From Native Son To Song Of Solomon

With the help of theories of Existentialism and Post-colonialism, the thesis aims at probing into the self-identification of the blacks revealed in the works of American black.The issue of identity concerns the questions of "who am I" and "with whom shall I identify myself?" It is the symbol of a race or an individual to define its cultural characteristics as well as the root to achieve an authentic living. It is, especially, the focus of a weak ethnic group struggling for an authentic being. American black literature is a beautiful flower in the garden of world literature as well as an indispensable part of American literature. There are many excellent black writers, among whom there is a receiver of Nobel Prize for literature---Toni Morrison. By making a comprehensive survey of American black writing, we can find that it is a process of black people's questing for their identities. Unfortunately, studies on American black literature both home and abroad are limited within the sphere of certain works of individual writer, and especially focus on the artistic techniques and literary features. There are few critics who make research from the perspective of self-identification, under the guideline of social history of the American blacks. Based on the above reasons, this thesis makes a detailed analysis of the epoch-making works of some major American black writers, compares the efforts made by the characters of these works, and points out that the only way of American black people's questing for their self-identities is to find their own culture and their roots.Firstly, the thesis deals with the social backgrounds of the American black in history. As the victims of Slave Trade, they are kidnapped, sold and enslaved by " the other" far away from their native land, gradually not only have they lost their freedom, their own languages, but also they have lost their original names. Besides, they are tortured both physically and spiritually, which results in the loss of their identities. Though after American Civil War, the black nominally got their equal position with the white by law, it is still far from real equality to them, and racial discrimination and segregation are still their pains that can not be removed. How to...