dem (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: William Melvin Kelley
- First Published: 1967
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: The early 1960’s
- Setting: New York City
- Principal Characters: Mitchell Pierce, Tam Pierce, Opal Simmons, Calvin Coolidge Williams (Cooley)
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: African Americans, Justice, Freedom, 1960’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Racism, Love or romance, Race, Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, New York City, Middle classes, Class consciousness, Executives
- Locales: New York, NY
The Novel
dem’s unusual title and its lower-case format are a revealing indication of the author’s intentions and orientation. The connotations of a certain vocal tonality and a certain grade of education that the title word conveys are far removed from the white, middle-class milieu in which most of the action takes place. The combination of lexical and auditory element in “dem” also indicates an attitude that, if not necessarily disrespectful, reduces to the status of a common noun material that is generally accorded the distinctiveness of a proper noun. This...
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