Insights on pursuit for meaningful life in selected works of toni morrison

INSIGHTS FOR MEANINGFUL LIFE
IN SELECTED WORKS OF TONI MORRISON

A Dissertation Presented to the
Faculty of the Graduate School
Batangas State University
Batangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in English

by
VU THI QUYNH DUNG
2015


i
APPROVAL SHEET
This dissertation entitled “INSIGHTS FOR MEANINGFUL LIFE
IN SELECTED WORKS OF TONI MORRISON” prepared and submitted by
VU THI QUYNH DUNG in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English has been examined and is
recommended for Oral Examination.


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ABSTRACT
Title: Insights for a Meaningful Life in Selected Works of Toni Morrison
Author: Vũ Thị Quỳnh Dung

Course: Doctor of Philosophy
Major: English
Year: 2015
Adviser: Dr. Maria Luisa A. Valdez

Summary:
This dissertation aimed at presenting how the selected works of Toni
Morrison manifest the sufferings of black women in terms of racial
oppression, gender inequality, emotional abandonment, and women’s
sufferings; the sources of strengths and motive of women’s resistance as
shown in the love between mother and children, husband and wife
relationship, freedom and equality, and self-identity; and the manner how
the women in the world portrayed in the novels express resistance to the
different forms of violence. Likewise, it shows the implications of the themes
pursued in the novels to the study of the meaningful family life among
Vietnamese students.


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In dealing with the works, the qualitative method with content analysis
based on the Sociological and Philosophical Approaches and the theory of
Viktor Frankl’s Meaningfulness of Life were employed.
The study found out that mostly, the black female characters
experienced humiliation and suffered an acute isolation in a white racist
society that has marginalized them; Black women always resisted every sort
of oppression with different sources of strength and motives; Oppressed
women resisted and revolted in various ways, such as verbal, physical, and
armed resistance with different manners such as violence, non-violence or
acquiescence; and the themes pursued in the novels will change the way
Vietnamese students think and act, and foster students to hold campaigns

and propaganda focusing on promoting the values of a meaningful family life,
a life of prosperity, equality, happiness, progress, a life without prejudice and
violence.
The dissertation can be used as reference for students of Literature in
the Contemporary American Literature course. Vietnam’s Ministry of Education
and Training, the educational institutions may integrate the insights on the
pursuit of meaningful family life in the academe that will also inspire them to
spawn activities in the curricula. This paper will also make members of the
community understand that life is never made unbearable by circumstances,
but only by lack of meaning and purpose.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This dissertation appears in its current form due to the assistance
and guidance of several people. The researcher would like to offer her
sincere thanks to them for their assistance and guidance has helped her
during the whole period of study.
First and foremost, she offers her sincerest gratitude to her
supervisor, Dr. Maria Luisa A. Valdez, the Dean of Colleges and Head of the
Graduate School of the Batangas State University ARASOF Nasugbu
Campus, the researcher’s dissertation adviser and editor, who has
supported her though out the conduct of her dissertation with her patience
and knowledge. Without her this research, too, would not have been
completed or written. One simply could not wish for a more accommodating
and admirable supervisor.
The researcher also owes her gratitude to Dr. Matilda H. Dimaano for
her highly intellectual abilities to give excellent advise and detailed review
during the preparation of this study.

She would also like to express her gratitude to Dr. Amada G. Banaag,
Dr. Felix M. Panopio, and Dr. Myrna G. Sulit, the Members of the Panel of
Examiners, for their thorough dissection and candid remarks that drew up
the essential and relevant dimensions in this research.
Her gratitude is also for Dr. Remedios P. Magnaye, the Graduate
School Secretary, for her words of encouragement and kind gestures.


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She would like to give expressions to her gratitude to all the teachers
of the Graduate School of Batangas State University of the Philippines for
their valuable lectures that inspire her to carry out the research.
She would like to seize this opportunity to thank the Philippines
Government which sends each time with the utmost willingness skilful and
qualified teachers to Thai Nguyen University. The cooperation between the
two countries should be a lesson for other Asian countries to improve
education and achieve integration.
She is indebted to Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry
of International Training and Development Center (ITC) for accepting her as
a Doctor of Philosophy Student and for its guidance and supports during the
course.
She greatly appreciates the financial assistance and spiritual supports
of Hung Vuong University, of Foreign Language Department, of her dear
colleagues and students for her and her family during her PhD. study.
She is grateful to To Loan Nguyen and her family to help her in the
search of documents while they were in Germany.
She cannot finish without thanking her family. She warmly thanks and
appreciates her parents for their encouragement and looking after her
children in the process of study.
She wants to express her gratitude and deepest appreciation to her

loving husband and two sweet daughters. Without their supports and
encouragements, she could not have finished this work.


