The Development of the Self-Image in Black Autobiographical Writing (Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois and Malcolm X)

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2,7, University of Bamberg (Professur für Amerikanistik), language: English, abstract: In this thesis paper, each of the three black autobiographical writings will be discussed in chronological order. The paper begins with Frederick Douglass¿s Narrative from 1845, continues with W.E.B. Du Bois¿s Darkwater from 1920 and finishes with The Autobiography of Malcolm X from 1965. The purpose of this chronological organization is to better trace the development of black autobiographical writing over the period of 120 years.

Each autobiography¿s discussion is divided up into three distinguishable components. A summary of each memoir provides a background against which the further stylistic and thematic discussions can be attempted. Secondly, the historical circumstances, basic structure and narrative techniques of the respective eras of black autobiographical writing and of the specific works will be discussed. The purpose is to closely look at typical features (or, in the case of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, genres) of black autobiographical writings in each period and then, in a second step, analyze each work¿s specific stylistic and narrative peculiarities. The third and last component of each autobiography¿s discussion is a close textual interpretation. It shall analyze the development of the self-image of each author as presented in his autobiographical work. These observations will be synthesized in the Conclusion of this thesis paper.

The eventual aim of this study is to prove the three thesis elements. First of all, it shall be demonstrated that African-Americans have written autobiographies to comment on the unjust societies they have been living in since slavery. Secondly, it shall be proven that the three distinguishable stages of black autobiographical writing are best represented by this selection of books. And finally, one will see that the self-images of the authors as presented to the reader in these works show similarities in many respects, and thus continuity in the status of African-Americans in US society is visible.