Toni Morrison Discussion Essay

Words: 532
Pages: 3

Every person we meet is different and though we do not realize it, they have something new for us to learn from. However, we often judge someone unfamiliar to us for many reasons, whether it is their appearance, their style of clothing, or their behavior. Morrison relates to a story of coming across a fisherwoman and feeling a mutual friendship with the women after talking with her for a few minutes, but later felt deceived and cheated when she realized that the stranger lied to her. The author knew better than to trust someone she just met and was naive in giving a good impression of her. Therefore, judging strangers is not the morally right thing to do, but it tends to be a common thing for many people fall for, making us feel deceived, but also more aware of the …show more content…
These mixed feelings of bewilderment and discontent led the author to reflect upon herself. The author states, “I get nowhere except for the stingy explanation that she had come into my space…and had implied promises of female camaraderie, of opportunities for me to be generous… taking with her my good opinion of myself, which, of course, is unforgivable”( Morrison). The writer points out that the fisherwomen, toke with her a “good opinion of myself” which made her feel betrayed and guilty for letting a stranger get away with intruding in someone else’s property. Clearly the author felt hurt, she fell for the old women’s lies, in part because she sentimentalized with her, by glimpsing that she was wearing old and poor clothes. Perhaps thinking that the old women needed protection, forgetting the “power of embedded images and stylish language to seduce, reveal, control” (Morrison). If the author would had been more incredulous from the beginning, she would not have been hurt by the deceit and would have questioned the old women, perhaps discovering the old women’s true