제임스 웰든 존슨의 『한때 흑인이었던 남자의 자서전』에 나타난 정체성, 음악, 백인행세
Identity, Music, and Passing in James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man in terms of identity, music, and passing. The unnamed protagonist of this novel experiences the identity crisis when he is told that he is not white when young. Though he tries to devote himself for the racial uplift of black people, his ontological situation makes him hard to maintain his original attitude, making him decide to pass for white at the end. In this paper, I attempt to find the ways in which Johnson, a Harlem Renaissance writer, tries to show the identity crisis of the protagonist by making connections with the theme of music and passing in the novel. Concerning the theme of identity, the protagonist seeks to work for black people as his friend Shiny influences him to become a person who works for his race. But when he witnesses the lynching scene in the South, the protagonist shrinks himself to pass for white, earning money and marrying a white woman. Though he seems to be happy with his changed life with his two kids, he is in agony about his decision. When it comes to music, the protagonist wanted to be a ragtime musician in order to boost the black music and art, even after his confrontation with a German pianist who plays a wonderful ragtime. But, as he decides to pass for white after the lynching incident, he takes advantage of music to woo a white woman and for his achievement of the American dream. Regarding the theme of passing, the protagonist's light-complexioned skin enables him to pass for a white. Therefore, his passing helps him to achieve an American dream. But, his passing brings about isolation, shame, and sense of guilty. We can find that the protagonist’s identity crisis and passing are the result of the racist American society in the early 1900s. So, I argue that James Weldon Johnson successfully represents the dilemma of a mulatto through the form of autobiography in his novel.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man in terms of identity, music, and passing. The unnamed protagonist of this novel experiences the identity crisis when he is told that he is not white when young. Though he tries to devote himself for the racial uplift of black people, his ontological situation makes him hard to maintain his original attitude, making him decide to pass for white at the end. In this paper, I attempt to find the ways in which Johnson, a Harlem Renaissance writer, tries to show the identity crisis of the protagonist by making connections with the theme of music and passing in the novel. Concerning the theme of identity, the protagonist seeks to work for black people as his friend Shiny influences him to become a person who works for his race. But when he witnesses the lynching scene in the South, the protagonist shrinks himself to pass for white, earning money and marrying a white woman. Though he seems to be happy with his changed life with his two kids, he is in agony about his decision. When it comes to music, the protagonist wanted to be a ragtime musician in order to boost the black music and art, even after his confrontation with a German pianist who plays a wonderful ragtime. But, as he decides to pass for white after the lynching incident, he takes advantage of music to woo a white woman and for his achievement of the American dream. Regarding the theme of passing, the protagonist's light-complexioned skin enables him to pass for a white. Therefore, his passing helps him to achieve an American dream. But, his passing brings about isolation, shame, and sense of guilty. We can find that the protagonist’s identity crisis and passing are the result of the racist American society in the early 1900s. So, I argue that James Weldon Johnson successfully represents the dilemma of a mulatto through the form of autobiography in his novel.
참고문헌 (25)
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