Afrointratextuality as a means of examining folklore in the emancipation narratives of Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, and Harriet Jacobs, 1997

Pack, Uraina N.

1990-1999

This study examines the use and documentation of folklore within Emancipation narratives. This examination is predicated on the behavior of the trickster, Brer Rabbit. Through analysis of Brer Rabbits behavior, three survival techniques used by the authors in this study function as a means of determining his importance to African Americans. Through research and comparison of narratives, examination of historical references, and critical analyses, the researcher evaluated the behavior and experiences of African Americans within captivity to establish the use of folklore as a survival mechanism. By application of a methodology which evaluates African American experience and culture, the researcher sought to reinforce the connection between literature and culture. The researcher determined that cultural retention was evident and necessary to African Americans regardless of their circumstances. The conclusions of this analysis validate the importance of the narrative as a historical and cultural source for African American existence in America. The researchers methodology suggests that the use of folklore within the narrative is derivative of the imitation and revision of linguistic and physical motion specific to African American culture.

text

application/pdf

1997-05-01

thesis

Master of Arts (MA)

Clark Atlanta University

English

Twining, Mary A.

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1997_pack_uraina_n