Racism and Identity Formation

 
 
 
 
The themes of racism and identity formation in America are addressed in three different works by the playwright August Wilson (1998), Maya Angelou (1970), and Gunnar Myrdal (2002). Each of these writers uses familiar literary devices such as cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and narration and persuasion to tell the story of how minorities, particularly African-Americans, experience life in America. Whereas Wilson (1998) offers a play and Angelou (1970), an autobiographical memoir, Myrdal (2002) presents a sociological commentary on his observations of race and identity issues in a pluralistic society.

Wilson's (1998) play, Fences, focuses on the lives of two young African-American men, Troy and Bono, who approach manhood by separating from their fathers and assuming the responsibilities of adulthood. These men are at odds in the ways that they deal with the past and approach the future. Their choice is between pragmatism and illusion as survival mechanisms. Wilson (1998) uses narration and references to external


     
 
 
 
    

 

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