The Narrative Techniques of Disruption and Defragmentation in Toni Morrison’s Novels

Abstract

This study on Toni Morrison’s fiction analysed the role played by the narrative technique of disruption in the transmission of message. It primarily focused on Beloved, Song of Solomon, Sula and Love which are largely representative with regard to the use of the technique of disruption. The analysis aimed at exploring the role that the narrative technique of disruption plays in the representation of the societal malaise rooted in racial marginalisation and cultural degeneration. Additionally, the paper examined Morrison’ use of defragmentation as a narrative technique and the interspersion of the past and the present tenses in her narratives to understand profoundly the mechanism of the process of defragmentation with regard to the choice and construction of themes in her novels. Essentially, the analysis was guided by the Theory of Abjection propounded by Julia Kristeva (1981), Vladimir Propp’s narratological functions (1968), and Freud’s concept of “The Uncanny” (1953). The reading targeted principally the writer’s selected novels and the related critical essays and articles. As a result, it has been found that the narrative technique of disruption significantly frames the conveyed message. First, it enables the writer to represent successfully the African American nightmare through a disjointed narration that translates the disintegration of the American society. Second, this technique has facilitated the writer to expose the decaying American society due to racial marginalization and subsequent social inequalities. Finally, Morrison deploys the narrative technique of defragmentation in her fiction to mend the shattered identities and reconcile the fragmented selves