Editor's Choice

How does colorism contribute to the town's destruction in Toni Morrison's Paradise?

Quick answer:

Toni Morrison uses the town of Ruby as a direct critique on colorism. The town was supposed to be a safe haven for all black people, but in reality, it becomes just another place of violence and hatred. In her next novel, A Mercy , Morrison continues this line of thought by making the main character a lighter-skinned slave who is considered more valuable than her darker-skinned counterparts.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In Paradise, Morrison explores the ways in which black people have internalized systematic preferences for lighter skin, and residents of Ruby engage in prejudices based on skin color even without crossing racial lines. Before Haven/Ruby is established as a town, its founders are barred from other communities because dark complected "negroes" are unwanted there. The people of Haven, noticing pervasive social prejudices against former slaves, poorer black people and darker complected black people, see "a new separation": where once white prejudice against black people was the social norm, now light-skinned black people were engaging in prejudice against dark-skinned people.

In what appears to be a subversion of this norm, Ruby becomes a place where darker skin is celebrated and lighter skin is perceived as undesirable. Darker skinned people in Ruby are considered more eligible for marriage; people are described as marrying darker complected people to compensate for their own paler complexions, thereby raising their social station in Ruby. Morrison attributes the colorism in Ruby to a multi-generational legacy of internalized racial hatred, and conveys the idea that Ruby, though seemingly subverting colorism and internalized racism, was in fact mimicking the white race's subjugation of black people.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial