Biblical paradigms in four twentieth century African-American novels

With the recent shift in African-American literary circles, from the search for a Black Aesthetic, which characterized many of the critical debates among Black literary scholars during the 1960's and 1970's, to the search for uniquely Black literary theories, which now characterizes much of the current lively debate in the Black critical arena, new issues have been brought to the forefront concerning the need for a Black Biblical theory. This dissertation seeks to contribute to such a theory, by examining the use of four Biblical paradigms, along with the pervasive Biblical discourse, in four twentieth century African-American novels: The Paradigm of the Journey in Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston; The Paradigm of the Apocalypse in Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952) by James Baldwin; The Paradigm of the Canticle in Song of Solomon (1977) by Toni Morrison; and the Paradigm of the Epistle in The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker. For the characters in these novels, these paradigms ultimately function as powerful systems of meanings, which affirm identity and provide empowerment.