African-American identity against the surge of racism and neo-racism in five selected novels

Dissertant

al-Tahir, Bassmah Bassam Khalid

Thesis advisor

Usfur, Muhammad

Comitee Members

Yusuf, Tawfiq Ibrahim
al-Khaiat, Abd al-Latif

University

Philadelphia University

Faculty

Faculty of Arts

Department

Department of English Language and Literature

University Country

Jordan

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2010

English Abstract

-This thesis attempts to explore an issue that has become the source of embarrassment for one of the greatest empires in history, an empire that prides itself on the one hand for being the leading democracy of the world while at the same time harboring glaring social injustice and racial discrimination.

The problem of discrimination or racism will be traced in five novels that follow a certain fictional and historical timeline: Roots by Alex Haley (1977), Captain Blackman by John A.

Williams (1972), The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1983), The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (2001), and A Death in Texas: a Story of Race, Murder, and Struggle of a Small Town’s Redemption by Dina Temple-Raston (2002).

In these novels, the African-American characters explore the world of racism, judge their experiences, and make a choice to stand out in a world dominated by a white population.

; /012 ا 4 562 دة ا 9 /: 9 <012 ت ا 9 > را @ 2 وا Deanship of Academic Research & Graduate Studies - vii - The thesis is divided into five chapters.

Chapter One is the “Introduction” that briefly introduces the problem, hypothesis, and significance of the thesis that discusses the issue of Racism and Neo-Racism and how the African-American establishes an identity in a segregated world.

Chapter Two is entitled “The Loss of the African Identity”; it discusses the identity of the Africans, their traditions, behavior, and religion as well as the family bonds and tribal communal life.

It also examines slavery and the oppression of the blacks by the white man after enslavement and transportation to the United States of America against their will.

The loss of their African identity is replaced with the identity of ‘slave’, and later on the identity of a ‘black man’ that comes after the abolition of slavery.

This shift is discussed through the characters and events of the novels.

Chapter Three, “Establishing an Identity under Racism” deals with the struggle the black man faces to gain his or her rights under segregation after the abolition of slavery.

A new identity comes to light as the African-American starts to realize that a separate individuality must take place in order to break free from the white man’s hegemony.

Thus, a new religion and language are created along with the strength of family ties in order to shape the core of the contemporary African- American.

Chapter Four entitled “Neo-Racism: The Hidden Threat” attempts to define Neo-Racism and how it is manifested in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

This is portrayed through a hate crime committed by three white supremacists in Jasper, Texas, 1998.

Also in the Vietnam War, 1975 Neo-Racism emerges and the Black - viii - Power Movement takes place.

The characters depicted in the novels are faced with many obstacles against a pernicious and covert form of Racism known as Neo- Racism, even after African-Americans have earned their Civil Rights.

Many obstacles are found as the African-American tries to establish his identity and equality in various aspects of the American community.

The final chapter, the “Conclusion”, reflects on the answers to the questions asked earlier in the introduction.

The identity of the African, black man, and later on contemporary African-American is based on the characters and events of the novels mentioned earlier.

Main Subjects

Literature

Topics

• Racial prejudice
• Literature
• Afro-Americans

No. of Pages

109

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-546113