25 pages • 50 minutes read
Toni MorrisonPlaying in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1992A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Morrison thinks that literary critics have long ignored the Africanist presence in American literature. Do you agree or disagree? Use textual evidence to support your position.
What does Morrison mean by “Africanism?” What does it refer to?
According to Morrison, what were the difficulties presented by early American self-definitions?
How did the presence of slavery complicate the idea of America as a free republic? How did Americans resolve this contradiction, according to Morrison?
According to Morrison, how were white forms used in American literature? What did they represent?
How does Morrison describe the shadows of American literature, and what relationship do they have to the white forms?
Why does Morrison think black characters’ dialogue is often rendered in unintelligible ways?
Why does Morrison believe Wesley, the black character in To Have and Have Not, is generally speechless in Hemingway’s novel?
What strategies and ways of looking at a text does Morrison bring to her task?
Did this book change the way you look at American texts with regard to race? Why or why not?
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