IndexIntroductionCultural CriticismConclusion IntroductionCultural criticism is a critical lens through which any text can be viewed. This form of criticism examines how different religions, ethnicities, class identifications, political beliefs, and opinions influence how texts are created and interpreted. For those looking for examples of cultural criticism essays, the works of Toni Morrison provide an excellent foundation. Morrison's approach to literature places it within a broader framework that includes the economic institutions of literary production, ideology, and political issues of class, race, gender, and power. In his works, Morrison delves into the psyche of African Americans to understand their unique cultural heritage, which is heavily influenced by their folklore, myths, and traditions. His works provide insight into the complexities of the African American experience and their rootedness in cultural myths and traditions. Morrison's approach to literature is an excellent example of cultural criticism in action. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayCultural CriticismCultural criticism suggests that belonging to or excluding a specific group or culture contributes to and influences our understanding of texts. Using cultural criticism as a lens to understand literature is based on some common assumptions. For example, ethnicity, religious beliefs, social class, and so on, are crucial components in formulating plausible interpretations of the text. Furthermore, because new understandings emerge by looking at a text through the perspective of those individuals (blacks, women, and slaves) who are in some way marginalized or not part of the dominant culture, cultural criticism also essentially focuses on examining or exploration of the relationship between dominant and dominated cultures. As L. Tyson states, cultural criticism focuses on what a literary work suggests about the experience of groups of people who have been ignored, underrepresented, or misrepresented by mainstream history (e.g., workers, prisoners, women, people of colour, lesbians and gays, children, crazy people, etc.). For M. Habib, cultural criticism is a critical approach that grounds literature in a broader framework that may include the economic institutions of literary production, ideology, and general political issues of class, race, gender, and power. Thus cultural analysis tends to emphasize what is specific or unique – in terms of time, place and ideology – about a given cultural and literary moment (Habib, 2005: 276). Therefore, cultural critics urge paying attention to political, ideological, social and historical factors when analyzing literary texts. Indeed, cultural theories argue that literature cannot transcend history and is continually shaped by social and political forces. For them, literary texts are the product of the ideology of the era in which they are written. (Greenblatt (1982) That is, literature does not exist in a timeless aesthetic realm as an object to be passively contemplated. Rather, like all cultural manifestations, it is a product of the socioeconomic and therefore ideological conditions of the time and place in which it was written, regardless of whether the author intended it. Since human beings are themselves the product of their socioeconomic and ideological environments, it is assumed that authors cannot help but create works that embody the ideology in some form (Tyson, 66). themselves by ideology but write within certain ideological boundaries that influence their worksdefinitions and assumptions, I may wonder if the literary corpus developed by African Americans and in particular by Toni Morrison cannot be analyzed and understood from cultural perspectives, in fact, when Africans arrived in America, they brought with them their rich and colorful history, the culture, folklore and myths that they inherited from their ancestors. Although they lacked a written literary tradition, they had already developed and spread their diverse black culture since their liberation from slavery. While writing they included their rich heritage and folklore which preserve their race, identity and culture. These large groups of literature written by Americans of African descent became known as African-American literature. Toni Morrison is one of the major outstanding writers who have made their mark on this body of literature. He ranks among the most popular and widely read African American fiction writers and cultural critics to emerge in the 1970s. As an African American writer, Toni Morrison not only reflects the exploitation and devastation brought by slavery on African Americans, but also delves into their psyche to reach the unique cultural heritage of African Americans by intermittently alluding to their folklore, myths, cultural traditions, ancestral legacy , magic, fairy tale, poetry, songs, music and superstition. His works provide insights into the complexity of the African American experience and its rootedness in African myths, cultural traditions, and folklore. Develop an interest in describing how African Americans are influenced by dominant white traditional cultural values ​​by focusing on the living conditions of the black community more truthfully and accurately, often with direct or implicit social messages. Therefore, it can undoubtedly be argued that the influence of African culture is a notable feature of Toni Morrison's work. Indeed, he has developed an exuberant writing style that consistently strives to incorporate what he considers "unorthodox novelistic characteristics [of black art]" into his writing ("Rootedness," 342). Morrison has always said that he asks himself what makes a book “black.” “Unspeakable Things Unspoken: The Afro-American Presence in American Literature,” imagines “the development of a theory of literature that truly fits African American literature: a theory that is based on its culture, on his history and on the artistic strategies of the works” employ to negotiate the world in which he lives” (“Unspeakable”, 11). on what he calls the Africanist presence in American literature, a term he uses to describe the centrality of certain issues and narrative techniques in African-American works, Toni Morrison intermittently alludes to African cultural traditions and folklore. Toni Morrison explores the oral tradition extensively in her works. His fiction is consciously interested in myth, legend, storytelling and other traditional forms, as well as memory and history. The stories are aware of African cultural heritage and African American history, thus demonstrating the importance of the past to the struggles of contemporary African Americans. Therefore, it becomes easy to understand why it is important to study Toni Morrison's novel from a cultural perspective. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion In conclusion, the works of Toni Morrison provide a great example of cultural criticism in action, where literature is rooted in a..