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DEDICATION

To my dear husband, Mr. Pham Dinh Hung,
my loving children Pham Que Chi and Pham Khanh Nguyen,
and my respected parents
without whom this dissertation would not have been completed.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE
APPROVAL SHEET .............................................................................. i
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...................................................................... iv
DEDICATION....................................................................................... vi
LIST OF MATRICES ........................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................... x
CHAPTER............................................................................................. 1
I. THE PROBLEM ......................................................................... 1

Introduction ................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ..........................................7
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study........8

Significance of the Study .........................................11
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................... 13

Conceptual Literature ..............................................13
Research Literature .................................................40
Theoretical Framework ............................................50
Paradigm of the Study .............................................52
Definition of Terms...................................................54
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................. 57


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Research Design .....................................................57
Treatment of Materials .............................................58
IV. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE NOVELS ... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.... 175

Summary ...............................................................149
Findings..................................................................150
Conclusions ...........................................................152
Recommendations.................................................153
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………….
APPENDICES .................................................................................
APPENDIX A: Summary of Song of Solomon
APPENDIX B Summary of Tar Baby
CURRICULUM VITAE


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LIST OF MATRICES
Matrix 1: Summary Matrix of the Themes in the Selected Novels p.149


x

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

p.64


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CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM

Introduction
The purpose of one’s life is a question often asked by many people as
they ponder on the reasons for their existence. Indeed, life is considered as
an expression of one’spurpose for being. The reason epitomizes the wisdom
that is within all things. To illustrate this, it is the power within a seed, when
planted in the garden and grows gradually towards the self-actualization of
its reason for being. Everything has a purpose, a time and a season.
Autumn is an inspiring illustration of the fulfillment of many plants as people
enjoy the bountiful fruits and vegetables that are harvested in the cycles or
seasons of life (Society of Kabalarians of Canada Website, 2014).
Philosophers, psychologists, spiritual leaders, as well as researchers
have all pondered on the thought of what makes life worth living. The
responses are diverse based on one’s ideological, cultural, social, or

religious, and professional backgrounds. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl once
wrote that life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by the
absence of meaning and purpose. For most individuals, feeling happy and
finding life meaningful are both essential and mutually connected goals. But
people also pondered if happiness and meaning always harmonize. It
seems unconvincing, given that many of the things that people regularly
choose to do are unlikely to upsurge their daily happiness.


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Contemplating, finding and clarifying their life’s purpose and core life
intentions can help people to move with greater focus and clarity every day
of their lives. In these challenging times, setting clear intentions and
developing and refining life’s purpose can make it much easier for every
individual to surpass difficult situations. There are countless ways to find
and develop life’s purpose and intentions. There are also a number of useful
resources to help men on this path of discovery and to inspire them to be all
that they can be and to lead them to an ever richer and fuller life.
A substantial way to start exploring one’s life purpose and intentions
is to pause for a moment and ask oneself about the most important to men’s
lifeand what are their deeply-held values and beliefs. Though both can be
valuable, there is a difference between life purpose and life intentions. One’s
life purpose is generally a single statement related to the overall reason that
man feels a person is here. This could be the greater purpose behind their
being alive and their existence in the world. Both life purpose and life
intentions can be rich and valuable in helping to move through the
challenges life brings men, though some will prefer focusing on one over the
other. If people find this process somewhat challenging, they might do best
to focus on one first.
Different people hold different viewpoints about meaningful life.

Generally, if they possess these five things namely: a faith in God, a
meaningful family life, a meaningful career, bosom friendship, and the


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positive contribution to the society, their life will be significant. Those five
important components foster one another to strengthen the lives of men.
For women, a part of a meaningful life is derived from the liberation of
their own lives.

Throughout the world, governments have committed to

achieve the equality between men and women. Women now take part more
in the workforce, have more legal rights and more opportunities of
education.

