Date of Award
1994
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Coyle, William
Abstract
Toni Morrison's purpose in her novels is to encourage her readers to imitate her heroes' journey in their own lives. Through her protagonists' successes and failures on their monomythic quests (to use the term of Joseph Campbell), Morrison educates her readers. Campbell states that a successful hero must complete three phases: separation, initiation, and return. In The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove's poor choices cause failure; she stays in the separation phase. Milkman Dead from Song of Solomon reaches the initiation stage but fails to return with his boon. Denver of Beloved is the only successful heroine; she returns to the world with a treasure, providing Morrison's readers with a fully heroic model.
Extent
55 p.
Recommended Citation
Golden, Diane M., "mythic quest for selfhood in Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," "Song of Solomon," and "Beloved"" (1994). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1990 - 1999. 636.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_4/636
Identifier
FADT15053
Comments
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1994.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters