Tar Baby (novel)
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Author | Toni Morrison |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Novel |
Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Released | March 12, 1981 |
Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 320 pp |
ISBN | ISBN 0-394-42329-1 |
Tar Baby is a novel by Toni Morrison published first in 1981.
[edit] Plot introduction
This novel portrays a love affair between a black upper-middle-class woman who does not wish to claim her african american heritage,and a poor black man who believes blacks and whites should live totally separate lives, because the most important thing for him is his african-(american) heritage.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title from the Author
Tar Baby is also a name, like "nigger," that white people call black children, black girls, as I recall.
At one time, a tar pit was a holy place, at least an important place, because tar was used to build things.
It held together things like Moses' little boat and the pyramids.
For me, the tar baby came to mean the black woman who can hold things together.
- from an interview with Morrison by Karin L. Badt (1995)