However, their status in many countries still remains

considerably inferior of men in many aspects of life. In developed countries,
women are still suffering from unequal wage in the workplace, from sexual
harassment; the prevalence of men in political, economic, and other fields.
Likewise, in developing countries, women’s traditional roles are still
family-focused with domestic chore, bearing and rearing children, taking
care of her household. In addition to those obstacles, they are also
oppressed with race discrimination, sexual violence and domestic violence.
As a result, many of them struggle to fight against those so as to pursue a
better life.
Similarly, there is a great improvement as regards status of
Vietnamese women since the foundation of the country in 1945. Women
attended schools and universities increases considerably. They take part in

almost all fields of employment which include politic, economic and cultural
sectors. In recent decades, gender relations and attitudes also shift rapidly.
In terms of families, women are more respected as well as in society. In


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terms of housework, men now are more willing to share with their mothers,
sisters and wives.
Since Vietnamese people are influenced by Confucian philosophy that
embraces the patriarchal values, women lead the life of three obedience
and four virtues which emphasized the male domination and stresses
female subordination. Consequently, discriminations, violence, obstacles
and gender disparities were experienced by women. Their work at home
and at work were not recognized and appreciated. They are expected to
perform noble job of a mother and a wife in the families as well as of a
citizen in the society. Their efforts and contributions to family and society
were not recognized and they were not accorded with sympathy from the
population. Hence, the reason for the search for a meaningful family life of
Vietnamese women about human beings is motivated.
With reference to the foregoing, literature may be used as a writer’s
channel is sharing their philosophical thoughts on meaningful existence. It is
about human beings and the reflections of their various experiences, ideas,
and their daily passions. Through literature, readers look back on their
memories, writers share their experiences, and the readers learn life’s
lessons through other people’s experiences. People find stories designed to
portray human life and action through some characters who, by their words,
action and reaction, convey certain messages for the purpose of education,
information and entertainment in literature. It is impossible to find a work of
literature that excludes the attitudes, moral and values of the society. This

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idea holds true particularly for prose, which treat life in a more picturesque
fashion than any other form of arts.
As regards American literature, Toni Morrison is one among the
contemporary black women writers who emerged as an African American
star in the twentieth century and who had transformed the American literary
landscape in the African American literary tradition. She was an author,
editor and critic and was considered as the first African American woman to
win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
Song of Solomon is a novel written by Toni Morrison in 1977. The
novel centers on the life of Macon "Milkman" Dead III, an African-American
man living in Michigan, from birth to adulthood. The said book won the
National Books Critics Award, was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's popular book
club, and was cited by the Swedish Academy in awarding Morrison the 1993
Nobel Prize in literature. In 1998, the Radcliffe Publishing Course named it
the 25th best English-language novel of the 20th century.
Stunningly beautiful and emotionally provocative, Tar Baby is Toni
Morrison’s reinvention of a love story. The novel centers on the life of Jadine
Childs who is a black fashion model with a white patron, a white boyfriend,
and a coat made out of ninety perfect sealskins. Son, on the other hand, is a
black fugitive who embodies everything she despises and desires. As
Morrison follows their affair, which plays out from the Caribbean to
Manhattan and the deep South, she charts all the nuances of obligation and


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betrayal between blacks and whites, masters and servants, and men and
women (Morrison, 2004).
Many writers have been attracted to the theme about women, their

lives, their work, and their dreams but few authors wrote about the diverse
and complex lives of black women. Toni Morrison took the task of writing
about them within the black community as well as holding that community
responsible for its own actions.
Black culture and heritage were embraced in Toni Morrison’s writings
as well as her creative contributions to her black fellows. As black woman
writer, she was able to reach out into the hearts of black women as well as
exposed their psychological misery, emotions, feelings, thoughts and
desires.

