The Revisiting Ghosts in Morrison's Paradise

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine Toni Morrison's use of the spectral narrative in the novel Paradise and the role of the spectre in the novel. In the novel, both the town of Ruby, which is called a ‘black man's paradise’, and the convent, which is regarded as a place of sin, are infested with ghosts, which are not only supernatural beings, but also symbols of historical violence, collective trauma, and unresolved social problems, which represent repressed memories and ignored voices. Morrison employs the ghost narrative as a radical literary device to explore historical violence, trauma, and the possibility of future healing. The ghosts in the novel act as historical witnesses, challenging the official narrative of history by narrating silent memories. At the same time, the ambiguity and indeterminacy that characterise the spectre of the spectre subvert the traditional linear temporal narrative, pointing to the possibility of an unwritten future: the destruction of the town of Ruby represents the failure of the utopian isolation of African Americans, whereby self-exclusion can never be the solution for the hauting past , and may instead breed new groups of violence. And the open ending of the Convent is in response to Morrison’s exploration of how to reconcile and live with the haunting ghosts in contemporary society. The ghost narrative that the novel employed not only challenge the official narrative of history, but also provide a path to explore and imagine those unresolved hoistorical ghosts in contemporary society.