Review by modestothemouse - Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination

modestothemouse 's review for:

Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination by Toni Morrison

5.0

Morrison writes about writers in this one. She explores the use of black characters by America's most celebrated authors, and raises questions as to the silence on this topic in the critical studies of those authors' works. Erudite and precise, Morrison fleshes out the symbolism and narrative uses of black characters in the formative works of American literature, and makes the argument that racial difference in American writing served to construct systems of meaning around skin color. She argues that often times the freedom expressed and applauded in white characters stands against the backdrop of the ultimate un-freedom of slavery experienced and represented by black characters. Really really great book that investigates meaning making mechanisms through culturally significant texts.