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. ii 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. 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.
iii 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. iv 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.
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.
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. Panopio, and Dr. 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. Magnaye, the Graduate School Secretary, for her words of encouragement and kind gestures. v 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. 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.
vi 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. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE APPROVAL SHEET. vi LIST OF MATRICES.
ix LIST OF FIGURES .1 Statement of the Problem .7 Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study.8 Significance of the Study. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .50 Paradigm of the Study .52 Definition of Terms. 57 viii Research Design .57 Treatment of Materials. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE NOVELS.
Error! Bookmark not defined. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. APPENDIX A: Summary of Song of Solomon APPENDIX B Summary of Tar Baby CURRICULUM VITAE ix 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 1 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. 2 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 3 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 4 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.