American Studies ETDs

Publication Date

5-4-1977

Abstract

Folklore is an integral part of Black literature, and writers Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison have used the Negro folk tradition in particularly significant ways. All three have written about the importance of the folk tradition in literature, and they share many views. This study examines their individual works within the context of an accepted definition of "folk" and "folklore" and compares their various approaches to the folk tradition. The definition of "folk" and "folklore" and the methodology for tracing the folk element have been revised in the past decade. As a result, there now exists a more flexible tool for analyzing folklore in literature. This study uses the definition and methodology of Alan Dundes, who defines the folk as "any group of people whatsoever who share at least one common factor." Dundes' folklore methodology, which he believes to be applicable to literature as well as to culture, consists of identification and interpretation. With some few exceptions, the complete works of Hughes, Wright, and Ellison are analyzed by using this definition and method­ology. This study presents some new interpretations of the folk element in these writers' works, among them Langston Hughes' use of textual jazz rhythms in his poetry; Ralph Ellison's use of jazz as a structural device in Invisible Man, and Richard Wright's use of folklore for creating a proletarian literature. This study also points out the various uses of the folk tradition which each writer makes. Langston Hughes sometimes writes of the folk as folk, merely recording their ways, but in doing so, he captures the urban Blacks in transition during a very crucial moment in history. Much of his use of folklore is universal in its application, however. Although Richard Wright's involvement with Communism shapes his use of the folk tradition, it is also possible to find a larger context, especially in his earliest work. Those works are particularly significant for showing the importance of the folk tradition as a means of survival in the face of crippling prejudice and racial oppression. Ralph Ellison uses the whole gamut of Black folk expression, often in mythic terms, to deal with the ever-present question of American identity and to reveal the tragicomic aspect of America 's stated national ideals and America's actual conduct. In essence, all three authors use folk elements to make the reader aware of a different rich tradition which is an important part of the rich cultural diversity in American life and literature.

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

American Studies

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

American Studies

First Committee Member (Chair)

Robert E. Fleming

Second Committee Member

Ferenc Morton Szasz

Third Committee Member

Samuel Bruce Girgus

Comments

The UNMUL recognizes that due to its historical nature, this item may include racially and/or ethnically based language and content that may be biased, harmful, and oppressive.

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