can personalityAfricans so bereft of their own national identity that they exhibit distorted, even psychopathic, behavioral patterns. Morrison is certainly aware of these crises, for in this work as in later ones, she harshly criticizes those characters who divorce themselves from the African community. In fact, she considers this petty bourgeois sector of the African population the living dead, a buffer group between the ruling and the oppressed classes who are always portrayed as abnormal in some sense. It is obvious to me, as it may have been to this critic, (though she feels that Morrisons argument is weak) that Morrison wanted the African people to examine themselves first. She wanted them to overcome whatever self-condemnation or self-hatred they had before they can ever overcome being oppressed by the ruling, dominant class. I have shown how self-hatred can lead to self destruction because if an individual or a race cannot love themselves and accept themselves for what they are they cannot overcome any stereotype or stigmatism that is put on them by any other race or class. Morrison may have written this novel in hopes that the African Americans would read it and do a self-reflection and realization. She wanted to them to take a long and hard look at what they were and for them to change and become better individuals thus improve their race: From the outset, Morrison is interested in having the characters achieve a more authentic existence than those who submit to conventional standards, one that emerges from their personal efforts to realize their responsibility to become fulfilled individuals. She wanted them to see themselves through their own eyes, not the eyes of another race. If they can only accept who they were, they would become happier and more prosperous as individuals and lead to improvement of the entire race. The goal is for them realize their own beauty and self worth before it leads to destruction. ...
