If Toni Morrison’s Jazz is a musical piece in the form of a novel, the narrator is the conductor, evaluating all the different characters and their roles in the band, creating liveliness in the piece. Within this novel, however, there is no set narrator, and instead, focus seems to shift between the different characters’ point-of-views and that of an omniscient spectator. Remaining in the first person, the narrator acts as though they are a person from within the town a majority of the time, but occasionally switches perspectives to reflect that of the characters, creating an unclear perspective on morality and on events that take place. Most notably, the narration takes on the cadences of the jazz music for which it is named; it does not follow the typical rules of storytelling dictated by norms of writing, and instead seems to freely move around in order to create a story that nonetheless comes together as a whole in the end.
The switching perspectives of the narrator throughout the piece make for moral ambiguity within the novel, and add a degree of depth to characters that might be dismissed as unimportant in other works. Because of this, there is no character in which sympathies are explicitly supposed to be directed towards, as readers must rely on each individual’s perception of the events that have occurred and their reactions to them. The novel begins with the informal “Sth” (p. 3), a seemingly disapproving sound condemning Violet and Joe. Because of this, most readers jump to the conclusion that the novel will take on the perspective of denouncing the Traces for their crimes. Instead, the book skews itself in accordance with the character that is being examined at the current moment. For example, Dorcas is initially presented as unsympathetic for having had an affair with a married man, especially because one of the first descriptions offered of her comes from Violet viewing a picture of her as “greedy, haughty, and very lazy” (p. 12). To this end, Dorcas is not likeable in any way, and the only empathy felt towards her is due to the fact that she lost her life too soon, and not because of who she might have been as a person. However, when Joe remembers his time with Dorcas, or when the narration reflects on the beginning of their affair, she is described as “both bless[ing] his life and mak[ing] him wish he had never been born” (p. 40). The contradictions in this statement alone speak to varying perspectives held about Dorcas, and soften the light cast upon her, making her out to be someone extremely cherished to Joe, and someone who was similarly broken that he could confide in. The indefinite and constantly moving points of views and opinions of the narrator make it difficult to extend sympathy towards any one character, as they are all immensely complicated, and have shortcomings. It is also hard to choose what piece of narration is the most reliable, and so readers must work with the information they’ve gathered from the different viewpoints in order to come up with their own conclusions about who, if anybody, is in the right and wrong within the scope of the story.
Just as the qualities and meaning behind music depend upon its listener, so too does the narration of the novel bend itself in accordance with the perspectives of those it is currently focused upon. Appropriately titled, the writing style of Jazz reflects the style of music for which it is named, especially in its focus upon improvisation. The narration of the novel does not follow any set rules or confine itself to one voice, as is typically expected; instead it breathes a life into itself and its characters by making them all into unreliable narrators, offering their part of the tale. Because the text switches so often between different viewpoints on events, it is hard to pinpoint a person’s true character in a definitive manner; the reader knows how they perceive themselves and how others view them, but are in no way exposed to the entirety of the individual. The narrator freely moves and seems almost to make up opinions and assertions on the spot depending upon who is the main focus of the moment. To this end, the sympathies of the book are left entirely to the judgement of the reader, with the narrator never explicitly taking a side, and instead just resolving to play the tunes of everyone and see where the melody is taken.
Word Count: 755
Hi Sarah! The approach you take of the narrator in Jazz is something I had also thought about and you did a great job in explaining why it functions the ways it does as it tells the story, connecting it to the way music moves. I really liked, both, your intro and concluding sentence. The hook works as it should and makes the reader want to read more while the conclusion ties everything together and reminds the reader of the argument through a metaphor and I really liked that.
ReplyDeleteThere was some confusion, however, at least for me, in your introductory paragraph. When I first read the hook I concluded that the paper would interpret the narrator and story in a musical way but as I kept reading my understanding changed and I thought you were actually going to take the opposite approach and argue it was not related to music. This misunderstanding happened due to your use of words, so I just suggest being more careful with word-choice and making sure you are saying what you want to be saying. Besides that I think you did a great job!
What I really liked about your post is the interesting way in which you connect the novel's title to the narrator and the shifting points of view they use when telling the story. I had not looked at it this way and you definitely provided a new reading of this portion of the text. You also had an interesting hook which grabbed my attention and made me curious as to what you had to say.
ReplyDeleteAs the previous commenter stated, I also was a bit confused and thought that this piece was going to continue to explain how this narrator uses the musical style of jazz to tell the story and the impact it has on the reader. If you were to write a longer piece, I suggest that you elaborate on the idea. I also suggest that you take a closer look as to who this narrator may be and the reason for their identity being concealed.