Preface
This study critically explores the persistent claim by feminists that Black male writing in the United States “has been systematically discriminatory against women. The critics insist that African-American women in the male authored works are portrayed as playing unimportant roles that make the male protagonists emerge as the ‘real black heroes’. No Black female, they argue, is accorded heroic status in texts by these male writers. They are also dissatisfied with the fact that some male authored works completely exclude Black women and their experiences. This study addresses most of the issues raised by the critics by revealing how the quest for fulfillment by black females in the United States is central to the feminist efforts of black women in the male authored texts. Aspects of the female quest for the realization of their aspirations include the pursuit of advanced education, economic and political empowerment, social equality and cultural expression.
The study highlights the heroic contributions of individual black women to the advancement of the African-American community in the United States in works by Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. Novels by two renowned black women writers, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, are regularly referred to in order to provide portrayals of African-American women by black women writers. The study concentrates on the daily preoccupation of black females as they struggle to create the basis for improving the lot of their offspring and contribute to the uplift of their people and communities. These female characters are shown as deriving great satisfaction from the challenges posed by the oppressive circumstances in which they find themselves. Their persistent self-application is evident in the works and underscores the fact that the writers realistically capture a particular phase in the black females’ march towards self-realization. The black women in these works are therefore regarded as pioneers who are conscious of their roles and perform these roles with great fortitude, hope and sense of fulfilment.
Contents:
Introduction
Chapter One: Womanism as an Antidote to the Problem of Representation of Characters in Texts Written by Black Males
Chapter Two: The Quest for Intellectual Advancement by African—American Women
Chapter Three: Black Women and their Search for Economic Emancipation
Chapter Four: The Search for Political Relevance by Black Females in America
Chapter Five: The Persistent Quest for Social Equality by African—American Females
Chapter Six: The Black Female Search for Cultural Expression