Studies in American Fiction, March 22nd, 1993
The ambiguity of color lines and the way race is created through the use of language are the major themes of James Weldon Johnson's 'The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man.' The narrator holds the opinion that separation of the races is a fact of life, but his actions and the reactions of those around him, subvert this notion in the eyes of the reader. It becomes apparent that language has the ability to distort law and culture as well as create, define and control people's beliefs. It is language, then, that makes people 'black' or 'white.'
Near the end of James Weldon Johnson's novel The A...
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