Captain Blackman (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: John A. Williams
- First Published: 1972
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Historical realism
- Time of Work: The 1770’s to the 1970’s
- Setting: Primarily Vietnam
- Principal Characters: Abraham Blackman, Major Ishmael Whittman, Mimosa Rogers, Lieutenant Luther Woodcock, Robert Doctorow, Peter Salem
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Historical fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, History, 1970’s, Race, Dreams, American Revolution, Civil War, Time travel, Vietnam War, War
- Locales: Dreamscape
The Novel
Captain Blackman centers on the experiences of the African American soldier throughout history. Abraham Blackman is a symbol for all African Americans who had served their country. Although it opens on the battlefield of Vietnam, the novel quickly becomes an epic. Blackman has chosen to act as a decoy to draw enemy fire in an effort to save the other members of his squad. Hit by multiple rounds of mortar fire, Blackman soon slips into unconsciousness. In this state, he enters a complex series of dreams. The first places him in the Revolutionary War alongside...
[The entire page is 2384 words long]
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