흑인 참전 용사의 재해석을 통한 흑인 남성성의 가능성 모색: 토니 모리슨의 『술라』를 중심으로
A Possibility of Black Manhood through Re-reading Black Veterans in Toni Morrison’s Sula
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With the outbreak of World War I, being a soldier offered an opportunity for black males to acquire black manhood in America’s segregated society. Investigating black soldiers and war veterans in Sula, men who have always been perceived as peripheral and minor characters, could offer a promising direction in Morrison criticism for constructing a positive black image. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore the black WWI veteran characters in Sula—Shadrack, in particular—from his dreadful experience on the battlefield in France to his return to the Bottom, and examines the meaning of his existence in the black community along with his declaration of National Suicide Day. Through his war experience, Shadrack gains the power to recognize his damaged sense of identity as a black man, and, rather than being devastated by this experience, he undertakes to heal the wounded black identity by establishing an ingenious, communal ritual, National Suicide Day, which connects the cultural and historical identity of the Bottom’s people with one’s individual black identity. The ritual makes him a creator, a healer, and most of all, a leader in the Bottom. He also tries to heal a young black girl, the protagonist Sula, by soothing her fears. This relationship between Shadrack and Sula presents and represents a strongly positive aspect of him as a more affirmative black male figure than any other black male characters in Morrison’s novels have been shown to be. Through these analyses, this paper aims to focus upon the complex, problematic status of black male characters in Morrison’s novels and to supplement their limited and negative evaluation with a more positive one by drawing attention to Shadrack.
Abstract
With the outbreak of World War I, being a soldier offered an opportunity for black males to acquire black manhood in America’s segregated society. Investigating black soldiers and war veterans in Sula, men who have always been perceived as peripheral and minor characters, could offer a promising direction in Morrison criticism for constructing a positive black image. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore the black WWI veteran characters in Sula—Shadrack, in particular—from his dreadful experience on the battlefield in France to his return to the Bottom, and examines the meaning of his existence in the black community along with his declaration of National Suicide Day. Through his war experience, Shadrack gains the power to recognize his damaged sense of identity as a black man, and, rather than being devastated by this experience, he undertakes to heal the wounded black identity by establishing an ingenious, communal ritual, National Suicide Day, which connects the cultural and historical identity of the Bottom’s people with one’s individual black identity. The ritual makes him a creator, a healer, and most of all, a leader in the Bottom. He also tries to heal a young black girl, the protagonist Sula, by soothing her fears. This relationship between Shadrack and Sula presents and represents a strongly positive aspect of him as a more affirmative black male figure than any other black male characters in Morrison’s novels have been shown to be. Through these analyses, this paper aims to focus upon the complex, problematic status of black male characters in Morrison’s novels and to supplement their limited and negative evaluation with a more positive one by drawing attention to Shadrack.
참고문헌 (36)
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