The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: James Weldon Johnson
- First Published: 1912
- Type of Work: Novel
- 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 story is not what the title suggests, for James Weldon Johnson is not telling his own story. He is telling the story of a nameless man whose father is white and mother is black. Though the story does begin at the birth of the narrator, it ends shortly after the narrator makes a profound decision: to live as a white man, or to “pass.” The autobiography, then, is actually the story of the black part of the narrator's life. Only in the last few pages of the novel does the reader learn about what happens after the narrator passes.
The narrator's story begins with his birth...
[The entire page is 1520 words long]
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