美国文学史Chapter 25 African American Literature.pptVIP

Chapter 25 Multiethnic Literature African American Literature 1.Brief Introduction to the History African-American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reaching early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem Renaissance, and continuing today with authors such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Walter Mosley being ranked among the top writers in the United States. 1.Brief Introduction to the History Among the themes and issues explored in African American literature are the role of African Americans within the larger American society, African-American culture, racism, slavery, and equality. African American writing has also tended to incorporate within itself oral forms such as spirituals, sermons, gospel music, blues and rap. 2.Long Process of Evolution Early Stage : Oral tradition(songs, ballads and spirituals) 18th century: Abolitionist movement and the Civil War Mid-19th century;( ) Later part of the 19th century and the early 1920s (Harlem Renaisssance) 3.Three Representative Works 1940: Native Son 《土生子》（P 513） -- Richard Wright 1952: Invisible Man 《隐形人》 -- Ralph Ellison 1977: Song of Solomon 《所罗门之歌》 --Toni Morrison 4. Toni Morrison (1931–) American writer Toni Morrison won the 1993 Nobel Prize for literature, the eighth woman and the first black woman to receive the prize. Morrison writes about African American women, celebrating their strength and vitality and revealing their struggles.  She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for Beloved (1987), which explored the effects of slavery on a former slave living in Ohio after the American Civil War. Other works, including Song of Solomon (1977) and Jazz (1992), focus on the powerful cultural h