Middle Passage (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Charles Johnson
- First Published: 1990
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: African Americans, Freedom, Suffering, Africa or Africans, Blacks, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Religion, Middle Passage, Individuality, Spiritual life or spirituality, Brothers, Fear, Greed, Ships, Sailing or sailors, Allegory, Atlantic Ocean, Cruelty, Fifteenth century, Identity, Sea or seafaring life, Shipwrecks
- Locales: Africa, New Orleans, LA, Oceans
Middle Passage, Johnson's third published novel, is a complex blend of allegory, adventure story, tall tale, and philosophical meditation. The novel won the National Book Award. It follows the misadventures of Rutherford Calhoun, the narrator, who is an entertaining liar and consummate rogue. Calhoun, a slave, flees first to New Orleans and then, to escape marriage, to sea. Ironically, he stows away on a slave ship, the Republic, and so his adventures begin.
The novel's characters are a motley collection of freaks, misfits, and oddities. Ebenezer Falcon, captain of...
[The entire page is 1297 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
