The Beginning of Homewood | The Beginning of Homewood
In this essay, the author explores the moral ambiguity at
work in ‘‘The Beginning of Homewood.’’
Like William Faulkner does in his novels and stories set in the fictional world of Yoknapatawpha, Wideman creates a complex landscape in ‘‘The Beginning of Homewood’’ that allows him to enmesh his characters in webs of moral ambiguities. The community of Homewood founded by runaway slave Sybela Owens, the narrator’s great-great-greatgrandmother, is certainly not an unqualified safehaven. Though life in Homewood is preferable to life as a slave in Maryland, Sybela’s escape from freedom, Wideman’s story suggests, is compromised by her alliance with Charlie Bell, the white man...
[The entire page is 1536 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about The Beginning of Homewood at eNotes.