In her writings, Toni Morrison engaged herself in making the

stereotypes of black female characters depicted in most of literary canon,
molds a range of vivid new images of black women, and exhibits the conflict
in their minds with the stress of racism and sexism and actively established
black women’s subjectivity (Li-juan, 2012).
In addition, the black women in Toni Morrison’s novels are portrayed
as breeding women, maids and domestic workers and treated as
commodities to be handled by the white masters. They did not have any
human rights whatsoever, but their white masters had all rights over them.
Their living condition is full of racism and sexism that resulted in alienation.
Exploring human relations was considered the passion of Toni
Morrison as her novels tackled racism in the twentieth-century United States


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as well as positions of black women within their communities including intraracial issues.
Toni Morrison’s wisdom embodied in her selected works serves as a
motivating factor that could help the Vietnamese students re-examine their
lives and values. Her writings could provide them views in relation to their

attitude towards life in general and towards specific actions in particular.
Further, these could also serve as an inspiration and transformation of
human acts as Toni Morrison’s work delve on philosophy and unique
experience. Moreover, this contributes to the social development of the
Vietnamese students as members of society, supporting nation building.
With these thoughts in mind, the researcher who is an English lecturer
at the Hung Vuong University, was deeply motivated to explore and
undertake an analysis of how black females pursuing a meaningful life is
reflected in the selected works of Toni Morrison and gain honest
implications on the study of the meaningful family life among Vietnamese
students.
Statement of the Problem
This study analysed the insights on pursuit for meaningful life in the
selected works of Toni Morrison and gain honest implications of the themes
to the study of meaningful life.
Specifically, the study sought answers to the following questions:
1. How do the selected works of Toni Morrison manifest the sufferings of
Black women in terms of:


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1.1.racial oppression;
1.2. gender inequality;
1.3. emotional abandonment; and
1.4. women’s sufferings?
2. How are the sources of strengths and motive of women’s resistance
shown in:
2.1. love between mother and children;
2.2. husband and wife relationship;
2.3. freedom and equality; and

2.4. self-identity?
3.

In what manner do the women in the world portrayed in the novels

express resistance to the different forms of violence?
4. What are the implications of the themes in the novels to the study of
meaningful family life among Vietnamese students?
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study
This study analysed the insights on pursuit for meaningful life in
selected works of Toni Morrison pointing out the events and situations which
show honest implications of the themes pursued in the novels to the study of
meaningful family life among Vietnamese students. Likewise, this paper
tried to present how the selected works manifest the sufferings of black
women in terms of racial oppression, gender inequality, emotional
abandonment, and women’s sufferings; the sources of strengths and motive
of women’s resistance as shown in the love between mother and children,


9
husband and wife relationship, freedom and equality, and self-identity; and
the manner how the women in the world portrayed in the novels express
resistance to the different forms of violence.
This study employed the qualitative method of research in analysing
Toni Morrison’s insights on the pursuit of meaningful life in the
representative literary works chosen. Likewise, this analysis made use of
the sociological and philosophical approaches as the bases for analysis. In
particular, the sociological and historical approaches were supported by
Victor Frankl’s Theory about the Meaningfulness of Life.
This paper also involved content analysis, which is a systematic

technique in analyzing message content and message handling. The data
analysis in this research centered on pattern seeking and the extraction of
meaning from Toni Morrison’s selected literary narrative or image data.
Much effort was focused on the task of recording texts or making notes
through concepts and categories; linking and combining abstract concepts;
extracting the essence; organizing meaning; writing an understanding; and
drawing conclusions.
The essential features in the treatment of materials were considered
by the researcher in the conduct of this study. To adopt a more systematic
identification of selected works, several norms were adhered. Alkiere (2014)
put forth the following criteria: linguistic accessibility, literary accessibility,
cultural accessibility and story-telling quality. With reference to linguistic
accessibility or the criterion which is dependent on how free the novels are


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from errors in syntax, vocabulary and punctuation, the selected novels were
assured to be free from the aforecited “lexical and grammatical traps.” As
regards literary accessibility or the criterion which requires novel not to be
overtly descriptive or lengthy and should be accessible to the reader, the
selected works are classified as full-length novels written in English by an
African American writer.
In relation to cultural accessibility or the criterion which involves taking
into consideration how bounded the novel is to culture, the selected literary
pieces clearly expressed insights on the pursuit for meaningful family life in
the context of the Vietnamese students’ lives. Relative to story-telling quality
or the criterion which points out that the novels should be a page turner,
relevant and appealing to the readers; the selections must be published
from the year 2000 onward to ensure contemporariness and relevancy.
Novels must focus on insights on pursuit for meaningful life.

