Trauma of Racism in Morrison's Jazz

Abstract

The Novel Jazz by Toni Morrison, a prominent Afro-American writer, digs out racial trauma and its impact on African-Americans in general. The novel galvanizes the idea that racial trauma can be a tool for bringing particular types of physical, psychological and emotional assaults or traumatic stress in the life of the Blacks living in America. The novel also shows racial trauma as the main cause of war, crises, jealousy, murder and redemption, sex and spirituality, slavery and liberation, and bestiality leading to unsuccessful life of Blacks and as a result, affects upon the life of characters such as Joe, Violet, Dorcas, Alice, Wild and True Belle. Joe Trace embroils in the turmoil of vague, uncertain and bogus life and suffers from racial harassment that produces feelings of fear, anxiety, depression, helplessness and stress. Morrison has proved that racial trauma is due to the psychic skin which results violence, prejudice, alienation, depression, incestuous rape and self-mutilation. The focus of Morrison to write this novel Jazz is to show sense of isolation, lack of identity and wholeness, gender and geophysical differences and post-traumatic stress disorder on the characters due to racial trauma in particular and on Blacks in general. However, failure of proper individual identity of Dorcas, Joe Trace and Violet, no sense of wholeness in Violet's life, unfamiliar freedom, unidentified parents and unsettled life of Dorcas, bounded and rigid White tradition and the Black obedience are the roots of discrimination and disintegration resulting racial trauma. Thus, racial trauma is the root cause of disordered life of Blacks in America.