Essays and Research Papers on African-American Literature

This 3-page paper discusses author and literary values in Lorraine Hansberry's play, "A Raisin in the Sun." Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines how slavery was as injurious to the white slaveholders and overseers as it was to the slaves in the American South. No additional sources are used.

A 4 page paper which examines the effects of discrimination on Southern blacks during the 1950s as characterized by the lives of Moody’s family and acquaintances, the ways her life changed after leaving home for the city and going onto college, the dangers she confronted while working for racial equality in Mississippi, her later disenchantment ...

A 3 page paper which examines the meaning of money in Lorraine Hansberry’s story “A Raisin in the Sun.” No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper which examines relationships between men and women in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Jonah’s Gourd Vine” and Jean Toomer’s “Cane.” Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

This 5 page paper examines the protagonist in this novel that explores racial identity issues. Clare is viewed as only being partially successful in her endeavor to find herself. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the symbol of the buzzards in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

A 5 page essay that discusses and analyzes Booker T. Washington's autobiography. The writer argues that Washington brought rational discourse and reasoned compromise to a volatile era in race relations. He fully realized that a black man could not get a white man to consider his position unless he managed to get around the overt ...

A 3 page paper which examine whether Richard Wright’s comments about this novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, being exploitive are correct. No additional sources cited.

A 3 pages essay that summarize and analyzes Ernest Gaines' short story "The Sky is Gray," which is a coming-of-age narrative for a young man growing up in the segregated, prejudicial South of the early 1960s. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the notion of dreams and “train dancing” for the African Americans in relationship to the Great Migration and Harlem as seen in Toni Morrison’s “Jazz” and Alain Locke’s “The New Negro.” No additional sources cited.

A 7 page paper which examines the role of money in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” Outline included. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This 3 page paper examines the character Troy Maxson, the protagonist in August Wilson's Fences. His role as a father is the focus of the discussion. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page paper which closely examines what makes this section so important to conveying the novel’s overall themes, and considers dominant tropes and images as well as compares how the urging to claim agency to the women in Azar Nafisi’s “Reading Lolita in Tehran” and Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own.” No ...

A 6 page overview of W.E.B. Du Bois' masterpiece The Souls of Black Folk. The writer offers brief descriptions of the various chapters and relates their themes to the book as a whole. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page paper which analyzes the character of Pecola in Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.” Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses the way in which Pauli Murray's book "Proud Shoes" reveals Murray's insights into racism in America; it also discusses the way in which assumptions about race impacted relationships between blacks. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

8 pages in length. Atypical of the standard theme of racial intolerance found in most literary circles, Chesnutt's The House Behind the Cedars delves into the impact that being mulatto has upon John and Rena's ability to intersect with white society. The extent to which this duality has a fluctuating effect upon the ...

A 5 page paper which examines the good and evil seen in Zora Neale Hurston’s story “Sweat.” No additional sources cited.

A 3 page essay that discusses Hurston's characterization of Janie in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel begins with Hurston discussing dreams and the difference between the dreams of men and women. She indicates that men dream of glory while women concentrate on preserving memory and a dream of the self. Hurston's ...

A 3 page essay that discusses James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues," which charts the course of the narrator's understanding of his brother. The story occurs prior to the Civil Rights movement when racial bigotry and injustice in American culture was at its zenith. Two African American brothers react to this climate in different ways. ...

A 3 page paper which examines Beloved’s need for Sethe and for her mother’s storytelling. Specifically considered are the ways in which Beloved is nourished by Sethe’s stories, the experience of silence as a protective shield, and Baby Suggs’ spirituality as compared with the women’s spirituality in Alice Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use.” ...

A 3 page analysis of August Wilson’s story “The Piano Lesson.” No additional source cited.

A 3 page paper which examines the theme of home and family in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” No additional sources cited.

A 4 page essay that discusses Chester Himes' mystery novel The Real Cool Killers, which was first published in 1959. It features the detective team of Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, two black policemen who bear the responsibility of policing the black community of Harlem. Additionally, Coffin Ed and Grave Digger interpret that ...