Essays and Research Papers on African-American Literature

A 5 page paper looking at the antebellum slave narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs. The paper shows how, despite the fact that Jacobs hid in a crawl space for seven years to escape an abusive master, she preferred this to actually living with the constant threat of ...

A 9 page paper on the novel by early twentieth century author Zora Neale Hurston. The paper argues that Hurston's fiction techniques were ultimately derived from the modernism she learned while she was the only Black student at Barnard in the 1920s, and this colored both her fictional techniques and her interaction with white people ...

A 7 page paper that considers the importance of plot, the literary quality of the work, and the way in which the novel illustrated life in Florida in the 1930's as three signficant focuses of Hurston's work. Bibliography with 3 sources.

This 5 page report discusses the concept of Clack time' or 'African time' and how it applies to Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

There are quite a few similarities between Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie. This 5 page paper examines both the similarities and the differences of these two books. No additional sources were cited.

A 5 page essay on Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography. It describes Zora's life briefly, then analyzes two major problems with the book, namely Zora's lack of closure regarding her prophetic 'visions' and her inability to perceive herself as a member of an oppressed race. No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper discussing the black author's unusual ability to move easily in both black literary circles and white ones simultaneously, and postulates that this helped her bring the joy and vitality of black experience to a primarily white audience. FREE Outline of paper included ! Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A 6 page analysis of Jonah's Gourd Wine, Guilded Six-Bits, Sweat, Spunk, Drenched in Light, & John Reddding Goes to Sea -- looking at how Hurston uses the white token to bring about the black experience in regards to separatism and belonging--from a societal viewpoint. The paper discusses Hurston's goals of bringing together both ...

A 7 page paper discussing Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Toni Morrison's Beloved. The paper shows how in these books the traumatic experiences of slavery left an indelible mark upon people who live through them, and the psychological effects of these experiences can reach far into succeeding generations. It then compares ...

A 5 page comparative between the two stories in terms of the protagonists' journey of self discovery and how that journey is based on a sense of place. The writer contrasts the authors' description of the south, and compares and contrasts the stories of self discovery as it relates to community. Bibliography lists ...

A 5 page essay that explores the themes of men, children and women in the life of the central character, Mattie Michaels. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper that provides an overview of Hooks' book, while also concentrating on her philosophical perspective. This paper contends that Hooks bases her work on the racial aspects that have led to racial and gender oppression, and provides a discourse for change. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page analysis of John Sanford's novel of prejudice against race and ethnicity. Focusing more on the prejudicial treatment of Native Americans, this African-American writer provides insights into the harm racism does to everyone - the people against whom the racism is directed as well as the people who commit racist acts. This writer ...

A 5 page essay exploring themes in The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara. The writer suggests the lesson intended by Bambara is that we all have choices in learning the lessons presented to us or ignoring them. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper on this story by Toni Cade Bambara. The central theme is explored and analyzed. No additional sources cited.

In this story we look at life's lessons. We can choose to learn them or we can choose to ignore them and go on in our ignorance, not growing, not developing as persons. These are the themes of Toni Cade Bambara's 'The Lesson' discussed in this 6 page essay.

A 3 page paper on this short story by Toni Cade Bambara. The story analyzes the reactions of a group of poor children to a visit to an expensive toy store, and examines the lesson that was learned from this shocking confrontation with inequality. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 5 page examination of the problem of trust and identity in Toni Cade Bambara's short story Gorilla, My Love. No additional sourcrs cited.

A 5 page paper on Paule Marshall's Brown Girl, Brownstones and James Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain. Specifically, the paper deals with the development of the teenage self from characteristics of both parents, and the transformation into an individualized adult. No other sources cited.

A 10 page research paper which examines the forces behind the literary, artistic, and intellectual movement of African-American artists and writers centered in Harlem in the 1930s known as the Harlem Renaissance. The writer particularly focuses on the work of poet and author Claude McKay as representative of the period and also as a ...

A 13 page paper examining the way the black community reflected in Richard Wright's works Native Son and Black Boy actually helps support the oppressive white status quo through a massive program of self-censorship. Wright shows, particularly in Native Son, how such efforts backfire by causing bottled-up emotions to explode in violence and rage. Bibliography ...

A 6 page paper which examines Richard Wright's autobiographical work, Black Boy (1945), discussing the focus, content and intended target audience as well as ways in which Wright's search for success and happiness compares and contrasts with mainstream beliefs and practices.

5 pages in length. Humanity can be a cruel and detestable entity. No one is more aware of that fact than Ursa, a blues singer whose own family's sordid past consumes her with a hatred so deep, she carries it with her throughout her life. Portrayed as a nineteenth-century slave master who ...

This 5 page paper talks about the romantic elements in this tragic love story. It explains that the elements of slavery are obscured due to the inordinate attention to the pair of lovers. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page research paper on the work of America's first and foremost African-American children's writer, Arna W. Bontemps. The writer gives biographical detail on the Bontemps, and also focuses on his greatest piece of adult fiction, 'A Summer Tragedy.' No additional sources cited.