The representative literary works analyzed were the two literary works
of Toni Morrison entitled Song of Solomon and Tar Baby. From these
literatures, readers will be able to realize in them the writer’s most important
teachings. The said selections were chosen because of their correlation
with the cited theme and subthemes; specifically how the selected works
manifest the sufferings of black women in terms of racial oppression, gender
inequality, emotional abandonment, and women’s sufferings; the sources of
strengths and motive of women’s resistance as shown in the love between
mother and children, husband and wife relationship, freedom and equality,


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and self-identity; and the manner how the women in the world portrayed in
the novels express resistance to the different forms of violence. These
novels constituted the primary and twining sources of the study.
Other literary pieces of Morrison which have undertones of pursuit for
a meaningful life were not included in the study. Likewise, other approaches
in literary criticism such as Formalist Criticism, Biographical Criticism,
Historical Criticism, Gender Criticism, and Psychological Criticism are not
part of this study. Moreover, other works of Toni Morrison such as Beloved,
The Bluest Eyes, Sula, A Mercy, Peeny Butter Fudge and many more are
not included in the analysis.
Significance of the Study
The applicability of this research study is highlighted in terms of its
implication to a number of individuals. It is beneficial to academic managers,
media practitioners, college instructors of literature, students of literature,
the researcher and future researchers.
The Academic Administrators. The study will be used as a basis of
academic administrators in planning and implementing the curricula that will
educate the academic community about the meaningful family life

regardless of gender, race, nationality and religious backgrounds.
Media

Practitioners.

Media

practitioners

may

incorporate

motivational messages relative to the theme and sub-themes of this paper
into various forms of mass media to change the audience’s attitudes and


12
behavior and to inspire them to act towards the attainment of a more
meaningful family life.
College Instructors of Literature. This study will be beneficial in
their methodology specifically in teaching literature using the appropriate
literary theories and approaches in literary analysis.
Students of Literature. This analysis may give students of literature
an extensive and profound outlook in life with reference to a person’s pursuit
of meaningful family life through the lives and experiences of the writers and
the characters in the selected literary pieces.
The Researcher. This paper will be beneficial to her in the sense that
this will provide her with opportunities to discuss the concept of meaningful
family life in her literature classes and open her students’ minds and hearts

to the essence of meaningful life as a philosophical and spiritual inquiry.
Future Researchers. This paper may stimulate them to conduct
more studies on ways that are most effective in integrating meaningful
family life into the people’s consciousness to substantiate the present
investigation.


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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the conceptual and research literatures, with
the view of identifying constructs of the study. Likewise, it includes the
synthesis of the literature reviewed, theoretical and conceptual frameworks
as well as the operational definition of terms of the study.
Conceptual Literature
The review of the conceptual literature yields four types of constructs,
which were used in the analysis and interpretation of the novels dissected.
These constructs include literature and philosophy, meaningful family life in
Vietnam, sociological and philosophical approaches in literary criticism, and
Toni Morrison and her significant works.
Literature and Philosophy. Literature and philosophy develop
intellectual curiosity, appreciation of world cultures, analytical thinking,
creativity, and strong oral and written communication - knowledge and skills
that can be applied to almost any domains. These are considered central
discipline of humanities. Hake (2001) stated that literature as well as
philosophy ask and answer the questions about human being’s origin and
about the meaning of their existence. They not only ask these questions in
an inquiring and eloquent way, but also provide them with a wide variety of

possible answers.


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Literature, according to Garcia (1988),is the most notable among
humanities of those instrumentalities by which man becomes more complete
human. As a mirror and an expression of life, literature initiates the readers
into looking at the people and the world around them and into their inner
selves.
As a term used to describe written or spoken material, literature is
used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific
works. However, the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the
creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction
(Lombardi E. Website, 2014) and tradition as literature represents the
language or a people’s culture. New world of experiences is also introduced
because literature is more essential than historical or culture artifacts.
Literature as a written work of a specific culture, sub-culture, religion,
philosophy or the study of such written work which may appear in poetry or
in prose, according to Mark (2009).

Certain qualities are portrayed in

literature which include impact on the audience, a good use of the resource
of language and the author’s style which should be appealing to the
readers.
Conveying particular opinions of authors is regarded as well as
literature. Readers were driven to look and gain insights into the topics.
They were challenged to think and deepened their understanding about life.
In other words, readers of literature tend to comprehend situations from
different perspectives, giving them wisdom and prompting them to reflect