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PREFACE
1. JUSTIFICATION
For the first time in the world literature, black African - American
female artist Toni Morrison received the noble Nobel Prize in Literature.
The novels written by Toni Morrison produced a stir and attracted the
concerns of many researchers and critics all over the world.
Toni Morrison created a special world of art by language and way of
thinking of the postmodern paradigm: Fragmentary language. This artistic
characteristics created features for Morrison’s world of novels and her
roaring success. It seems to be that her novels have attained the position of
classical masterpieces. She is ranked at the same grade with Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, Kawabata, Chekhov, Tagore, etc., humanitarians of all ages.
The issue on fragment has been mentioned by many researchers;
however, there has not been any research work on fragmentary language in
Morrison’s novels. Thus, we choose our research topic “Fragmentary
language in Toni Morrison’s novels” with the desire to offer a possible
approach to explore the layers of artistic meaning hidden in the works
of this black women writer.
When we carry out this topic, we hope to contribute to opening a new
research direction for the literature argument sector. This new research
direction focuses on researching the post-modern literature works of the
world in the view of semiotics. This direction will help us explore new
and strange skies by wonderful colors of art, recover limitations of the
previous approaches, mainly the approach in the aspect of world outlook
and ideology. The success of the thesis will contribute practically to
promoting the building of appearance of the system of theories on post-
modern literature research and critic in the country, a both familiar and
strange face.
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2. PURPOSE, OBJECT AND SCOPE OF RESEARCH

six novels including Paradise, Sula, Tar Baby, Jazz, Love and A Mercy.
Although we did not survey these novels carefully, in the research process,
the thesis will make combinations and comparisons to indicate an unified
view in Morrison’s works.
3. SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL MEANING OF THE TOPIC
The thesis combines researching theory and analyzing the works of
the American black women writer who got the Nobel Prize in Literature.
On theoretical aspect, we surveyed and researched the circumstance of
appearance, determining connotation of the concept of fragmentary
language like a characteristics of the post-modern period in general and
post-modern literature in particular.
Then, we surveyed three representative novels of Toni Morrison. Her
works contained characteristics of the post-modern novels with original,
new and strange artistic creations, contributing new appearances to the
world literature.
In parallel to the research process, we translated Song of Solomon into
Vietnamese. Researching and translating the works written by Toni
Morrison contribute to introducing cultural heritages of the human kind
and richening the storage of foreign literatures in Vietnam. In the short-
term, these translated works will help students access to the American-
African literature that has original artistic style, strong innovative and
great humanitarian spirit of the contemporary authors.
The thesis has scientific meaning in the point that it contributes
positively to researching the post-modern critic theory; that is to research
and build a instrumental theory term and practice applying into researching
the post-modern literature works, a relatively new field in the country.
In Vietnam, this is the first thesis that has the summary and general
nature about the world of art in Morrison’s novels in some basic aspects.
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The thesis summarizes some comments about artistic characteristics,

writer to understand mutual relations and impacts between the life and
cause of creation, foundations to justify the world of art in the novels of a
relatively special pen in the work: a black women writer.
Furthermore, we used activities of analysis, comment, etc. to both
widen and deepen the researched issues.
5. CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE THESIS
On theoretical aspect, the thesis summarized and determined the
connotation of the concept of characteristic fragmentary language of the
post-modern literature. This term was used scattered in the research works
on the post-modern literature; however; the connotation of the concept was
not indicated clearly. By justifying the connotation of the concept, the
thesis contributed to building a theoretical tool to research the post-modern
literature in general.
For the world of art in Morrison’s novels, the thesis indicated clearly
her fragmentary language, confirmed the value of the Truth - the Good -
the Beauty and great contributions of Morrison to the world post-modern
literature - a relatively new woman writer for Vietnamese readers.
6. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS
Apart from Preface, the thesis include four chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Overview of the justification
Chapter 2: Concept of “fragmentary language”
Chapter 3: Fragmentary language
Chapter 4: Fragmentary characters
Although these chapters exist independently, they have their close
relations in the point that they all orient to indicating the artistic
characteristics in Morrison’s novels and their meaning to researching and
criticizing literature argument.
The final part is Conclusion, List of works relating to the this topic
and references.
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and interchange of sights, characteristics of the post-modern novel
techniques. Especially, the fragmentary nature was seen as a feature of
Morrison’s novels, expressed in both the novel contents and techniques.
With our efforts, we summarized basic research directions on Morrison’s
novels as follows:
Firstly, the novels of Toni Morrison were researched in the view of
psychoanalysis. Issues on fear, obsession, mental traumas, slave
psychology, etc. were analyzed relatively carefully to interpret the thinking
contents in Morrison’s novels.
Secondly, Morrison’s novels were discovered from the view of poetry
study.
Thirdly, an outstanding research direction that should be mentioned
was the approach to works of Morrison in the aspect of culture, religion.
Fourthly, the world of Morrison’s novels was researched in the view
of sociology. The issues on history and races of the black people in the
white society were researched carefully to explain horror dramas born by
the colorful people in the slavery regime history. Additionally, the pens
emphasized the black post-modern nature of pen Morrison.
Furthermore, there was the research trend in the view of description
study on the novels of Toni Morrison.
These works gave us precious comments and initial orientations to
carry out the topic. Apart from the works that directly mentioned the
fragment, some works in spite of not mentioning the fragment, they helped
us much in determining the cultural-social foundation for the fragments
and their features in the works of Morrison.
1.2.2. Researches on Toni Morrison in the country
In Vietnam, we could not gather many research works and articles
relating to women writer Morrison and her novels. In addition to some
introductions about the author and works in books, newspapers, magazines
and Internet, in our country, there were three research works of specific

