Open AccessRole of Community in Mitigating Dehumanizing Effects of Racism in Toni Morrison’s Works
Author(s) -
Shikha Goyal
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
smart moves journal ijellh
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2582-4406
pISSN - 2582-3574
DOI - 10.24113/ijellh.v8i3.10463
Subject(s) - humiliation , racism , indigenous , denial , subordination (linguistics) , dehumanization , pride , sociology , social psychology , colonialism , criminology , environmental ethics , gender studies , psychology , political science , law , anthropology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , psychoanalysis , biology
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual or a group based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or category in the society. It can be either direct or indirect and may be in various forms and patterns depending upon the cultural background and milieu of a particular country or region. Discrimination has multiple ramifications related to exclusion from economic entitlements, basic services and opportunities on one hand and humiliation, subordination, exploitation and denial of citizenship rights on the other. During colonization, the indigenous cultures of those countries were often sidelined, suppressed and openly denigrated in favour of elevating the social and cultural preferences and conventions of the colonizers. Toni Morrison tries to explore various cultural aspects, processes of marginalization as well as decolonization and asserts that the richness and validity of indigenous cultures in an effort to restore pride in practices and traditions that were systematically degraded under colonialism. The present paper aims to explore various approaches adopted by the characters in her fiction to cope up with the discrimination inflicted upon them particularly the positive role of community.