Harlem had evolved into a buzzing centre of Afro-American culture and art at the beginning of the 20th century. Racism, segregation and discrimination in the agricultural South of the United States had driven hundred thousands of Afro-Americans into the industrial cities of the North. Additionally, the First World War had led to a tremendous labour shortage that could only be balanced by intense migration, education and employment of black farm workers. Just like other American cities at the time, New York saw the development of an urban district with a predominantly black population. Located in the northern part of Manhattan, Harlem had almost two hundred thousand inhabitants in 1925 and covered an area of more than two square miles. This busy quarter not only supplied the entire infrastructure of modern city life but also provided the human capital and institutional resources of the New Negro Movement.
The New Negro Movement of the 1920s and 1930s brought Harlem Renaissance fiction to full bloom. Political concerns found their way into the early novels but were increasingly supplanted by artistic intentions. Torn between social uplifting and individual expression, the novelists became more and more daring in their treatment and representation of Afro-American issues. Today the Harlem Renaissance is regarded as a crucial period in the history of Afro-American literature. Its representatives used a wide range of traditional and modern narrative and stylistic techniques to produce a variety of first-rate works. Even if the civil rights movement in the 1950s dismissed some of their novels as too conservative, subsequent generations of black authors could take them as creative models.
Table of Contents
1. New Negro Novels: Fiction of Harlem Renaissance Writers
1.1 Middle-class intellectuals and the New Negro Movement
1.2 Novels of prominent NAACP members
1.3 Claude McKay and the proletarian urban novel
1.4 Nella Larsen and the impact of skin colour
1.5 Wallace Thurman and the issue of pigmentation
1.6 Zora Neale Hurston and the culmination of the movement
Objectives and Themes
This work examines the evolution of Harlem Renaissance fiction during the 1920s and 1930s, analyzing how early political concerns gradually transitioned into broader artistic expressions while highlighting the movement's lasting impact on subsequent generations of Afro-American literature.
- The role of the New Negro Movement in fostering Afro-American intellectual life.
- Social criticism and the representation of ethnic discrimination in early 20th-century literature.
- The intersection of personal identity, skin colour, and societal expectations.
- The stylistic diversity and thematic depth of prominent Harlem Renaissance novelists.
- The historical legacy of the movement on later award-winning Afro-American authors.
Excerpt from the book
Nella Larsen and the complex identity of light-skinned black women
Passing by Nella Larsen (1891-1964), however, met favourable reviews when it came out in 1929. The author was born in Chicago as the daughter of a black man from the Caribbean and a white woman from Denmark. She first took teaching courses at Fisk University in Nashville, then attended the nurse school at Lincoln Hospital in New York and later studied librarianship at the New York Public Library. As deputy head of the branch library in Harlem she organized talks, exhibitions and visits, and got to know contemporary authors and their works at first hand.
Her social novel traces the ambivalent relationship between two light-skinned black women. Whereas Clare Kendry moves into the world of the whites and leads a dismal life as the wife of a racist businessman, Irene Redfield remains true to her ethnic and social origin and enjoys a fulfilling life as the wife of a well-respected doctor and mother of two sons. When the two friends run into each other in New York, their feelings switch from rejection to attraction and back again. This modernistic novel explores the impact of skin colour on Afro-American identity and is now considered a literary masterpiece of the Harlem Renaissance.
Summary of Chapters
1. New Negro Novels: Fiction of Harlem Renaissance Writers: This chapter provides an introductory overview of the historical context of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary boom triggered by the 1925 anthology "The New Negro".
1.1 Middle-class intellectuals and the New Negro Movement: This section explores how Harlem became a cultural center and the role of key organizations like the NAACP in promoting Afro-American self-determination.
1.2 Novels of prominent NAACP members: This part analyzes early protest novels by Jessie Redmon Fauset and Walter Francis White that address ethnic discrimination and racist violence.
1.3 Claude McKay and the proletarian urban novel: This section focuses on the work of Claude McKay, particularly how his novel "Home to Harlem" depicted the day-to-day life of the black underclass.
1.4 Nella Larsen and the impact of skin colour: This part discusses how Nella Larsen’s "Passing" examines the complexities of racial identity and the ambivalent relationships between light-skinned black individuals.
1.5 Wallace Thurman and the issue of pigmentation: This section analyzes Wallace Thurman’s "The Blacker the Berry" and the internal prejudices regarding skin colour within the black community.
1.6 Zora Neale Hurston and the culmination of the movement: This final section highlights the work of Zora Neale Hurston as the pinnacle of the movement's literary achievements and its lasting influence.
Keywords
Harlem Renaissance, New Negro Movement, Afro-American literature, Alain LeRoy Locke, NAACP, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Walter Francis White, Claude McKay, Nella Larsen, Wallace Thurman, Zora Neale Hurston, ethnic discrimination, racial identity, protest novel, urban literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work focuses on the literary output and intellectual movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, specifically analyzing key novels and authors of the 1920s and 1930s.
What are the core thematic fields covered?
The central themes include the rise of Afro-American cultural centers, the impact of racism and segregation, identity formation, and the transition from political protest to artistic expression.
What is the primary goal of the research?
The goal is to map the development of Harlem Renaissance fiction and explain how these authors used various narrative techniques to challenge stereotypes and establish a foundation for later Afro-American writers.
Which scientific approach is utilized?
The text employs a historical-literary analysis, examining the biographical backgrounds of authors and the socio-political contexts of their published works.
What topics are explored in the main body?
The main body covers the influence of organizations like the NAACP, the works of pivotal authors such as Fauset, White, McKay, Larsen, Thurman, and Hurston, and the evolution of stylistic trends.
Which keywords best describe the movement?
Key terms include the New Negro Movement, racial identity, social protest, and the cultural flourishing of Harlem in the early 20th century.
How did political engagement influence the early novels of the period?
Early novels often served as vehicles for protest against racist violence and social inequality, directly reflecting the activism of organizations like the NAACP.
What unique perspective does Wallace Thurman provide in his work?
Thurman provides a critique of prejudices within the black community itself, specifically regarding skin tone, as depicted in his novel "The Blacker the Berry".
How does Zora Neale Hurston’s work signify the culmination of the movement?
Her novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is presented as the culmination because it combines scholarly interest in folk culture with a highly developed feminist narrative that transcends middle-class moralities.
- Citation du texte
- Mag. Bernhard Wenzl (Auteur), 2016, New Negro Novels. Fiction of Harlem Renaissance Writers, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/314307
