Usually, people think of “home” as a place where one lives permanently, especially if they are a part of a family. Toni Morrison’s view of home differs from the perception of an average person. She uses the thought about home to influence the way she writes and the way she talks. She describes the home as a place where one can go to feel safe with loved ones or be by themselves. In the novel Home, the central theme is the idea of the entity that is a “home.” Throughout her book, Toni Morrison makes the reader think about how the notion of “home” changes throughout the story. This paper argues that Toni Morrison used the history of the race to illustrate how it changed people’s perspectives on home.
According to Toni Morrison, “home” is a location where one can feel secure with one’s family or friends. It is not just a shelter with a roof and some people in it. Home is a location where one can feel comfortable among individuals they cherish. Morrison imagines a woman in her house who “gets out of bed and sits in the moonlight on the steps. And if she wanted to, she could cross the street without a lantern and without being afraid” (Morrison 22). The way Morrison depicts this woman in the middle of the night gives the impression that she lives in a place where she is protected from prejudice and violence. Also, the author is trying to describe being safe in the environment as home (Morrison 22). In the novel Home, the main character, Frank, does not fully understand what a home means to him until the later parts of the novel. The terrible realities of prejudice, racism, intolerance, injustice, violence, and segregation—all of which have their roots in the time of slavery—must be endured by Frank (Morrison 22). Morrison depicts these models in the setting of the 1950s as they go through Frank Money’s experiences.
During the 1950s, several social and public spaces, including restaurants and restrooms, were still upholding segregation practices, allowing visitors or rejecting them based on the color of their skin. Apart from that, in Home, Frank experiences multiple random police searches while on the road (Morrison 30). This story shows a Korean War veteran returning home to find prejudice and racism to be the harsh realities of life. When Frank departs from the town of Lotus, he feels as though he must find a new home in the outside world, but he is unaware of how perilous it is. At the end of the book, he goes back to Lotus and is in need of assistance. Morrison writes the following in the final parts of the book, “Mr. Ethel? Are you there? Clarence Hollard Smart Money, that’s me. Lady Ethel” (116). Here, Frank wants someone to help Cee and feel protected, and they are waiting for Miss Ethel to give them shelter.
In this story, Frank’s metaphorical home is in a state where the character deals with racism and injustice. When Frank traveled across the country to find his little sister, he endured conditions where racism was still prevalent and was not viewed as a social issue. When Frank got off the train in Chicago, he saw firsthand how bad racism was. In the novel, “the police would have thought so too, but during the random search outside the shoe store, they just patted pockets, not the inside of work boots” (Morrison 37). On one occasion, Frank and Billy got searched by the police for no apparent reason. The only cause why the police decided to stop the two and search them was because of how they dressed. Later, Billy would tell a story about how his son’s life was changed forever by the police. The character describes this encounter in the following manner, “drive-by cop. He had a cap pistol. Eight years old, running up and down the sidewalk pointing it. Some redneck rookie thought his dick was underappreciated by his brother cops” (Morrison 31). The policemen in Chicago during this time acted with prejudice and did not care about human life. This racism changes Billy’s child’s life and alters how safe their home is for them.
Outside of Atlanta, in the small village of Lotus, Frank and Cee, alongside a few other people, reside. One can deduce from the narrative that this town’s residents are people of color. People of color were not treated equally in this community because there were more of them than in bigger towns and cities like Atlanta. Nobody in Lotus knew anything, and neither cared to learn anything, according to the text (Morrison 82). They were not as well educated as those who moved to a big metropolis because they were isolated in this small community and had no one to teach them. Frank hated his home a lot, and he had to find a way to get out. When he found a way out, he seemed very excited about the chance to move out of this small and isolated town. Morris writes, “Thank the Lord for the army. I do not miss anything about that place except the stars.” (Morrison 84). On one of the rare occasions, the reader sees Frank enthused about something, yet he is unaware of how important Lotus is to him. One finds out in the final chapter how much Frank values this isolated community. The narrative states, “he was shocked to remember how much he had once despised this location. It appears both new and old right now, safe and demanding” (Morrison 132). When Frank left to experience the dangers of the outside world, his entire perception of “home” transformed.
