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.