本文旨在運用魔幻寫實主義及失能研究的角度探討童尼・摩里森《天佑孩童》中「白」的常態。摩里森長期批判主權社會對非美女性身體的規訓，她關切種族, 性別及「白」色身體常態規範過程中如何壓迫非裔女性的身份認同。從失能論述而言, 我認為「黑皮膚」可以視為一種種族化的身體缺陷，使非美女性處於種族失能的卑微地位。此外, 本文結合魔幻寫實主義來檢視女主角布萊徳異常的身體變形。 我認為摩里森企圖透過「魔幻身體」來呈現「沒有種族的身體」，藉此探討「去種族化」的身體概念難以實現。我認為小說藉由魔幻寫實來想像「沒有種族的身體」。摩里森藉此批判「白」色身體的常態規範並召喚當代美國社會「黑人的命也是命」的人權訴求。
本論文分四個章節。第一章，我說明摩里森四十多年投入非裔美國歷史書寫,其11部小說中經常出現的兩大主題是魔幻寫實以及失能身體。最後一部小說《天佑孩童》也不例外, 本論文企圖從這兩個角度對小說進行解讀。第二章，我整理魔幻寫實主義的文獻回顧，彙整學者近30年來探討摩里森小說中的魔幻書寫。我認為摩里森魔幻寫實書寫除了回應被邊緣化的非美歷史，也強調非美人民的身體認同及他們的刻板印象都是受到白人文化霸權的常態規訓的影響。第三章旨在檢視「黑皮膚」如何被主流社會規化為一種文化上的身體失能, 我爬梳整理失能研究的文獻及學者的相關研究。我認為在《天佑孩童》中，有別於民權運動時期激烈的種族衝突，摩里森反映90年代美國主流社會以一種不願面對種族歧視存在的態度來隱藏對「黑皮膚」的鄙視。我認為不願面對種族歧視的存在，並將非美人民的黑皮膚排除於主流審美觀之外，藉此壓迫非美人民的社會地位，都是將種族議題帶入一個更危急的情境中。我強調「沒有種族的身體」這個概念說明非美人民仍受到白人主流社會無視種族差異的壓迫，是摩里森在此部小說所闡述的當前種族身份認同的新危機。

In this thesis, through the joint lenses of magical realism and disability studies, I examine how Morrison exposes the normalization of whiteness in her last novel, God Help the Child (2015). While Morrison is most concerned about the representation of African American women, she wants to disclose how the normalization of gender, race, and body in the dominant society has undermined black women’s self-identities. I argue that Morrison regards the black skin color as an innate defective bodily feature that situates the black women in a racially and socially disabled position. Thus, I intend to examine how forms of cultural otherness are interconnected with one another. I take magical realism and disability studies as the joint lenses to investigate Lula Ann/Bride’s “extraordinary” bodily metamorphosis and her encounter with the suppressive mechanism of bodily normalization in the dominant society. Most importantly, I argue that Morrison imagines “a body without race” to elucidate the risky conception of de-racialization. I further argue that it is to challenge the romanticization of a “body without race” which accents the work of Toni Morrison and the core idea of “Black Lives Matter” movement in the contemporary post-COVID American society.
The thesis is divided into four chapters. In Chapter One, I provide a general introduction, as well as an overview of the issues of magical realism and disability in Morrison’s oeuvre. Chapter Two deals with Morrison’s employment of magical realist narrative in God Help the Child. In Chapter Three, I will focus on the issue of disability and examine how Morrison’s conception of “the color fetish” is signified on Lula Ann/Bride throughout the novel. I argue that “the color fetish” becomes a physical form of disability that forces Lula Ann/Bride to live in a racialized body (Origin 40). By examining both Lula Ann/Bride and the minor characters in the novel, I argue that the idea of “racialized disability” has become the root cause of self-contempt among African American women. To conclude, this thesis aims to investigate Morrison’s magical realist narrative and her conception of the “color fetish” as a form of physical disability in God Help the Child. I hope to carve out an innovative approach by dealing with the interrelated issues of magical realist narrative and black female disabilities in the novel. By doing so, I hope to shed light on Morrison’s life-long dedication to the cause of African American women and her commitment to language arts as they are represented in God Help the Child.

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