Unburying the Orientalist Gaze of an African-American Soldier in Home. Issue 3 (3rd July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Namgung, Song
• Is Part Of: ANQ. Volume 34:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 262
• Page End: 266
• Publication Date: 2021-07-03
• Subjects: American literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; English philology -- Periodicals; Motion pictures -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 820.9
• DOI: 10.1080/0895769X.2019.1691910
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0895-769X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Examining America's racially-integrated army during the Korean War, Toni Morrison's Home (2012) debunks 1950s orientalist biases and views of transnational supremacy. Further, it interrogates domestic nationalism and racism. Protagonist Frank Money's social status along with his complacent gaze at race and gender changes according to the disparate geopolitical environments he encounters. His self-serving monologue confirms his identity as a "strong good Self" in both Korea and America. Therein, he metaphorically consumes two parallel and sexually victimized female characters: the Korean girl and Ycidra. His unconscious craving for self-vindication incurs a naïve, self-made redemption, exposing his home's precarious foundation.