In the time frame in which the novel Home, takes place, the problem of race was still an issue dominating the United States. Many characters in the story are forced to deal with the problem of race in a place where people believe there is no significant problem of racism. Lily’s encounter with racism took place in the city of Portland when she was trying to purchase a house with her own money. When she tried to buy the property, the agent said, “no part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or Asiatic race excepting only employees in domestic service” (Morrison 73). Surprisingly, although people were taught to think that every northern state had been freed of racism, this same problem prevailed there to the same degree as in other states. Every character in this novel has to deal with the issue of racism in some sort of way. In the chase for Toni Morrison, her home was affected by race before she was even born. Around 1910, the parents of Toni’s mother departed Greenville, Alabama, after losing their land to unpayable debts. Her father’s parents moved from Georgia to the north to avoid sharecropping and racism against African Americans (“Toni Morrison Biography”). If her grandparents never faced this deep-rooted issue that America has, then the readers might have never had this award-winning novelist tell them these stories. Race plays a role in how these two families meet and how Toni depicts the characters’ homes.
Frank’s family constantly being forced around had an enormous impact on the family’s health. When Cee’s mother was forced to move out of their home in Bandera County in Texas, she was pregnant with Cee (Morris 35). Ida went into labor in a place where the conditions were terrible for childbirth. Ida delivered her child, Cee, on the side of the road, and Lenore said, “decent women delivered babies at home, in bed attended to by good Christian women who knew what to do. Although only street women, prostitutes, went to hospitals when they got pregnant, at least they had a roof overhead when their babies came out” (Morrison 45). Ida was not given the same quilt in the car because of what she was going through. The race was why she was forced out of her home in Texas and why she moved to the small town of Lotus. When Cee was being treated for the injuries, which were caused by a physician, the woman treating her did graduate from medical school or know much about medicine. Thus, Cee’s treatment was not effective since it was not based on science. One of the last steps they used to treat Cee was a way of interment. It is stated in the novel that “each woman agreed that that embrace would rid her of any remaining womb sickness” (Morrison 124). Cee was not fortunate enough to go to a hospital, and she was forced to be treated by these women who did not have the best education. The way racism played a role in Cee’s health was an important factor in how the home would shape her.
In the novel Home, only a few of the characters are educated. The lack of education leads to poor decisions some characters make. In the case of Cee, she was protected all her life by her brother, Frank, and her “home.” When Frank left to enlist in the army, Cee was thrown into the world, not knowing what to do. When Cee ran away to Atlanta with a boy, she was on her own because when Prince ran away with the car, Cee was left to fend for herself (Morrison 60). When she was interviewed for a new job as a doctor assistant, she was asked about her level of education. The text states, “did you graduate from high school? No, ma’am. Can you read? Yes ma’am. Count? Oh. Yes.” (Morrison 60). With the lack of education, Cee did not know what she was getting into. The way the nurse treats her at home shows that her poor decisions have changed the atmosphere of the home.
Race played a tremendous role in Toni Morrison’s life, which affected how she wrote her books. She has written around a dozen books that focus on race. In her twenties, she lived through a critical time in American history. The 1950s was the most impactful time of her life, and she focused on the topic in her books (“Toni Morrison Biography”). In the novel Home, racism plays a significant role in how the main characters of homes are shaped. From Lily not being able to buy a home to Frank leaving his home, race plays a factor in every part of this book.
Overall, Morrison combines poetry, violence, and storytelling in one work. The story describes how black men have protracted conversations about shared and individual memories and experiences. Morrison discusses how black women, despite the pervasive threats and harsh living conditions they encounter, struggle to make ends meet. The life of people who encounter countless challenges in their daily endeavors is the basis for Morrison’s art. The story is made even more enjoyable to read by Morrison’s skill at fusing real-world situations with her characters’ struggles to live and thrive in the face of obstacles presented by life. The novel explores the most trying trip through life that any American character has ever experienced. In her work, Morrison highlights the most upsetting human situations.
There are two key ideas that Morrison wants to emphasize in the book. First, regardless of how well we believe we know someone, we should pause, take the time to learn more about them and draw accurate conclusions. Second, despite the challenges we confront as we prepare to leave or go from our homes to begin new lives, home is the finest location to find solace from the harsh and potentially fatal circumstances that the outside world presents. The novel is rich, poetic, straightforward, and earthy, which makes it always relevant.
Works Cited
Morrison, Toni. Home. Vintage Books, 2013. Web.
“Toni Morrison Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, n.d., Web.