topic with the desire to find an approach to value layers of the
masterpieces and open a window to initially get to understanding vast
oceans of the world literature, especially the so called post-modern
literature, with strong innovative and creations in many aspects.
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Chapter 2
CONCEPT OF “FRAGMENTARY LANGUAGE”
Fragment is often considered as a nature in art creation. Sometimes, it
is raised to be fragmentarism. Thereby, in literature, this can be considered
to be a trend of creation. Within the scope of this thesis, we only
concentrated on determining and exploring this concept in the aspect of
being a nature of artistic language, characteristic life interpretation way of
the post-modern literature in general and Toni Morrison in particular.
Before determining the concept of fragmentary language, we start with
artistic language.
2.1. ARTISTIC LANGUAGE
We based on the concept of artistic language of I.U. Lotman,
semiotics creator who has the similar opinions with the post-logic structure
scholars in language. According to Lotman, all elements that create the
world of art: frame, space, story, event, character, structure, etc. are all the
units that create meaning and artistic languages. When the natural
language is used to retell event (with story telling and teller elements), it
becomes artistic language. Those are voices that are imagined, modeled,
created and have their individual tongues and styles. The unit of artistic
language, therefore, is not word but motifs. With the same opinion,
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Mikhail Bakhtin and post-structure scholars,
language is considered to always belong to some interactions and
dialogues; that means it is always in the movement process. Therefore,
artistic language is combined closely to society and history. Language in
the post-modern spirit is considered to be a discourse, which means that

with the foundation of non-centered and anti-rational philosophy.
2.2.2. Fragment like a feature of the post-modern thinking: It can be
seen that fragment is a feature of the thinking and Western post-modern
literature. The post-modern writers said that fragmentary language is the
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one that can free thinking, emotion and represent lively the inherent beauty
of life Fragmentary language is a specially successful creation of the
post-modern writers to enable expressing and showing consciousness of
the post-modern people.
2.2.3. Concept connotation
From the above-mentioned foundations, we temporarily determine the
concept connotation as follows:
Fragmentary language or expression way using fragment is a basic
character for the realistic approach of the post-modern literature. This
writing method appeared on the basis of psychology explanation,
instability, disruption, disconnection, erection, segment, vacancy, non
solemnly respect, random, etc. appearing mostly in the literature works,
expressing the sense organ “doubting great self-telling” of the post-modern
people.
Fragmentary language is expressed in all aspects and basic elements
of the artistic form in the work such as storyline, character, character
psychology, time, space, description art, language, etc. We cannot see the
compliance with any order, frame like the traditional literature works but
there is always disorder, fault, change, absurdity and abnormality. Readers
cannot hope to find a linear order in the describing way but they have to
participate positively into arranging, gathering and collecting those
segments to be able to imagine and access to the story.
From the view of philosophy, we see fragment is the product of the
chaotic conception about life when the society is standing at the threshold
of movement and change. Fragments collide and interact with each other

