The Representation Of Space For African Americans In August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle

August Wilson (1945-2005) is recognized as America’s most powerful andsuccessful African American playwright by many critics. He spent more than twentyyears writing the Pittsburgh Cycle, spatializing the African American history of400years by metaphorically setting it in the twentieth-century Hill District of Pittsburgh,and presenting it on stage in epic and grand form. Since the1980s, Wilson’s artisticachievements have garnered the critics’ attention widely. Wilsonian study mainlyfocuses on his biography and writing process, the exploration of various themes, thecharacters, African American culture and the language. On the basis of previous studies,this dissertation attempts to probe into the representation of space for AfricanAmericans in the Pittsburgh Cycle from spatial perspective. Spatiality, one of the majorconcerns in the realm of ideology, exerts a subtle influence on literary works. Wilson’splays are no exception. Space plays a vital role in the Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson’sconcern on urban space is embodied by his repeated use of Hill District of Pittsburgh asthe setting of most his plays. This specific physical space is an expression of AfricanAmericans’ experience as well as psychology in the twentieth century. It is also anarticulation of their endeavor to expand their restricted space under the spatialoppression.Based on the spatial theory of Lefebvre and the theory of dramatic space, thisdissertation examines the spatial issues in four Wilson’s representative plays—MaRainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Two Trains Running and Gem of the Ocean, aiming todelve into the multiple representations of space and the functions of space in thePittsburgh Cycle. By analyzing social space, psychological space, political space andcultural space in the above four plays, this study explores Wilson’s manipulation of thespatial techniques. In addition, it probes into the interaction between textual space andrealistic space, justifying the validity of the spatial theory in drama studies andreflecting African Americans’ plight and their struggle for building a living space in thetwentieth century. This dissertation consists of three parts: introduction, body and conclusion. Thebody part contains four chapters and each chapter deals with one dimension ofrepresentation of space for African Americans in the Pittsburgh Cycle. The introductionbegins with an overview of the space in the Pittsburgh Cycle and the main argument ofthe dissertation. A complete critical review of Wilson and the Pittsburgh Cycle at homeand abroad is conducted. In addition, Lefebvre’s spatial theory and the theory ofdramatic space are presented. This part ends with a summary of each chapter.Chapter One analyzes the social space of racism in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.Lefebvre reiterates that space is a set of relations between things, so this chapter firstexamines the unequal interracial relationship reflected in the play. By probing into therepresentations of space embodied by the triple-layered recording studio and thecharacters’ discourse and activities, it justifies that domination and subordination is themajor feature of interracial relation in the1920s’ America. Besides, social space is theproduction of human activities. This chapter further delves into the disintegration of theAfrican American community by examining what Lefebvre calls “spatial practice”. InMa Rainey’s Black Bottom, imprisoned in a racialized social space, African Americansare affected by the spatial oppression and have different reactions concretized by thetwo versions of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”.Chapter Two discusses the representation of African Americans’ alienatedpsychological space in Fences. In this play, Wilson presents with impact the influenceof spatial shift and spatial environment on the spatial subjects’ psychology by means oftheatrical space within and theatrical space without. This chapter first addresses themajor reasons for alienated psychological space for African Americans from theperspectives of the Great Migration and racial separation. Geographic change andhighly segregated spatial conditions cause African Americans’ psychological dislocationand emotional estrangement from other subjects in the space. This chapter furtherfocuses on the specific representations of African Americans’ alienated psychologicalspace in the play. The playwright metaphorically employs theatrical objects like fencesand baseball as well as the blues music to demonstrate the alienated psychological spaceof African Americans and its negative effect on their self-esteem. Chapter Three focuses on the political space of Black Nationalism in Two TrainsRunning. Wilson mainly wields the medium of theatrical space without in this play tomanifest the representations of space in the1960s’ America and illustrates the ongoingunfair treatment of African Americans at the hands of the white authorities. BlackNationalism impels African Americans to shake off the control of the oppressive spaceand change the worsening living space into an open space. This chapter centers on thetransformation of African Americans from dependence to self-determination in theprocess of spatial practice. It reveals that Two Trains Running is an articulation ofWilson’s political stance. Self-determination is an effective means to empower AfricanAmericans politically.Chapter Four explores the cultural space of identity reconstruction in Gem of theOcean. Wilson believes that only by honoring African American culture and history, canAfrican Americans find their identities. This chapter analyzes how Wilson uses spacesof representation, such as Aunt Ester’s house and the City of Bones, to transform thetheatrical space into tangible representations of African ancestral culture and enableAfrican Americans to survive in the racialized social space and the alienatedpsychological space. It points out that African ancestral culture is a significant approachto self-empowerment and identity reconstruction.The conclusion of the dissertation reviews the major argumentations in eachchapter and comments on the significance of space in Wilson’s plays. The multipledimensions of space in the Pittsburgh Cycle epitomize the panorama of AfricanAmericans’ lives in the last century. The Pittsburgh Cycle is not only a reflection ofAfrican Americans’ living space in the twentieth century, but also the playwright’smultiple interpretations of American urban spaces.