Open AccessBlack women’s ‘two-ness’ in african-american literature: can black and white worlds join together?
Author(s) -
José Endoença Martins
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
acta scientiarum. language and culture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.124
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1983-4683
pISSN - 1983-4675
DOI - 10.4025/actascilangcult.v32i1.4767
Subject(s) - white (mutation) , nationalism , join (topology) , cultural assimilation , black women , gender studies , sociology , art , history , art history , political science , ethnic group , law , anthropology , politics , biochemistry , chemistry , mathematics , combinatorics , gene
The article discusses how black women keep contacts with both black and white worlds in novels written by African-American female writers. In Toni Morrison’s (1970) The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove keeps contact with the white world through her assimilationist behavior; in Alice Walker’s (1982) The Color Purple, Celie freezes herself in the black world by playing the role of the nationalist Negro; finally, in Lorraine Hansberry’s (1987) A Raisin in the Sun, Mama Younger joins black and white worlds together when she develops a catalyst agenda, as she moves to a white neighborhood