Chapter 8 Black American Literature
4 ?% E; ?# N/ Y5 N6 R* O I. Overview
* R+ s' W# \( ?; u* N# ^* d. b Negro – coloured (legally free) – black (after civil rights movement)
' j1 U- I7 J8 f& K 1. oral tradition: v4 w2 f" f: b! K& l5 |- Z$ r% U
(1) songs and ballads) B6 ?$ R( u! a7 \$ x% R, z
(2) spirituals: sorrow of the singers’ earlier condition and longing for freedom- Q( |4 K# _1 G' T
(3) blues: after civil war, derived from work songs – loneliness, separation, losses, wonderings, love, desperation, sense of doom. O0 L, ^: w+ Z: c( F5 z
(4) jazz: after WWI, developed from blues, died out in the Great Depression
/ d8 b V$ A" b 2. written literature (from 1760s)3 h& g( s, f2 s1 D( X# Y1 b
(1) poetry: religious, enduring, patient to the white
# I+ a! z5 f6 [, n6 W6 L' X" X8 ? (2) slave narrative: autobiographical experience of the person1 x" A# r- `2 Y, r! |, d' Z
(3) 1920s: Harlem Renaissance – New York, black – black dialect and black folklore – “the new negro” – representatives: Langston Hughes (“black poet laureate”), Huston, Claude McKay0 f- D! C+ K. V! G. U
(4) 1940s: Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison" r& j( v# w6 T B: r
(5) 50s~60s: a lot of black writers emerged in the civil rights movement: James Baldwin, Brooks, Jones# m* {; u. j& u6 u
(6) 70s~80s: publishing of “Root” (Alex Haley), Walker – “The Colour Purple”, Morrison (the second woman writer and the only black who won Nobel Prize)
9 m5 T0 v" t6 |3 F& ]/ r1 K& N' r II. Richard Wright
) m- \7 L# K+ v 1. life
^* ^" ]. k: { 2. works2 r1 P) t1 C/ C: R5 `& V
(1) Uncle Tom’s Children: Four Novellas2 d! U$ ]! L+ v- M% p
(2) Native Son
2 R; I/ y( b) T3 W& R% i4 v- M (3) Black Boy0 e. @3 i1 J, c4 k) k* {* W2 N
(4) The Outsider (the first novel of existentialism in America, published in France)* L( R" d: I, [1 I2 e) g6 x0 n$ t
3. themes and subjects
3 |! y; D' n4 A6 }9 D His common theme is to condemn racism, urge reform, criticize evils of society. His books focus on racial conflict and physical violence. They review the devastating effect of institutionalized hatred (hatred brought by social system) and humiliation on black males’ psyche. They affirmed dignity and humility of society’s outcasts.1 e; ]+ F# Z$ @+ c+ H; I0 o3 H6 e1 {
4. writing techniques – realism, naturalism
# Z$ K4 K1 o! r/ {$ |6 H He tries to show that people cannot escape from society. Therefore, society must be changed. He is a father figure, especially to the writers of violence.) D. `9 k! o4 l% J4 H7 k
III. Ralph Ellison
- r8 Y1 v5 @5 P, r5 ^8 I 1. life
! D* L9 L! Y! ^ _1 Y( Q/ q 2. works: Invisible Man0 Z4 ~$ u8 _# o* l8 S; Q
significance: It has a universality of theme (problems of all modern people), not only regional dilemma of existence.
- s+ l- j+ E1 y0 h 3. attitude: complexity of art – the best art makes good politics, not vice versa.& h- ~. H Q+ e' d3 y2 H/ f7 c% H
IV. James Baldwin* Z) ?5 I, H, ]
1. life& l ^/ h+ l. n% y
2. works$ c% S5 `3 r! q1 b2 F5 F& H+ E* E# @
(1) Go Tell It on the Mountain
8 A, d1 T8 j3 l& `9 o (2) Notes of a Native Son( O5 D' Q! K5 e+ z. ~7 o8 R
(3) Nobody Knows My Name0 @3 W6 u' I! ?& ?& h& X
(4) The Fire Next Time
1 s+ C% M9 A8 K5 F3 s9 ~* a 3. point of view
1 ?( G. K, _' n: u. M$ V# Q/ O Baldwin calls for the blacks to resort to means including force so as to bring about the nation’s self-realization. He saw love and understanding as difficult but necessary way to overcome racial conflict. |
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