Community Lost, Community Gained——A Study of Toni Morrison’s Novel BelovedContentsAcknowledgementsⅠAbstract in EnglishⅡAbstract in ChineseⅢIntroduction1Chapter One: Introduction of Toni Morrison and Beloved51.1 A Short Introduction of Toni Morrison and Her Works51.2 The Background of Beloved71.3The Story of Beloved8Chapter Two:Community Lost112.1The Clearing112.1.1 The Clearing and Baby Suggs’ Imagined Community112.1.2 Sethe and the Clearing132.2 The Tragedy of Sethe15Chapter Three: Deep Reasons for the Loss of Community183.1Envy and Pride183.1.1 Envy193.1.2 Pride223.2The System of Slavery233.3Reciprocity27Chapter Four: Reintegration304.1The Role of Denver in Reintegration304.1.1 Denver’s Sacrifices304.1.2 Denver’s Heroic Status314.2The Efforts of the Community354.3The Role of Beloved in Reintegration38Conclusion40Bibliography42 Acknowledgments I owe the deepest gratitude to Professor Wang Guanglin, my thesis supervisor and tutor for my MA study, who has helped me immeasurably in preparing and composing this thesis with enlightening guidance and has devoted his precious time to reading and revising each draft with great care and patience. Without his constructive suggestions and advice, this paper would never have started and come to a completion. His expectations of me will spur me on to explore the unknowns and scale new heights in my future professional career. My gratitude also goes to all my other teachers in Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade for their informative and inspiring courses, to friends and authors whose books and articles I have read. From all of them I have learned a great deal which I am unable to attribute to whomever individually. Finally, I am particularly grateful to my parents for their unfai...