Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Black Man.
In Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Black Man the author James Weldon Johnson tells the story of a black man passing as a white man. That is the major theme in this novel; "passing" in the early 1900's in order to escape the horrors of racism towards the black race to succeed in white America. .
The crisis throughout the novel centers on the ex-colored man discovering his identity, and this uncertainty is the central idea of the novel. From the book, "I finally made up my mind I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change my name raise a moustache, and let the world take me for what it would;-(Chapter 10). By saying this, the ex-colored man can live his life free of fear from the white man and lead a better life than a black would. .
There are many causes that lead to his reasons for passing as a white man. Many influences give the idea onto the character, that in order to be successful in life you must be white. Since the ex-colored man was well educated unlike most, of the black culture it was easy for him to adapt to the whit culture. In the book the ex-colored man experiences the good and the bad of both races and perceives them as basically equal. First the ex-colored man does not seem to favor one or the other, though the way he view the black race is expressed a little more negatively than the white, which supports his reasoning for passing as white. Witnessing the lynching of a colored man, the ex-colored man quickly responses to his idea of passing as a white man. The ex-colored man figures it's better to be on the white man side than be against him, which the ex-colored man makes a good point. I mean would anyone want to go through what the blacks went through during this time if you could pass of as a white man. But then again how would you be looked at by your own race, by your family.
Autobiographies are books written about oneself. ... An autobiography is written by the person the story is about. ... In his autobiography he portrays none of this. ... She only mentions once of a good white man that she encountered. ... They both talk about themselves but every autobiography does that. ...
James Johnson ends his book, "The Autobiography of and Ex-Coloured Man" with a paragraph containing the statement, "[these men] are men who are making history and a race. ... Should this be the case , should the author's intent be more instructional than biographical, then one must examine the instances of tutorial to uncover the true intentions behind "The Autobiography of and Ex-Coloured Man". For example, the beginning of chapter 2 includes the statement, "[the black man] is forced to take his outlook on all things, not from the view-point of a citizen, or a man, or even a human bein...
In "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" tells the first-person narration of James Weldon Johnson. This autobiography shows a contemptuous point of view about skin color. ... By saying this it meant that the ex-colored man could live fearless and from the white man and have a better life than a black person. ... The most success a black man had back then were those who were porters for the railroad. ... Sadly though Johnson did not vision his childhood as being a black man and give credit to his race. ...
Angelou's parents were more fortunate than most black families. ... In my Missouri I had known a mean man A hard man A cold man Gutting me and killing me Was an Ice man A tough man A man... When she writes "a hard man, a cold man" it describes how her mother's boyfriend was a heartless man. ... However, her greatest work by far is her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. ... In this autobiography Angelou demands attention as a individual. ...
Franklin Autobiography and Crevecoeur Letters from an American Farmer, self-conscious reshapings, respectively, of inherited conventions of autobiography and the philosophical letter, are characteristic American "fictions" which anticipate the works of nineteenthcentury novelists. ... Each writer consistently associates the claims of his discrete individuality with those of a representative cultural identity, and in order to emphasize the sense of common possibility implied by such an association, each chooses to address his audience through a rhetoric of elaborately contrived simplicity.1 A...
James Weldon Johnson's first-person narrator in his fictional interpretation, "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man," a skeptical, point-of-view about skin color. The narrator, decides to pass for white after numerous variations between assuming his status as a black man who wants to stand for the rights of black people and adopting the identity of a white man. ... Therefore, the Ex-Colored Man would hardly be treated as a black boy, if it were not for him and for people around him being told that he is not white. ... Therefore, throughout the novel, he goes from the impersonation...
In Black Boy, Wright's autobiography, he recalls a familiar childhood event: "I would feel hunger nudging my ribs, twisting my empty guts until they ached. ... Black Boy also reveals it's 'author hero' as a man controlled by an absolute certainty of his own virtues. ... The very fact that Black Boy is an autobiography of Wright's life is in itself exemplifying how his life was reflected in his works. ... Born into a society that is white and hostile, (just as Wright was) Bigger becomes the total embodiment of that society's prejudices and hatreds a...
Quicksand by Nella Larsen and The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Johnson have dark background information, but they both end on a positive note. ... Both Quicksand and The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man share the theme of a homecoming to rid them of the evils they have eating at them. ... In James Johnson's The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, the main character was introduced during a time of anxiousness and dread. ... In The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, the setting of beautiful France offered an escape for the narrator while he was there. ... Both Quicksand a...