Music, Memory and Morrison’s Jazz

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the tie between jazz music and Black identity and how memory works as a device to connect these entities in Toni Morrison’s Jazz. The paper conducts the research under W. E. B. Du Bois’ idea of “the slave music, the only gift of pure art in America.” based on the book Black Reconstruction in America which unveils how the slave music flourished in America and how it holds the cultural identity of Negro. Therefore, it claims that jazz music is purely a product of Afro-American culture that carries the essence of Black identity. Besides, the paper unfolds the writer’s intention of narrating the wretched African-American life from 1850s to 1920s the way jazz music is composed. Furthermore, the writer reckons that the bending back to the pathetic and horrible past is nothing more than trying to fix the smashed mirror that can never be fixed. Therefore, the thesis paper concerns why the music is always a great embodiment of human culture that represents the certain identity of human community as jazz music represents the identity of Negro community. Keywords: Memory, Music, Afro-American Culture, and Identity