The System of Dante’s Hell (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Amiri Baraka
- First Published: 1965
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Autobiographical
- Time of Work: Time periods of the author’s life: his youth, his adolescence, his 1965 self
- Setting: The Inferno of the Ghetto
- Genres: Long fiction, Autobiographical fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, Self-discovery, Twentieth century, Literature, Sin or Original sin, Armed forces
- Locales: Hell
Characters Discussed
The Narrator, the author’s persona, also called Leroi, Roi and Dante. He is a black intellectual from lower-middle-class origins, attracted to white culture and Western civilization but guilt-ridden and confused by the resultant denial of his black heritage. The narrator describes himself as in continual flux—“I don’t recognize myself 10 seconds later. Who writes this will never read it”—and empty at “the core.” He feels trapped in a Dantesque and nightmarish hell, torn between his black identity, which is violent and promiscuous, and his...
[The entire page is 1403 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
