Earticle

초록

영어

This paper examines Toni Morrison’s Sula through René Girard’s scapegoat mechanism and explores how Morrison critiques exclusionary practices within marginalized Black communities. The Bottom, a Black community formed through a deceitful land transaction by a white farmer, reflects systemic racial and economic exploitation, patriarchal norms, and internalized hierarchies. Unlike Girard’s archetypal scapegoat, the protagonist Sula embodies a “resistant scapegoat” who rejects communal narratives of guilt and defies traditional gender and racial roles. Her defiance disrupts the Bottom’s reliance on scapegoating as a means of conflict resolution, exposing its cyclical nature and ethical limitations. The relationships among key characters—Sula, Nel, Eva, and Helen—highlight Girard’s triangular desire, where rivalry and imitation fuel conflict. Sula’s refusal to conform, including her rumored relationships with white men, challenges the moral binaries upheld by the community and reveals its hypocrisies. Morrison critiques Christian morality as a framework that perpetuates exclusion, as the Bottom clings to rigid moral codes that suppress individuality and sustain patriarchal oppression. Sula’s subversive actions advocate for empathy and structural transformation, urging the dismantling of exclusionary hierarchies. This study underscores the importance of understanding how intersecting forces of race, gender, and class create scapegoats within oppressed communities. It also highlights Morrison’s integration of African American cultural traditions and economic critique, suggesting further research into similar themes in her works Paradise and Beloved. Ultimately, Sula challenges societal norms, offering a vision of transformative change rooted in inclusivity, mutual understanding, and the rejection of oppressive systems.

목차

Ⅰ. A Scapegoat Neither Good nor Evil
Ⅱ. Triangular Desires and Scapegoating in the Bottom Community
Ⅲ. The Scapegoat Mechanism Targeting Black Women: Sula as a Case Study
Ⅳ. Sula’s Role in Challenging the Scapegoat Mechanism
Ⅴ. Conclusion
Works Cited
Abstract

키워드

저자

• Hojeomg Seok [ PhD Student, Sungkyunkwan University ]

참고문헌

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간행물

표지보기 관심저널 등록

• 간행물명

  영어영문학21 [English21]

• 간기

  계간

• pISSN

  1738-4052

• 수록기간

  1967~2026

• 등재여부

  KCI 등재

• 십진분류

  KDC 840 DDC 820