Gender, Community And Culture:the Identity Construction Of Black Females In The Autobiosraphy Of Miss Jane Pittman

Ernest J.Gaines, a prominent African American writer of the South, presented his ordinary but breathtaking stories of the black in his six novels in which both dignified black men and tough black women are vividly painted. It is important to interpret Gaines’s books from the perspective of unprejudiced gender perception.The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is Gaines’s masterpiece, also the only novel about a black female. Jane, from a parentless and invisible slave girl facing the crisis of her identity to a respected leader, pursued her freedom and independence all her life, realized her values and constructed her identities, which subverted the stereotypes of foolish black women in the white’s literature and gave prominence to the gender, community and culture as roles to extend the connotation of identity.The dissertation begins with the literary review on Gaines and his works, focusing the roles of black females in his life. In his book, the crisis of identity from different aspects naturally motivated Jane to construct her identity. The first chapter analyzes the different relationships that Jane developed with three black men, Joe Pittman, Ned and Jimmy who helped her construct her gender identity. In return, her identity construction influenced these black males. The second chapter studies Jane’s identity in the communities, where she started from being invisible and gradually was acknowledged to be a brave leader with responsibilities for her folks. The third chapter explores Jane’s perception of nature in different periods of her life, during which she inherited the cultural traditions and constructed her cultural identity by finding consolations from nature, understanding of nature and communicating with nature. The conclusion aims to prove that Gaines pays attention to black females and their identities, and Jane’s autobiographical construction of identity throws light on the harmonious genders, united communities and inherited culture, which is another perspective to approach Gaines’s works and African American literature.