Towards Identity Construction In Ralph Ellison’s Works:A Postcolonial Perspective

Ralph Ellison(1914-1994),one of the most influential American novelists of the 20 th century,makes an in-depth exploration of identity construction of the African Americans in his writings.Unlike the first generation of black writers,who largely target at the racial oppression or white superiority,Ellison recounts the difficult survival of the African Americans in his fictions,with more peaceful strokes.His detailed depiction of the school experience,work and life of African Americans brings the hidden issues of identity to the fore.Although studies on Ellison have become systematic at home and abroad,and academic achievements include psychoanalysis,existentialism,cultural identity,artistic techniques,thematic thoughts and other aspects.These studies tend to focus on Ellison’s thoughts in a specific period and neglect his ideological transformations under the change of social milieu.Furthermore,Ellison’s early short stories have also been overlooked in previous studies.This thesis discovers that the identity dilemma of African Americans represented by Ellison is in line with the identity problems faced by ethnic minorities that Homi Bhabha explores.In this light,it intends to probe into the identity construction of African Americans in Ellison’s writings,based on the concepts of “resistance”,“mimicry” and “the Third Space”proposed by Homi Bhabha in his postcolonial theory.Through a close reading and a detailed analysis of his short stories and two novels,Invisible Man and Juneteenth,this thesis contextualizes Ellison’s exploration of identity construction and traces how his views and attitudes are shaped by contemporary social,political,and cultural milieus.In Ellison’s early short stories,black people mainly resist white culture in “public sphere” and “private sphere”.Although this practice expresses the demand of black people to construct identity,its effect is limited.In Invisible Man,the blacks try to weaken the hegemony of white culture by imitating white culture and producing cultural differences in the colonial system.Although this strategy reduces the sacrifice and casualties of black people,it is easy to alienate black communities and traditional black culture.In Juneteenth,black people resist the white cultural assimilation by developing the “Third space” and maintaining cultural differences,which provides an effective way for black people to construct their identity.By comparing the evolution of black identity construction strategies and the different results of identity construction in Ellison’s works in different periods,this thesis argues that Ellison does not advocate binary opposition as a way to help African Americans solve their identity dilemma;on the contrary,he attempts to propose that black people should deal with cultural conflicts with an inclusive and negotiated attitude,and construct their identity in the “Third Space”.It is hoped that through such contextual and systematic study,this thesis can contribute to a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Ellison’s writings and his unique insights on how to solve the black people’s identity dilemma,which are of great significance in guiding African Americans to pursue their identity and properly deal with cultural conflicts.