The Way To The Roots Of Blacks

Alex Harry is an important black writer in the history of American literature. His representative work is long documentary novel Root.Root published in 1976. Harry after twelve years of research, trace his family’s seven generations, tells the story of Harry’s family history of origin. Describes a novel blacks were sold to America from Africa, free life and his family in Africa hard under slavery in the United States, and the freedom after the success of the family. The book can be divided into four parts: Jia village in beautiful idyllic life; Kangda to exploitation of the resistance and insist on; Jixi and George’s struggle and freedom; Kangda family efforts and achievements.Root showed a deep theme- roots. It to find the root of the black family and cultural roots, the roots of the black race. Oral cultural tradition in black culture has a very special position and role. Black American oral tradition rooted in black African culture. Novel by describing the African legacy of the traditional oral culture, to look for the root of American blacks. This paper mainly through the following several aspects to elaborate the oral traditions of black: black treasure- black ceremony inheritance; The mysterious veil- black religious myth; Black melody- black music culture; Bright stars- the other form of transmission.The author original intention is to through the description of black history to reveal the root of black African origin. However, he inadvertently revealed step by step, how to assimilate to American black man. Blacks who has lost his belief and way of life. Black Americans "root" both in Africa, including America, both be short of one cannot. Africa is a black American ethnology "root". America is the "root" on the black American sociology. After years of harmonic, the American black in color, is the combination of black and white. In language, culture, custom, black Americans are completely different from Africa. American blacks formed a new nation. They face a new problem is quite different from Africa. In fact, after the civil war, American blacks have two identities: Americans and black. They are on the issue of identity and culture was in trouble. Black American Renaissance began to advocate the existence of the nation, in the face mining the roots of this nation. In the sense of nationalism, they begin to think to build their own national culture. Is the African beautify, hide it behind, part of the violence, because at the time of black need a perfect image of African culture of their own. With this image, they can be used to resist the white cultural hegemony. Thus form a peer with the white. There is no denying that, however, in the black people lose everything contact in Africa, are reshaping their white culture. Now the American black has not fully integrated into Africa. Their language, beliefs, all have changed, they formed a unique existence.Root shaped a series of lively black image. These characters mainly includes: Kangda-negative resistance in the process of assimilation; Assimilation of black people- Fiddler, Ball; Jixi- swing in the process of assimilation; George, Tom- completely abandon traditional docile subjects in Africa. Characters of Root although personality is distinct, the sympathetic, but also a certain nature of "ego". Their resistance is a kind of negative resistance. Moreover, whether as the carriage hand Kangda or Fiddler, hutch, domesticated chicken hand, blacksmith, is a special status in the black slaves. Harry’s ancestors do not belong to the body of the plantation directly engaged in productive labor. They compare closely relationship with the owner, with a certain degree of privileges. Than the plantation slavery, they oppressed is relatively less. Their resistance is poor. So the characters don’t have extensive roots. This is the limitation of the novel.Root had a profound impact. Harry through 12 years of research, finally found his "roots" in the family. The author to write the last chapters of the novel the process, added the realistic characteristics of the novel. Encouraged, in the 1970’s, many blacks also raised a hot wave roots. found his ancestral village. But found his ancestral village, black does not mean to find the dignity and worth of the blacks. Black is a social problem. Race is just a label. Black found in the root of the racial sense, black will not solve social problems. Means of suppression of blacks, partition of black is not only national tradition. Even to find the root of black, black wants to obtain freedom and liberation, there are a lot of important things to do.