power built for a long time of the hegemony discourse. She displayed
unreliability, false, fabrication of the “white” language, strutted death-
blows into the white culture, vacillated the white sole aesthetics
foundation, etc. One one hand, she made the white culture become non-
centered. On the other hand, she confirmed black language, culture and
characters; fought for the right to raise the voice, live and free of the black
people - broken fates in the storm of the history. Word is the voice and
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vitality of one nation. Thus, in Morrison’s novels, she paid special
attention to artistic word. Wordy fragments in Morrison’s novels are
specially rich in meaning, capacity of converting meaning and emotion.
3.1. CONFUSED WORD
3.1.1. Wordy fragment - mirror of the reverse world
Crumbling and repressing word to discuss the two white-black worlds
make word like a mirror of the two completely opposite worlds. In the
novels of Toni Morrison, readers can realize that the author uses
characteristic fragmentary language in the documents, at many levels.
Interpreting the sentence, distance between words, using dots, ways of
capitalization, etc; cutting a paragraph of words into small fragments and
replace them at the beginning of each paragraph to replace the name of
chapter, etc. in her first work called The Bluest Eye indicated her intention
in creating a type of fragmentary word for the document.
3.1.2. Destruction power of language in the imaginary world
SEEMOTHERMOTHERISVERYNICEMO
THERWILLYOUPLAYWITHJANEMOTH
ERLAUGHSLAUGHMOTHERLAUGHLA [116;110].
After that, she broke the story into many fragments, disordered the
usual linear order, including the natural circulation in the seasons to tell
profound frightened and horrible truths. Each image, event and character
in the novels was described in the form of fragments to increase its level. It

3.3. DIVERGENT WORD
3.3.1. Random divergence
Song of Solomon is the story about names, divergent, distorted,
truncated, half-open names about the story of broken lives. Characters in
the novels of Toni Morrison are often intentionally named with abnormal,
singular names, in the status of being mixed up, violating forbidden,
something disgusting, despising. Livers are named to be Dead; these
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ridiculous absurdities still occur in the daily life of the black people. Here,
we also see that Morrison took pains in breaking language standards,
system of words together with regular expression meaning of words, etc.
Those names that were distorted, made ignominious, wrongly called,
placed names were the frightening stories about a nation that was enslaved,
damaged in term of culture, history and origin. Using divergent words was
also Morrison’s artistic intention when she broke the standard English
language to affirm the language of her black group.
3.3.2. Nick – name
A nick-name relating to the final bad meaning becomes the official
name of the character. Those that are not official, uncertain, vague about
their final meaning become real in the life of people herein. Art in using
nickname together with amending, naming those names that are given by
the white people to return an another world, those that are intentionally
hidden, not written; simultaneously, to fight against the peripheral
unknown and being whitened. That is the language of a destroyed world.
3.3.3. Cursed names
The black people took the names in the Bible to give name to their
children. The issue here is that those were the names of the characters who
killed the Bible or stood unlucky fates and were abandoned, prevented by
the white people. Ridiculing, toppling and destroying art for the standard
language of the white people, including those in the Bible; intention to

Fragmentary language is a pre-eminent creation of Morrison to fight
and strive for the right to live for her pitiful group. Simultaneously, she
also proposed eagerly for the equality between the voices, languages; this
has the similar meaning with striving for the right to live equally between
races and skin colors. She called for a world of equal language; that is the
recognition of the existence of the fragmentary language.
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Chapter 4
FRAGMENTARY CHARACTER
In chapter three, the thesis surveys Morrison’s creations through the
fragmentary language. In this chapter, we continue surveying the
fragmentary language through fragmentary characters of Morrison. We
can see that Morrison says by the fragmentary character language. We
also make comparisons, surveys with the traditional characters to see the
characteristics in the fragmentary character language, innovative in
thinking and artistic creation of the writer.
Before surveying the fragmentary character language, we determine
the concept, fragmentary characters. The structure of chapter four is as
follows:
4. 1. CONCEPT OF “CHARACTER” AND “FRAGMENTARY
CHARACTER”
4.1.1. Character: Based on the literature term dictionary (Le Ba Han,
Tran Dinh Su, Nguyen Khac Phi, co-editor), character is: “ A specific
person described in the literature work. Literature characters can or cannot
have their personal names (…). The concept of literature character is
sometimes used like a metaphor that does not indicate any specific person
but it is only an outstanding phenomenon in the work.
4.1.2. Fragmentary character: In this part, we survey the connotation of
the concept of character in the post-modern literature, with the conclusion
on character type that contains anti-traditional characteristics, of which,

