On The Construction Of Masculinity Of African-American Men In August Wilson's Plays

Study of the theory of masculinity emerged during the 1950s, and it presents crisis in late-twentieth century in Western culture. With the development and prosperity of African-American literature in recent years, the study of black masculinity in black literature shows an upward tendency. This study adopts the masculinity theory to analyze the masculinity crisis of African-American men in August Wilson's two plays Fences and Seven Guitars and explore how black men construct the new type of black masculinity in the social context dominated by racism and white culture. The new type of black masculinity that African-American men construct provides a paradigm for the long depressed and emasculated black masculinity and is very significant for the construction of black masculinity.The work is divided into five parts. Firstly, it gives a critical review of August Wilson and his works; a brief introduction to Fences and Seven Guitars and deals with the theoretical perspective — masculinity and crisis in black masculinity. Secondly it makes an elaboration of how African-American men in Fences construct a new type of black masculinity through verbal expressions of virility and sexism and breaking the traditional patriarchal cultural paradigm. Then it analyzes how African-American men in Seven Guitars construct a new type of black masculinity through building relationship with females, adopting African-American tradition of verbal signifying, maintaining independence, restoring fatherhood and identifying with the black culture. Through the analysis of the two plays, it points out that black men must make their own efforts to break the traditional White masculinity stereotyping and construct the Afrocentric models of masculinity in the social context dominated by racism and white culture. The last part is the conclusion.The study concludes that black culture is the root of black people, based on which black men can regain their confidence and self-affirmation. Those who cut themselves off from black culture which are necessary for black men to construct their male identity will unavoidably get lost. At the same time the new black masculinity African-American men construct is significant in the development of the black nation.