An Analysis Of Edward P. Jones’ The Known World From The Perspective Of Gates’ Signifying Theory

Edward P. Jones is an influential Afro-American writer. His second novel, The KnownWorld, records a story of black slaveholders, which arouses attention of readers and criticsfrom all over the world. As an Afro-American writer, Jones received the American patterneducation, but he adhered to the signifying tradition in Afro-American literature. Henry LouisGates Jr. generated the signifying theory aiming at interpreting Afro-American literary worksfrom a new perspective. Based on the theory of the Signifying Monkey, this thesis delves intothe signification in Edward P. Jones’ The Known World.First of all, the introduction presents the basic information of Edward P. Jones and hisThe Known World, literature review, theory of signifying, and the significance of the thesis.The first chapter probes into signification of revisionary text. Gates considers literarysignification as the repetition and revision of the tropes. In The Known World, the freshidentity of black people as slaveholders is portrayed as an opposition to the representativeblack slave as a submissive image. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Tom, as a stereotype, submitsunconditionally to the white people, and sympathizes his racial folks. On the contrary, HenryTownsend, in The Known World, as a black slave-owner, enslaves his own people, punishesthem, and prisons their freedom. The black slave overseer, Moses, contrasts the Israelipeople’s savior of Bible’s Exodus, whose guides the Israeli folks to flee from the Pharaoh’senslavement. But Jones’ Moses does not surpass the restriction of slavery. The Known Worlddoes not repeat the common themes of Afro-American literary works, but revises them byportraying the black slaveholder and opposing the Israeli people’s great savior of Bible. Jones’intention signifies his attitude that the best way for Afro-American people is to face thehistory with courage. The second chapter examines the signification of tropes of this novel, including theflying figure and the talking book. Owing to the misery experience of black slaves, the flyingfigure presents itself in Afro-American literary works. Black slaves want to fly to theirmotherland and imagine that they have two wings, so they own the capacity to get rid of theslavery. The talking book, as a typical trope, usually refers to the Bible. In The Known World,the Bible answers the white people whether he is good or not, while it keeps silent in front ofblack people’s request. These two tropes convey the signification of the unequal treatment ofwhite people and black people, and imply black people’s desire for getting the equality.The third chapter analyses the signifying on names, includes Stamford Crow Blueberryand Alice Night. Stamford obtains his rebirth from his witness of two crows’ death during hisexperience of picking blueberry for helping children, so he names his surname as CrowBlueberry. Alice adopts Night as her surname because she wanders at night and she freesherself at night. The process of seeking surnames is also the way for them to construct theirracial identities and gain self-independence.Based on the above elaborations, this thesis reaches the conclusion that The KnownWorld contains bountiful significations, such as, revisionary text, signifying on tropes, andsignifying on names. The conclusion summarizes Jones’ practice and innovation of thesignifying tradition in The Known World. This thesis proves that Jones follows the tradition ofAfrican American signifying theory, and what’s more it points out that the best way forAfro-American people to construct the present lies in knowing their history, understandingtheir history, and facing their history.