Summary:

In this interview, Morrison touches on the various novels she has published and the meaning of inspiration that lies beneath them. Morrison primarily discusses two of her novels which includes her first one, The Bluest Eye, which was published in 1970 as well as her most popular novel, Beloved, published in 1987. Morrison dives into her inspiration behind The Bluest Eye first, and talks about where she was in her personal life during this time, and that some of the feelings manifested within the novel replicate her own. She begins the interview by speaking on how she wanted to read a book but couldn’t find it, so therefore she wrote one instead. Her influence for writing came from her desire to write about people like her-young, black, and living in the midwest. Morrison then goes into her process of developing characters, and how as a writer she is forced to get into the mindset and language of someone else. She furthered this idea with a story on how her publisher made her rewrite a character, because she had responded with emotions that she would have felt rather than what the character would have. The interview continues with Morrison discussing her novel, Beloved, which was based on the true story of Margaret Garner, an enslaved mother who killed and injured her children so that way they wouldn’t have to face the same hardships that she had. Morrison speaks on the feelings she had when writing this piece, and that she was almost kicked into this place she had not wanted to go into, because it seemed to inexplicably painful. She begins to talk about the historical residue in African American culture, and how one does not have to personally have those experiences to be able to translate them. Morrison then begins to talk about one of the main characters, Beloved, herself and how she is illustrated a flesh ghost and that the language she speaks is supposed to be the language of death. She then speaks on the main themes that surround this character, and how Beloved symbolizes this thing that nobody wants to confront. All of the characters within Beloved are pushed into this place where they must confront the past and make peace with it which is what Morrison then describes later as adulthood. She describes the ghost in Beloved as a memory that can come in and sit down next to you at the table which depicts these feelings of urgency where you cannot put off the past any longer and that one must confront the unbearable truth about what happened rather than trying to justify it. The interview closes with Morrison talking about this ancestor culture and the idea of using Beloved as a ghostly figure and how African American culture is something that can constantly be in touch with. 

Personal Thoughts:

I personally enjoyed watching Toni Morrison talk about her process of creating characters and how she incorporates specific historical themes and symbolism into her works. I also appreciated the way she was interacting with the interviewer and how she was describing the way she writes. It was evident that what she wrote about meant something to her and that incorporating African American culture into her pieces were also valuable to her, and that it helped her understand the world better. I found it interesting to learn about Morrison’s motives for creating the ghostly character of Beloved. I read Beloved during my senior year of high school, and I found it intriguing to learn about the story behind Beloved as well as the creation of the ghost and what she symbolizes. The way in which Morrison talks about her own work is compelling, for she talks about it from an outsider’s perspective which lets the reader know that she truly has created her own characters and their own feelings within this world inside the novel. I just find that alone to be super interesting that she is able to pull from other’s experiences and turn them into a beautiful piece of literature.