place of Thnic Identity in the Development of Personal Identity: A Challenge for the Jewish Family. In: P. Y. Medding (Ed.), - Cop ing with Life and Death: Jewish families in the twentieth country.|| - Vol. XIV. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press; - 1998. Print. - P 3.
Metaphor in Arabic poetic science until Abd al-Qahir Al-Jurjani (I part)
Section 3. Philology
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20534/EJLL-17-1-39-41
Baghirova Shams Ibrahim, Junior researcher and PhD student on the Institute of Oriental Studies after name Academic Z.M. Bunyadov
National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan E-mail: [email protected]
Metaphor in Arabic poetic science until Abd al-Qahir Al-Jurjani (I part)
Abstract: The literal meaning of the word "Istar" (metaphor) is "borrow, borrow, borrow." The scientist, who first defined the place of the metaphor in the Arabian art of Badi, was the founder of the Arab poetics Ibn al-Mutazz. After Ibn al-Mutazza, the metaphor attracted the attention ofArab poetic scholars, they advanced different opinions about this art. Abulhasan Ali al-Ghazi al-Jurjani was one of these scholars.
Keywords: Arabic poetics, metaphor, poetic figures, Ibn al-Mutazz, Abulhasan Ali al-Qadhi al-Jurjani
Багирова Шамс Ибрагим к., младший научный сотрудник и докторант Института Востоковедения им. академика З.М.Буньядова Национальной Академии Наук Азербайджана E-mail: [email protected]
Метафора в арабской поэтической науке до Абд аль-Кахира аль-Джурджани (часть I)
Аннотация: Буквальное значение слова «Истара» (метафора) — «брать в долг, заимствовать, брать взайм». Ученым, который впервые определил место метафоры в арабском искусстве бади', был основатель арабской поэтики Ибн аль-Мутазз. После Ибн аль-Мутазза, метафора привлек к себе внимание арабских поэтических ученых, они выдвигали различные мнения об этом искусстве. Абульхасан Али аль-Гази аль-Джурджани являлся одним из этих ученых.
Ключевые слова: арабская поэтика, метафора, поэтический фигур, Ибн аль-Мутазз, Абульхасан Али аль-Гази аль-Джурджани.
The literal meaning of the word "Istiara" (metaphor) is "borrow, borrowing". Outstanding Arabic lexicographer Ismail al-Jawhari has explained this word as "borrowing the clothes for use" [7, 761].
The scientist, who has firstly identified the place of istiara in the Arabic art of Badi', was the founder of Arabic poetics Ibn al-Mutazz. Istiara is one of the five literary figures in Ibn al-Mutazz's "Kitab al-Badi' ". He talks about istiara in a preface of his book: [1, 180]
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