Essays and Research Papers on African-American Literature

A 2 page paper which examines the style of writing of James Baldwin in “Notes of a Native Son.” No additional sources cited.

A 6 page paper which compares and contrasts these narratives from former slaves demanding gender equality. No additional sources are used.

A 20 page research paper that focuses on the extensive use of imagery in Toni Morrison's Beloved. Morrison uses the raw material of Sethe's life as clay from which she sculpts images that allow the reader to enter Sethe's psychological landscape and feel the trauma of her experience from the inside out. The imagery that ...

A 3 page examination of Sula and Nel’s relationship in Toni Morrison’s novel “Sula.” No additional sources cited.

A 4 page paper which examines the childhood homes of Nel and Sula in Toni Morrison’s novel “Sula.” Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page explication of African American poet Claude McKay's poem "America." Examination of this work shows how the nature of American society in the first half of the twentieth century evoked emotional opposites in the McKay, as his frustration and bitterness are mixed with admiration. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines how the events in James Baldwin’s personal life influenced his first novel. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 2 page paper which examines the writing style in When the Other Dancer is the Self by Alice Walker. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page essay that compares and contrasts Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Toni Bambara's "The Lesson." The writer argues that they both address issue of equality. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page essay that examines the manner in which Langston Hughes addressed stereotypes in his 1957 play Simply Heavenly. The writer argues that within the boundaries of what whites might consider stereotypical, Hughes crafts characters who are real and genuine. While Hughes acknowledges stereotypical paradigms, he does not use them to denigrate his characters, ...

A 6 page paper which examines how a novel first published in 1811 was successfully adapted for contemporary film audiences. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the theme of the seasons and the presence of Dick and Jane as it applies to the theme of Toni Morrison's book "The Bluest Eye." No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper which examines how Douglass conveys what it is like to be a slave by debunking the myths the American South perpetuated in order to justify the practice of slavery. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 4 page essay on Toni Morrison's Sula. The write argues that Morrison, in this novel, provides a narrative in which there are stark contrasts between what is considered "good" and what is deemed "evil" in regards to how people are characterized. Examination of this theme shows Morrison's narrative argues against the idea that ...

A 5 page paper which examines the stories (the protagonists in particular) in order to gain a greater understanding of each author’s message about reaching manhood in American culture in terms of race and class through plot, characterization, setting, tone (narrative point of view), and imagery. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison illustrates some of the symbolic and social conditions of the New Deal as seen through Frances K. Pohl's Framing America. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page (2 pp. + 1 pg. outline) paper which examines the changes the young man undergoes throughout the course of the Pulitzer prize-winning play. No additional sources are used.

This 9 page paper discusses the way in which Hurston's characters fight to free themselves from oppression, and do so at any cost.

A 3 page analysis of Richard Wright's "Black Boy" in relationship to its historical significance. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page essay that discusses Ellison's use of symbolism and imagery in the first chapter of his novel Invisible Man. The writer argues that this is a psychologically complex account of naïve youth and racial prejudice. Examination of the symbolism and imagery that Ellison uses in this account demonstrates that Ellison intends for the ...

A 3 page paper which examines how the women in Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple" suffer because they are black, impoverished and women. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page essay that examines the theme of anger in novels by Fante and Himes. John Fante, in his novel The Road to Los Angeles, and Chester Himes in If He Hollers Let Him Go, both picture angry young men as their protagonists. While both of these characters have their anger at society in ...

A 5 page paper which examines the ways in which these female protagonists were oppressed by the men in their lives, explores their similarities and differences, the social conflicts of sin (Hester) and race/class (Lutie), and the contrasting outcomes these women faced. No additional sources are used.

A 4 page paper which examines how a reader can understand the novel “Sonny’s Blues” better by knowing something of the life of the author James Baldwin. No sources cited.

A 5 page essay that analyzes August Wilson's play Joe Turner's Come and Gone, which is set in Pittsburgh, the summer of 1911. In the author's preface describing the setting and the sociopolitical environment of the era, Wilson writes of the sons and daughters of freed slaves who were streaming North, searching not only for ...