The Power of Narrative
This is perhaps the central theme in Toni Morrison's Nobel Lecture. She illustrates her belief in the importance of narrative with an allegorical fable. Over the course of the fable, a conflict develops between an old woman and a group of children. The old woman's wisdom is derived from a belief in the power of language, but the children question her ability to help them answer life's biggest questions. They ultimately bridge their differences and come to a place of mutual trust through shared narrative.
Intergenerational relationships
Morrison shares her reflections on the importance of language through the lens of a conflict between an old woman and a group of children. Throughout the fable, they reference their age as archetypal symbols of their different approach: the children, for example, are frustrated by the old woman's silent guarding of her language. Yet by the end of the fable, the two generations reconcile their differences and arrive to a shared appreciation of the power of narrative.
Oppression
Morrison develops the theme of oppression—racism, sexism, and state-sanctioned violence—through the reveries of the old woman. As she contemplates how to answer the children's provocation, she considers the use of language by oppressors to hide the truth, systematize control, and sanction their use of power. This is the moral opposite to what the old woman calls living language. Words, Morrison argues, can be used for opposing purposes.
Slavery
An important theme throughout Morrison's body of work is American slavery and its legacy. This theme surfaces in the character of the old woman, who Morrison describes as the daughter of slaves. She is wise in spite of years of oppression, or perhaps because of it. The specter of slavery reappears again towards the end of the fable, when the children tell a story about a wagon of slaves. It is this shared history that ultimately binds the children and the old woman together, across their differences.
