African American Literature essays

African American Literature essays In his Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man, James Weldon Johnson explores the meaning of "passing" in an American society. The reader never learns the name of the narrator in the novel, but you learn that its of little importance. The crisis throughout the novel centers on the narrator discovering his identity. At times the narrator regrets his failure to the black race, he says, I am an ordinary white man who has made a little money. They are men who are making history and a race. (p.861) But this uncertainty is the heart of the novel, classifying human beings merely by the color of skin is impulsive and arbitrary. While revealing his decision, the ex-colored man disregards his black race and misrepresents his strong uniqueness. There are many causes that lead to his development to pass. (All subsequent quotations come from The Norton Anthology, African American Literature.) There are many causes that may have led the central character to pass; one example reflects on his upbringing. His mother tells him, "The best blood of the South is in you," (p.784) when the narrator asks whom his father is. Clearly, his mother was proud of (and perhaps still in love with) this genteel white man who gave her a son. His pretty and intelligent mother, his sole parent, made her way in the world by connecting her destiny to that of a white man's. From this, the central character saw the love his mother had for a white man. So the central characters audacious decisions make much sense in light of his past. He was told of his fathers proud standing and scholarly accomplishments. This influenced the idea onto the character, that in order to be successful and content you must be white. The central character dreams of, "bringing glory and honor to the Negro race." (p.788) But in reality, he surrenders to the more self-serving choice of passing and neglects his bla ...