While listening to Tony Morrison’s a lot of ideas came to mind. The first thing was the importance of context. Morrison tells the viewers that in order to write her book she had to study about the time period. By study I thought she meant get to know the historical context, I was clearly wrong. She states that she sat down with botanists in order to find out how tall the trees were. Her dedication impacted me. Writing a good book is so much more than the idea, it is the notion of the essence, feeling what the smells were like, the air, the noise, the view, and so many more factors that make a book unique.
The second aspect that caught my attention was race. The entire interview was based on the discrimination and exclusion of certain groups. Not only does Morrison mention black segregation but white rejection. Rose focuses on the different types of racial movements that take place in the US. The election of Obama, which had happened a few days ago, marked a pivotal moment for Rose. When the issue of whether or not his election marked a point in the movement against segregation, Morrison did not feel strongly about it. She was not enthusiastic, much like the tone in her books. If you take a look at the video in minute 24:50 you will notice how Rose is surprised at her lack of expression.
In order to conclude I must mention Morrison’s comment about readers and their perceptions. She mentions that a reader should not look at other forms of the characters he will or has read because it will change his own opinion. Each character is different for each person and it should remain they way. Maybe that is why she gave the characters in her book such strange names, names that every reader must decipher.
No comments:
Post a Comment