Dehumanization of the African-American Community: Insights from Home Sakshi Kanase College

Home is a novel by distinguished writer Toni Morrison that explores the story of Frank, an African American man returning home post the Korean War, and his naïve and uneducated sister Cee. The novel takes us through the evolution of these characters stories, how they deal with the demons in their lives, and ultimately progress towards resolving the issues that hold them back in life. Home touches upon many pertinent issues, such as racism in America, the after-effects of a war on a soldier, and the struggle to find a place where you belong. Through Frank and Cee’s perspective, we are given deep insights into the arduous lives that they lead. Morrison employs various motifs and symbols to relay these characters experiences. In Home, Toni Morrison uses symbolism to highlight the constant dehumanization of African Americans in the novel and illustrates the impact this has on them. This paper will address how Morrison’s use of certain symbols is able to accurately depict the painful nature of these characters’ lives, and the ways in which this dehumanization affects them.

In order to address the dehumanization in the novel, one must first consider what constitutes as dehumanization in the context of these characters. In its most...