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The voice of historical literature
The voice of historical literature
Toni Morrison’s literary legacy examined with Sanjay Paul
ARTS AND CULTURE | March 2025
Toni Morrison, born in small-town Ohio in February 1931, went on to become a force in American contemporary literature, pushing the boundaries for Black American experiences through her writing. Her parents, by teaching her about racism and their values, greatly influenced her passion for writing about her culture.
Morrison graduated from Howard and Cornell Universities before immersing herself in writing, publishing, and teaching at positions at Random House, State University of New York, and eventually Princeton University before she retired in 2006.
Educational value
Credit | Sanjay Paul
Sanjay Paul, a doctoral candidate that focuses on the history of 19th century North America for the Harvard History Department, designed a pre-college summer course at Harvard University including an in-depth reading of Morrison’s book “Song of Solomon.” Paul designed his course, called “Literature as History” for students to “think seriously about what fiction can and cannot help them to understand about the past.”
He said was drawn to Morrison's work because she “understands just what every good social historian does; everyday life is the stuff of history.”
Her literary works do this by connecting personal experiences to a larger context. Paul hopes, through historical analysis, that his students learn to “explore how historical context shapes personal character.” The educational value of Morrison's works gives students the ability to determine how “an exploration of the past can afford a better understanding of themselves, or, in other words, to ask what historical analysis allows its practitioners to understand,” said Paul.
Toni Morrison's books
"The Bluest Eye"
"The Bluest Eye” is a 1970 novel, the first by Morrison. The origin of this story comes from an elementary school conversation Morrison had with a Black girl who longed for blue eyes.
Starting as a short story, Morrison developed it into a much larger draft. The final novel follows a young Black girl Pecola and her issues with racial classification and beauty. Based in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain, the physiological coming-of-age story is renowned for opening readers' eyes to slavery's legacy in terms of how it affects personal identity.
Although the novel did not win any awards, it was essential in boosting Morrison's career. “The Bluest Eye” is a longtime member of the “Top Ten Most Challenged Books” list for the American Library Association.
"Song of Solomon"
The success of the 1977 novel “Song of Solomon” allowed Morrison to focus on her writing career full-time. With a title chosen from a famous love song in the Bible, the story follows Milkman Dead's perception of the complicated female relationships in his life and his journey to finding his ancestral identity. Doctoral candidate at the Harvard University History department Sanjay Paul explains that the book largely focuses on “Milkman's efforts to make sense of his familial past in order to define who he is and should be.” The novel is her third, and the only novel to feature a male at the forefront of the story. Her writing contains strong feminist themes and characters drawn from her own experiences as a Black woman, which is why using a male protagonist was unexpected for Morrison.
The novel is often critiqued for its vulgarity, primarily through its themes of racism, incest, and biased crime. The instance of banning, specifically for its sexual nature, took place in several high schools throughout the US in states such as Indiana, Ohio, and several others. In 2009, the novel was banned from the class content of Shelby, Michigan High School after its superintendent tried to curb parental complaints of profanity. Although the novel was voted to be reinstated just one month later, this controversy highlighted the tension her bold writing creates and the need to uphold academic freedom. By bringing issues like racism and personal identity to fiction, it shows other authors how to write about these topics in more nuanced ways.
Beloved
Based on the story of 19th-century slavery escapee Margaret Garner, Morrison wrote “Beloved” in 1987. Set after the American Civil War, the story follows protagonist Sethe and her memory and trauma from slavery and the death of her child.
This novel solidified Morrison’s status in American literature when it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988. It also was one of the novels that contributed to her winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, making Morrison the first Black woman to do so.
Critics call the novel too violent or attack its sexual themes by claiming it has no historical relevance. The novel is considered bold for being one of the first to fully attack the legacy of slavery and challenge the portrayal of African American history.
By taking hard topics like slavery and racism and expanding them deeper with her characters, Morrison is a key figure in bringing attention to darker, more emotionally intense narratives in literary fiction. Morrison's works overall “give students a chance to explore the promise of historical analysis,” said Paul.
Elizabeth LaDuke is a junior, and this is her third year on the Century Star. She is the editor-in-chief. “I am prepared to create my best work yet and lead the class to prepare for a productive year,” LaDuke said. As a passionate athlete, she is captain of the Patriot girls ice hockey team and also runs spring track...
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