Engendering the Harlem Renaissance: The short stories of Marita Bonner, Zora Neale Hurston, and other African American women, 1921-1950
Abstract
The period traditionally called the "Harlem Renaissance" was an era in which African American women short story writers first established themselves in the mainstream of letters. Their stories are significant because their themes, characters, plots, settings, and writing styles challenged the ideas, philosophies, and conventions which have generally been considered characteristic of this period of literary history. In addition, these stories contribute to an African American women's writing tradition which can be traced throughout African American women's writings. This study surveys 135 stories published by women in two of the leading African American journals during the Harlem Renaissance, Opportunity and The Crisis. These women, responding to the call to create literature which would represent the "New Negro," created stories which reflected their own gendered viewpoint. Their perspectives on sociological, academic, and aesthetic issues need to be considered and incorporated for a more inclusive understanding of the Harlem Renaissance. This general consideration of these many stories provides a context for a close examination of stories by Marita Bonner and Zora Neale Hurston. Bonner's fiction focuses on the lives of women in Chicago, presenting realistic depictions of poverty, violence, and discrimination. Her use of the short story as a genre reflects not only the living conditions of her characters, but also her own position as a writer. Hurston's stories concentrate on the hidden power in lives of individual African Americans, particularly women, living in the rural South. Scholarship has overlooked the short stories written by African Americans between the years of 1921-1950. This dissertation affirms that these writers can claim a significant place in our literary culture.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Flory, Purdue University.
Subject Area
American literature|Black history|African American Studies
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.