Identity in Toni Morrison's Jazz

Abstract

This bachelor thesis deals with the analysis of different types of identity depicted in Toni Morrison's novel Jazz. Firstly African-American literature is introduced, after that Morrison's novels are briefly described within the context of African-American history. The largest part of the thesis is covered with defining and examining the selected types of identities, namely personal, ethnic, racial and gender identities. Each chapter dealing with a different type of identity includes an analysis of its depiction in the novel Jazz. Throughout the thesis a special attention is devoted to the situation of African Americans in early 20th century in America, predominantly the 1920s, the period in which Jazz is set.