Racial and National Identity of Black American Expatriates in France: A Study of the Works of Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and William Gardner Smith, 1936-1970
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Date
2016
Authors
Sol, Priscilla Elizabeth
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This thesis aims to construct a conception of the black American identity within the context of the works of three expatriate authors living in France during the 1940-1950’s. By examining the thematic links among three novels each of Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and William Gardner Smith, I have established each authors outlook on racial conflicts during a time period of significant tension and progress. These three authors have been chosen because each spent a significant time exiled from America, yet remained active in race politics back home. My analysis is aimed at determining each authors’ concepts of: the black American identity both at-home and internationally; the connection between black American expatriates and their home nation; and the role of black Americans within the United States. Although each author follows a different racial ideology, they all present different facets of the same struggle for identity and self-assertion. Wright, Baldwin, and Smith each explore the inheritance of black American history and its effect upon American citizens, and present a worldview tempered by the cynicism that has formed during centuries of oppression. These authors support the resistance against the white power systems which have perpetuated this oppression, but with a realistic view of the repercussions of racial conflict. These three authors establish the black American identity as a state of being both inside and outside one’s homeland, deeply rooted in American culture but exiled from real citizenship. Expatriation has enabled these authors to examine the international bonds between black Americans and other oppressed peoples, leading each to assert that those who are cognizant of these racial issues around the world have an obligation to fight for freedom and for the right to exist within one’s home country.
Description
146 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of English and the Department of Romance Languages and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Fall 2016
Keywords
African-American, Expatriate, France, Citizenship, International, Oppression