beauty and value of herself. All people, from her father, mother,
classmates, teachers, community, etc. saw that she was too ugly and she
herself recognized that. All of people ignored and kept away from her each
time when they saw her; breaking occurred layer by layer, etc., led to a
saddening wish of the girl for the blue eyes, the condition for her to be
loved and accepted in the community. Ruin reached the top when she was
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raped by her own father. Morrison opened the truth about the passion of
losing culture, history and origin. Slave in culture ruined the girl in a
callous manner. The writer called for homologous voice, equality in
language, aesthetic values. Simultaneously, she demanded the rights to
raise the voice and live for the black people, especially women.
4.2.2. Connection of entity fragment - Milkman
Milkman was a nickname which related to bad, metaphor meaning
about the dependence and selfishness of this character. Although Milkman
was the child of the richest black family in the city, he always felt
frightened and passive and boycotted by the community. Being a bulk of
collapse, Milkman was embarrassed in complication and complexity of the
stories. He could not determine the truth about his family, fragments
without the destination source. Only when he connected to the black
culture and understood the voice of the community, did he grow up.
4.2.3. A human-ghost or Beloved entity
Character Beloved appeared in the shape of a human-ghost. It is
believed that Beloved appeared like a means to re-emerge a frightening
history. She may be the regeneration of soul and body of the black people
who were killed in the bloody slavery regime history in general and souls
of black girls in particular in a cruel society. Fragments of character
Beloved not only revived the untold stories but they were also the voice to
ask for the right to live, be loved and considered to be human living under
the sun light for unlucky black girls.

contributed a voice about the hidden frightening truths, aspiration and love
of the slaves.
In this chapter, we still see Morrison’s emphasis on co-relation
between language and life, character fate. She still thirsted for fighting to
affirm the voice, ask for the right to live, reduce deep grief for her
characters. It can be seen that the fragmentary character language is a
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choice of special success of Morrison in pushing her characters to take
steps on the hard movement to seek for the entity and express her profound
and highly generous artistic thinking.
CONCLUSION
In the non-center movement of great self-telling, the post-modern
artistic thinking oriented to fragmentary language like a inevitability.
Fragment became the new standard on beauty. Fragment participated in
creating a staff of new authors and readers for the era when people did not
believe in the absolute power of the reason. From this post-modern sense
organ, fragment penetrated into creating and criticizing literature like a
core category. Each literature author had his/her own feathers when using
the fragmentary language but Toni Morrison was the master in this art.
With the topic of Fragmentary language in the novels of Toni
Morrison, the thesis is the first research work on the American post-
modern literature in the approach angle of metaphor and poetry study in
Vietnam. It can be seen that by this approach, to some extent, the thesis
has recovered the previous entanglements of some research works on
artistic language in the meaning creating process.
In term of the term, the thesis reviewed and developed the concept of
fragmentary language. Artistic language researched herein by us is
understood in its wide meaning; that is all meaning creating units of the
literature works based on the semiotics conception justified by semiotics
creator I.U. Lotman and post-structure scholars. We can see that, in nature,

structure of fragments in all images, detailed events, characters, etc. that
were built painstakingly to discuss a painful collapse and nothing could
save the fates of the characters of Toni Morrison. Reminisces, scattered
event fragments, whispers that were never written on pages were gathered
to tell the events that “it is better not know anything about them”.
Extracting the story gradually through fragments was also an art Toni
Morrison tried to ease and reduce the passion, prevent the feelings of
having to contact to what too coarse and horrible taking place in the daily
life. The art created from the stories did not say completely but it was “still
entangled in the center of the told story”, generating creativity, connection
in ideas and powerful resonance from readers, expressing a master art
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talent, making Lyotard have regard for her and affirm that was “the
wonder of the super-ordinary”.
Inevitably, the fragmentary language gives birth to fragmentary
character. From diversified and lively characters, fate fragments were
displayed gradually, circulated and repeated to create a type of spectacular
character fragment language to enable the readers to make effort on
collecting and joining the writer in creating a picture about the world,
slaver fate and serf in general. Present-past, realistic-visionary, human-
ghost fragments made the works of Toni Morrison bring a fabulous
atmosphere, making the readers daze with the longing for and toss about.
Through the fragmentary language art, Toni Morrison showed her
great creation and innovative when she used the voice of the black people
community in the town margin about the deleted name and efforts in
retrieving their full name, ancestors and themselves. Thus, as indicated by
Morrison, language had an extraordinary power which crystallizes culture,
history and life of a nation in itself. Giving wrong name, understanding
wrongly, etc. were the tragedy of the colorful people in the history, a
nation that was “erased the memory”. Additionally, understanding

post-modern critics have an effective tool to discover the Vietnamese and
world post-modern literature. This can become a pathway for the domestic
literature critics to conquer the artistic tops of the human kind.
In front of the great art of Toni Morrison, our discoveries are very
small. We desire that there will have more research works on her literature
cause, a pen that fights tirelessly for the freedom, right and equality by a
tireless love and extraordinary artistic talent.