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a refuses to accept any definition of self that is externally ascribed. For Claudia, blue-eyed dolls on Christmas and Shirley Temple are unappealing and even insulting. The dolls, which are supposed to bring her great pleasure, but in fact the effect is opposite. In an effort to discover the dearness of the white dolls, she destroys them. She confesses, “I destroyed white baby dolls. The truly horrifying thing was the transference of the same impulses to little white girls. The indifference with which I could have axed them was shaken only by my desire to do so”. (Morrison, 2000: 22) So when they see Pecola through the signifying verse for her black skin and her father sleeps naked.
Claudia’s confidence and resistance have much to do with her parents who have helped their children establish a positive self-identity. Mrs. Macteer is one of Morrison’s nurturers. Claudia remembers the feeling of her mother’s hands on her forehead and chest when she is sick:
 
     It was a productive and fructifying pain. Love, thick and dark as Alaga syrup, eased up into that cracked window. I could smell it—taste it—sweet, musty, with an edge of wintergreen in its base—everywhere in that house. It stuck, along with my tongue, to the frosted windowpanes. It coated my chest, along with the salve, and when the flannel came undone in my sleep, the clear, sharp curves of air outlined its presence on my throat. And in the night, when my coughing was dry and tough, feet padded into the room, hands replaced the flannel, readjusted the quilt, and rested a moment on my forehead. So when I think of autumn, I think of somebody with hands who does want me to die. (Morrison, 2000: 14)
 
 Unlike Cholly who only inflicts pain on the helpless, Mr. Macteer functions as his family’s guardian. There is a strong sense of security in the Macteer household. Claudia’s family contrasts clearly with Pecola’s family. Later, when Claudia is aware that Pecola is the scapegoat for her community’s deepest fears and anxieties about both blackness and sexuality, Claudia and Frieda decide to change the course of events. Everyone thinks that Pecola’s baby should be died, but they hope that the baby can live. More strongly than her fondness for Pecola, she feels a need for someone to want the black baby to live, “just to counteract the universal love of white baby dolls, Shirley Temples, and Maureen Peals”. (Morrison, 2000: 148) Of course, about the tragedy of Pecola, the sisters can not change anything because at the end something has taken place, but we can see the hope of the black from them.
 Another significant group of black women Morrison respects Aunt Jimmy and her friends. These warm-hearted black women have alone remained in the South. Upon hearing about Aunt Jimmy’s illness, they “came to see about her. Some made chamomile tea; others rubbed her with liniment. Miss Alice, her closest friend, read the Bible to her”. (Morrison, 2000: 107) When Aunt Jimmy dies, they “cleaned the house, aired veering out, notified everybody, and stitched together what looked like a white wedding dress for Aunt Jimmy, a maiden lady, to wear when she met Jesus”. (Morrison, 2000: 111) They unite to oversee and conduct the appropriate ritual of departure for one of their members. This is a rite in which women take care of the business. They represent the typical neighborhood. Deeply rooted in black culture, they recreat本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。