The interplay between racism and feminism: Black feminism and Toni Morrison's 'Paradise'

Toni Morrison's novel Paradise provides a vivid picture of patriarchy and racism. The novel is surrounded with crucial symbols in connection with race and gender. The novel takes place in Ruby near Oklahoma. It is a small town where only black men hold the authority and manipulate the system according to their interests.In terms of identity there is no separate concept for women in the novel. They have to obey all the rules which are expected by men. On the other hand, There is a place which is known as Convent near Ruby. The women who live in Convent trigger the hatred and anger of those men against women in general because they think that they can not control the women as they control their wives. The women in Convent show their identities bravely and freely. Therefore, it menaces the absolute authority of men. The concept of strong women and how merciless men can be If the authority is taken from them, are emphasized with the help of Convent thematically.Actually, from the very beginning to the end, Toni Morrison draws the picture of difficulties women have to deal with. The richness of the novel stems from the thematic elements intimately linked to the language and discourse intertwined with racism and patriarchy. The way she uses the language and the events that take place provide different perspectives on these issues non-chronologically. There is a striking interplay between past and present in connection with inequalities in terms of gender and race. Actually, Morrison tries to show that the underlying reason of segregation is not closely linked to race or gender. The aim of this study is to analyze the thematic elements and their relations to the interplay between racism and feminism known as Black Feminism and as a conclusion how concepts of race and gender are used to hide interests stemming from political and economic reasons are explained in the light of literature review. In the study, as data collection method, the thematic analysis has been used to explain the content according to themes.