In this second edition, the author of Toni Morrison’s Developing Class Consciousness analyzes all of Toni Morrison’s novels to trace her increasing awareness of the African- American’s class exploitation and race and gender oppression. The author argues that each work is a thematic and structural development of the preceding one. She contends that several factors converged to affect Morrison’s consciousness: family background, historical and current events, literary works, and the writing process itself. The purpose of the study is to reveal that great writers such as Morrison, whose interest is in discovering a solution to the exploitation and oppression of African people, use their works as laboratories, working methodically and conscientiously to discover solutions while still maintaining that “sweetness” that Matthew Arnold heralds as the mark of fine fiction.
    The second edition differs from the first both quantitatively and qualitatively. Three additional chapters and a new part 2 have been added: a chapter on Jazz, “Women Who Run with Wild: The Need for Sisterhoods in Jazz”; a chapter on Paradise, “Paradise: A Warning Not to ‘Africanize’ Exploitation”; a concluding chapter, “A Praisesong for Toni Morrison, A Call to Action for Her Readers”; and part 2: “A Sampling of the ‘Bits and Pieces’ of Toni Morrison’s Life Experiences in Her Works: In Her Own Words.” Qualitatively, the style has changed, most noticeably in the Paradise chapter, which reflects Morrison’s recognition of the African’s
mistaken, but persistent belief that the enemy is the “white man.” This novel is her attempt to teach us that it is the “plan” (the capitalist plan), not the “man” (white people) that is the culprit. This second edition reflects a clearer understanding of the plight of the African people: In writing for a dying people, not only should you deliver a life-saving message, but also you must do so in a language that is clear and with a style that is decipherable.
     In the new conclusion the author praises Toni Morrison’s unwavering commitment to the liberation struggle of African people and entreats Morrison’s readers to follow her example by coming to the aid of “the masses” during a time when those with money and power refuse to do so. In part 2, Mbalia spotlights some of the autobiographical kernels of Morrison’s life that appear in each of her novels. The reader witnesses Morrison at work.
In the first edition of Toni Morrison’s Developing Class Consciousness, Doreatha Drummond Mbalia followed the maturing of Morrison’s consciousness from her early exploration of racism in The Bluest Eye, through her gradually increasing awareness of the impact of historical and current events in Sula and Song of Solomon, to her growing understanding of the nature of capitalism and the necessity for collective struggle in Tar Baby and Beloved. The second edition brings us up to date by exploring Morrison’s later works and showcasing the writing process of one of America’s greatest authors.

LC 2003012222
ISBN 1-57591-068-3
Printed in the U.S.A.

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