Hello all!
Something I have thinking quite a bit about lately is the bluntness of the names that Morrison gives her characters. In class yesterday, Alpha talked a little bit about how one of the minor character’s names in the novel is “Praise Compton.” I came across this article which explains how Compton “struggled with an outsized reputation, seared into American pop culture, as a place synonymous with gangs, drive-by shootings and gangsta rap.” The article also mentions how crime rates have been decreasing there in the last ten years. So why does Morrison praise the gang-infiltrated Compton? Is she simply praising African Americans who take control of their own lives? What do you all think of this? Continue reading “Does Morrison Doom Characters to Their Names?”