The eNotes Blog Remembering Toni Morrison

Remembering Toni Morrison Toni Morrison, one of the most influential authors of the last century, passed away on August 5, marking the end of a long and prolific writing life. Although best known for novels such as Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Song of Solomon, Morrison’s catalogue of work encompasses children’s stories, short fiction, plays, and non-fiction books exploring topics surrounding race, gender, power, and more. She held teaching positions in colleges and universities across the country, was the first African American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American letters, and was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Morrison’s life and legacy are an inspiration to many. She was the first African-American woman to work as an editor at Random House. She made a strong impact on the literary world with her debut novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970. Her works focus on the experience and perspectives of African Americans in order to draw attention to this underrepresented community. She provided American literature with insight into the dignity and richness of African American culture using language and a willingness to engage with often overlooked parts of history. When questioned about her decision to exclude the white perspective from her novels, Morrison outlined her literary creed:   I never asked Tolstoy to write for me, a little colored girl in Lorain, Ohio. I never asked [James] Joyce not to mention Catholicism or the world of Dublin. Never. And I don’t know why I should be asked to explain your life to you. We have splendid writers to do that, but I am not one of them. It is that business of being universal, a word hopelessly stripped of meaning for me†¦ If I tried to write a universal novel, it would be water. Behind this question is the suggestion that to write for black people is somehow to diminish the writing. From my perspective there are only black people. When I say â€Å"people,† that’s what I mean. Though no summary can quite do justice to the depth and complexity of her work, these excerpts will inspire you to explore Morrison’s rich and masterful prose on your own: Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye. - The Bluest Eye You cant own a human being. You cant lose what you dont own. Suppose you did own him. Could you really love somebody who was absolutely nobody without you? You really want somebody like that? Somebody who falls apart when you walk out the door? You dont, do you? And neither does he. Youre turning over your whole life to him. Your whole life, girl. And if it means so little to you that you can just give it away, hand it to him, then why should it mean any more to him? He cant value you more than you value yourself. - Song of Solomon In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder they do not love your flesh. They despise it. They dont love your eyes; theyd just as soon pick em out. No more do they love the skin on your back. Yonder they flay it. And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face cause they dont love that either. You got to love it, you! And no, they aint in love with your mouth. Yonder, out there, they will see it broken and break it again. What you say out of it they will not heed. What you scream from it they do not hear. What you put into it to nourish your body they will snatch away and give you leavins instead. No, they dont love your mouth. You got to love it. This is flesh Im talking about here. Flesh that needs to be loved. Feet that ne ed to rest and to dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms Im telling you. And O my people, out yonder, hear me, they do not love your neck unnoosed and straight. So love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it and hold it up. And all your inside parts that theyd just as soon slop for hogs, you got to love them. The dark, dark liver- love it, love it and the beat and beating heart, love that too. More than eyes or feet. More than lungs that have yet to draw free air. More than your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts, hear me now, love your heart. For this is the prize.† - Beloved

Should Same-Sex Marriages Be Made Legal

Should Same-Sex Marriages Be Made Legal Same-Sex Marriages Should Certainly Not Be Made Legal Our Changing World Calling something marriage does not make it marriage. Marriage has always been a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children and the unity and wellbeing of the spouses. The promoters of same-sex â€Å"marriage† propose something entirely different. They propose the union between two men or two women. This denies the self-evident biological, physiological, and psychological differences between men and women which find their complementarity in marriage. It also denies the specific primary purpose of marriage: the perpetuation of the human race and the raising of children. Two entirely different things cannot be considered the same thing. Something is legal if it adheres to the law, and in America when the Supreme Court passes new federal legislation, then the states have the power to incorporate it into a state law. Despite the fact, that the world itself, as well as a lot of moral principles, is changing greatly these days same-sex marriage should not be made legal. In years past, it was an issue seldom discussed, but today homosexuality is a big problem. In a Christian society, marriage could exist only between man and woman, husband and wife. But, unfortunately, things are different today. Same-sex marriages could be made legal if the people vote to legalize it. In a democratic society, the people of a state or city or county votes to pass legislation usually once a federal institution like the Supreme Court of the United States of America deems something constitutional or not. If it becomes the will of the people, of the voting-friendly, democratic republic, then it becomes legal and should be strictly enforced.  Some people state that same-sex marriage should be made legal because everyone has the right to be happy, to marry the person who completes their lives, the person of their dreams, their lover, their life partner. But its a big lie. Same-sex relationship is nothing more than a sin. Healthy Family Healthy Society Our world really needs more people who are in love, who can start a family with the person they love. That makes for a better, safer, happier world with healthy, wealthy families. For that reason, men should marry women and women should marry men. Same-sex marriages destroy healthy mentality, moral principles, and peoples lives. Traditional marriage is usually so fecund that those who would frustrate its end must do violence to nature to prevent the birth of children by using contraception. It naturally tends to create families. On the contrary, same-sex â€Å"marriage† is intrinsically sterile. If the â€Å"spouses† want a child, they must circumvent nature by costly and artificial means or employ surrogates. The natural tendency of such a union is not to create families.Therefore, we cannot call a same-sex union marriage and give it the benefits of true marriage. Therefore, same-sex marriages should not be made legal, despite the fact that there are a number of same-sex couples in the world already. The world is and will be always changing, but it doesnt mean that its for better. Bible teaches how God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for the sin of homosexuality: â€Å"The Lord rained down sulfurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil.†