AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLK ROOTS Seong Hyun, Kyoung Hwa & Nicole

AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLK ROOTS Combination of African American survivals and white culture – verbal, musical & ritualistic expressions Pre WWI – 89% of blacks in the South Post WWI – 50% remain in South, other’s move North to cities African American’s double consciousness adapted a new attitude BUT discrimination still remained Black culture developed to adapt to the dominant culture (whites) for survival – however, they desired to be white (no discrimination)

AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLK ROOTS Double consciousness – “Got one mind fuh white folk to see, ‘nother fuh what I know’s me.” Creole language combine African & English grammar Harlem Renaissance: over-coming oppression, symbolically expressing double vision. Difference between white and black folklore – difference view of America White: property, profit, happiness Black: resilience of spirit, social justice

AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL FORMS Seong Hyun, Kyoung Hwa & Nicole

AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL FORMS Black culture is mainly oral – formed in the past, but remains ongoing Characteristic of oral culture: functional, collective, direct Important historic events are frequently featured in African American novels Different forms of African American writing – modern toast, tales, legends

AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL FORMS Oratory, narratives, songs and chanted sermons influenced African American novels Characteristics of chanted sermons – dramatic, imaginative, improvisational, call-and-response Symbols explain - origins of things, activities of gods, human dilemmas (blend of myth and legend) First generation of black novelists – often interested in sanctification, sin, virtue, destiny of man Reason – willingness to punish the oppressors (whites) Sermons, prayers, spirituals, hymns, sayings are residual oral forms used in African American novels Early African American novels frequently showed the dark reality of the blacks – through theme, plot, characterization

AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL FORMS Legends are part of traditions of African American novel - legends of black heroes and heroines are common leitmotif. Tales are short, one-event narratives about moral/amoral black people – usually about slavery and blacks seeking freedom. Modern African American novelists included the traditional folktales.

AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL FORMS The three significant genres : blues, gospel and jazz causes different impact towards the structure of African American novelist novels. African American music was a tradition and for them to symbolically show it through "sprituals, gospels and blues” The real purpose of these songs with joy and sorrow is to criticize oppression and celebrate human spirit. Sprituals– inspired from Bible, characterized with rhyme, improvisations, dramatic expressions and call-and-response manner. Sprituals were also influenced by the blues, which contains painful experiences of blacks. Gospels are sacred songs which maintains black people's story in the city.

AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL FORMS Blues helps the working class in particular "preserve the shared wisdom”. Gospels help to cure the rough times because they are secular and sacred with lyrics expressing possibilities of overcoming tough reality. The black novelist had to adjust these residual oral forms in to a written form to express authenticity, authority and agency of their vision of truth and beauty.