T he literary achievement of African-Americans was one of the most
striking literary developments of the post-Civil War era. In the
writings of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon
Johnson, Charles Waddell Chesnutt, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and
others, the roots of black American writing took hold, notably in
the forms of autobiography, protest literature, sermons, poetry,
and song.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Booker T. Washington, educator and the most prominent black leader
of his day, grew up as a slave in Franklin County, Virginia, born
to a white slave-holding father and a slave mother. His fine,
simple autobiography, Up From Slavery (1901), recounts his
successful struggle to better himself. He became renowned for his
efforts to improve the lives of African-Americans; his policy of
accommodation with whites -- an attempt to involve the recently
freed black American in the mainstream of American society -- was
outlined in his famous Atlanta Exposition Address (1895).
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
Born in New England and educated at Harvard University and the
University of Berlin (Germany), W.E.B. Du Bois authored "Of Mr.
Booker T. Washington and Others," an essay later collected in his
landmark book The Souls of Black Folk (1903).
Du Bois carefully
demonstrates that despite his many accomplishments, Washington had,
in effect, accepted segregation -- that is, the unequal and
separate treatment of black Americans -- and that segregation would
inevitably lead to inferiority, particularly in education. Du Bois,
a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), also wrote sensitive appreciations of the
African-American traditions and culture; his work helped black
intellectuals rediscover their rich folk literature and music.
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)
Like Du Bois, the poet James Weldon Johnson found inspiration in
African-American spirituals. His poem "O Black and Unknown Bards"
(1917) asks:
Heart of what slave poured out such melody As "Steal Away to
Jesus?" On its strains His spirit must have nightly floated free,
Though still about his hands he felt his chains.
Of mixed white and black ancestry, Johnson explored the complex
issue of race in his fictional Autobiography of an Ex- Colored Man
(1912), about a mixed-race man who "passes" (is accepted) for
white. The book effectively conveys the black American's concern
with issues of identity in America.
Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858-1932)
Charles Waddell Chesnutt, author of two collections of stories, The
Conjure Woman (1899) and The Wife of His Youth (1899), several
novels, including The Marrow of Tradition (1901), and a biography
of Frederick Douglass, was ahead of his time. His stories dwell on
racial themes, but avoid predictable endings and generalized
sentiment; his characters are distinct individuals with complex
attitudes about many things, including race. Chesnutt often shows
the strength of the black community and affirms ethical values and
racial solidarity.
THE RISE OF BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE
158
0
2 минуты
Понравилась работу? Лайкни ее и оставь свой комментарий!
Для автора это очень важно, это стимулирует его на новое творчество!