The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: James Weldon Johnson
- First Published: 1912
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social criticism
- Time of Work: The first half of the twentieth century
- Setting: Georgia, Connecticut, New York, and Paris, France
- Principal Characters: The Narrator, The Mother, The Millionaire
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Autobiographical fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Racism, South or Southerners, Nineteenth century, Europe or Europeans, Music or musicians, New York City
- Locales: New York, NY, South (U.S.), Europe, Atlanta, GA, Connecticut, Jacksonville, FL
The Novel
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man is narrated by a nameless protagonist who is born shortly after the Civil War in a small town in Georgia, where the novel begins. Very early, however, the boy and his mother are moved to Connecticut and established in a comfortable cottage provided by the boy’s father, who sends monthly checks for their support but who visits only twice during the boy’s childhood.
As a boy, the narrator develops an interest in books and music, an interest that is encouraged by his mother. He leads a rather privileged existence...
[The entire page is 3034 words long]
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