摘 要

《宠儿》是美国黑人女作家托尼·莫里森的代表作之一。与其他黑人文学作品不同的是，莫里森在《宠儿》中塑造所有的人物时，都不带任何的种族偏见色彩。其中最引人瞩目的就是她对爱弥·丹芙，这个乐于帮助黑人女主角赛斯的白人角色的刻画。本文通过对爱弥身份的分析、她对黑人女主角赛斯的帮助和她作为白人角色的重要性来感受莫里森希望黑人与白人能够和平共处，共创美好未来的想法。

关键词：白人角色，爱弥·丹芙，黑白关系

Contents

1. Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
2. Demonstration------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2

2.1. An analysis of Amy’s identity---------------------------------------------------------------2

2.1.1. Identity as a white female------------------------------------------------------------------2

2.1.2. Identity as a white slave--------------------------------------------------------------------3

2.2. An analysis of Amy’s support for the heroine Sethe-------------------------------------4

2.2.1. Reasons for Amy’s support----------------------------------------------------------------4

2.2.2. Influence of Amy’s support----------------------------------------------------------------6

2.3. An analysis of the significance of Amy as a white character----------------------------7

2.3.1. Significance in the arrangement of the plots--------------------------------------------9

2.3.2. Significance in the creation of the white image-----------------------------------------9

1. Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Works Cited----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Bibliography---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

An Analysis of Amy Denver in Beloved

1. Introduction

Toni Morrison (February 19, 1931— ) is one of the most distinguished novelists in American literature history during the 20th century. Her works always focus on black peoples’ real living situation and the subtle relationship between the black and the white in the white-dominated community. Besides, Morrison is famous for her “heightened sense of individualism and elitist aesthetic formalism” (Shwartz 5). In 1993, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and was the only Afro-American writer to be so honored.

Toni Morrison has many representative works: The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon, etc. However, it is Beloved that is considered as her most successful novel. Beloved is based on a true event happening in the Reconstruction Period: Margaret Garner, an escaping black slave, attempted to kill her children when she was arrested. Morrison was shocked by this story and based on Margaret, she created Beloved.

In Beloved, Morrison creates several white characters of different personalities to reveal various thoughts and lifestyles of people at that time. Owing to these, the content of the novel is enriched and the truth of the history is restored. One of the most impressive characters is Amy Denver, the image of a friendly white female. Unlike other slave women, Amy is indomitable and courageous. She has a goal that is to find her dream velvet and when she is looking for her dream velvet, she encounters the heroine Sethe who is in serious trouble. Instead of having prejudice against blacks, Amy gives Sethe a hand and assists with delivering her daughter. Therefore, the appearance of Amy not only gives hope and determination for Sethe to survive, but also promotes the development of the plots in the novel. From the character of Amy Denver, it can be seen that Morrison abandons the narrow racial discrimination. She does not condemn all the white people. On the contrary, Morrison thinks that help and support of the white play a significant role in the liberation of the black. And only when the white and black live in peace and harmony can their future be brighter.

Recently, studying the literature of Afro-American has become a hot trend among domestic and foreign scholars. However, as most scholars are absorbed in their study in black characters, white images employed in novels have not received enough attention, including white characters like Amy Denver in Beloved. Searching the topics “人物、托尼莫里森、宠儿”(characters, Toni Morrison, Beloved) in CNKI (www.cnki.net), we get about 83 results. Apart from two papers discussing white characters in Beloved and several papers concerning white images in this novel, all the papers take as the study subjects the writing of black characters. As a result, studies on white images in Morrison’s Beloved are still few and far between.