Beloved Nobelist

Toni Morrison's brilliance does not lie in her ability to portray effectively a black woman's experience in America ((Literature, Oct. 18)). Though the idea of race, she realizes, is not part of reality, America's treatment of it has created oppression for those who have been defined by it. The experiences of black women in America are the experiences of those who are left out. Morrison writes of the experiences of all of us who are forced to conform to another's reality.

Aneesh Lele

Isla Vista, California

Via America Online

When Morrison's Pulitzer was viewed by some as a token bestowed to appease a racial minority, a grave injustice was done a great writer. That attempt to discredit Morrison's accomplishment, though she was vindicated by being awarded the Nobel, should remind discerning readers how such concepts as affirmative action have victimized the very people they were originally intended to affirm. It is time to let go of an outdated system and give people credit based solely on merit, blind to race, by eliminating special admissions standards and token vacancies.

Deborah Gleason

Rochester Hills, Michigan