TAR BABY

Tar Baby is a mixture of different types of novels.  It starts out in Queen of France and throughout the novel the setting changes. It is settled in L'Arbe de la Croix, Isle des Chevaliers for a little while then moves to Paris. It is also set in New York and Eloe, Florida. The book is written as things are happening but also flashes back to previous times. 

Toni Morrison writes as a narrator in the third person. She helps the reader to know the story as well as the mannerisms of each character. She also tries to illustrate events so that the reader would understand it.

Tar Baby is mainy centered around Jadine and Son, the two protagonists in the novel. It also touches on struggles they have coming from two different backgrounds and having two different states of mind. This novel often compares living in a cultural society versus living in a natural world. 

Major action comes about when Jadine and Son make love for the first time and decide to run away together. This is also when Jadine has a dream and realizes that there is no way she and Son can live in love together because of their different thinking styles. 

Tar Baby's constantly goes back and forth between women views , nature and society, and also the past and the present. Toni Morrison uses a lot of symbolism with the greenhouse, appearance, and little gifts. The greenhouse is a major symbol that is constantly brought up in Tar Baby. 

The way that Tar Baby is structured and the way in which Toni Morrison uses different views and figures of speech allows for the reader to gain more insight into the time period of the novel and the way of thinking during that time. It also allows for the reader to make up their own opinions and causes the reader to ponder about different issues. 

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK.

TAR BABY

      I finally learned all of the characters and a little information about each one. It took a while to learn each of the characters- their backgrounds, roles in the story, likes and dislikes- but I finally learned them.

      There are two protagonists in Tar Baby. One is Jadine Childs, a 25yr old black model. She is also an orphan and is raised by Ondine and Sydney. Jadine is very strong minded but often questions her thoughts and choices. 

      The second protagonist is Son, who's real name is William Green. He is the guy introduced at the beginning of the book. Son has a dangerous past but he is passionate. Son also has a strong belief that whites and blacks can not coexist together in harmony and has a strong bond with the natural world. He and Jadine are lovers in this novel.

Valerine Street is a wealthy 70yr old white male. He is the owner of the land that Son ends up, L'Arbe de la Croix. His hobby is gardening, and he is somewhat arrogant at times, but his life changes after learning a past secret about his wife.

Margaret Street is Valerine's wife but younger than him by about twenty years. She is not from the island and dislikes living there.  Margaret was called the "Principal Beauty of Maine" since high school, so she is very conceited. But Margaret has  cruel mind and past.

Michael Street is the son of Valerine and Margaret. He is not really in the story but he is mentioned a lot. Michael is known for dehumanizing black people but overall he is kind hearted.

Sydney( Valerine's butler) and Ondine(Valerine's cook) both take care of Jadine. Sydney is a black male from Philly that is assertive at times. He also does not trust Son. Ondine is a black woman that is strong minded. Jadine refers to her as "Nanadine".

Gideon, aka Yardman, is a black handyman. He is fired by Valerine for sealing apples. Gideon once lived in America and was tricked by his wife to move to the islands. His wife Therese, aka Mary, is also fired for stealing apples; she was the laundress. Therese is prejudice against non-islanders.  

Alma Estee is Gideon and Therese's daughter. She is also called Mary. She works as a janitor when her parents lose their jobs, but is more caught up with her image than anything else.

Other characters include Ryk, Jadine's wealthy white boyfriend and supposed to be fiance. Dr. Michelin is a friend of Valerine. Dawn is Jadine's friend from New York. Soldier and his wife Ellen, Carl, Drake, and Ernie Paul are all childhood friends of Son. Cheyenne was Son's first wife. Old Man is Son's father and Aunt Rosa is Son's aunt. B. J. Bridges is a famous poet and Michael Street's favorite teacher.

All of these characters either play a major role in Jadine and Son's life, or are mentioned throughout the book. Either way, they all help to make this book great. LATA!!!

TAR BABY

Tar Baby

Toni Morrison

April 1982

For my independent reading, I chose Tar Baby by Toni Morrison. From reading the blurb at the back of the book, I know that this book is going to be about a relationship between a black man and woman struggling in a black and white world. It was a national bestseller and won a Nobel Prize in literature, so I’m hoping it isn’t bad. I also chose this book because my mother read it and said that it is a good book and gave it to me to read, so I’m giving it a try.

Since this is my first blog, I haven’t gotten really far in the book as yet. I have only read the prelude. The Queen of France is mentioned, so I’m guessing it is set in England right now. No characters are named yet so I don’t have a clear sense of what is going to happen, where the story is going, or who the main characters are. I do know that there is balck guy that is somewhat sneaky and hasn't heard the sound of a women's voice in a while.

The story starts with this guy on a boat and it seems as though he is running away from wherever he is. I think that the guy is somewhere he doesn’t want to be and wants to get away. He jumps into the ocean and starts swimming towards a pier but is making sure to keep his arms close to the water, which makes me wonder if he is forced to be where he was and if caught there would be major consequences.

Toni Morrison adds excitement to the story at the very beginning with the current, "water-lady", that pulls the guy into a whirlwind and guides him away from where he was heading. This made me want to read more. It also tells me that this story isn’t going to be a bore and is going to be filled with different issues and drama. This makes me want to finish the book and find out how the prelude relates to the rest of the book and the ending. I’ll be sure to let you know how the book ends when I get to there, and I’ll keep you updated along the way with other blogs. Bye Bye for now.