The ambivalence of the story is used to explore the question of racial identity from unique and varied perspectives, from the perspective of the main character, as well as the perspectives of the people that he meets on his journey. This is a story of self-discovery and how at times a person is defined by the society, while in other instances they may define themselves. In the end, he reveals the truth to his beloved, and they get married, but he still feels like he could have done more with his life, and his that by abandoning his dreams he squandered the potential that he had. An argument on a train reveals that he feels uncomfortable when “passing” but after witnessing a lynching, he decides to continue his life as a white man, for his own safety. Relevant to this day, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is an unflinching account of black experience in America.This begins his journey, throughout which he explores the question of race from different perspectives while “passing” for a white man or immersing himself in the black culture with various results. His passion for music begins in Georgia’s all-black church community and takes him from New York, where he plays ragtime for a rich white gentleman, to the South, where he witnesses lynchings and out of fear gives up his passion, as well as his race, to pass for white. This edition is introduced by Dr Sam Halliday.Īfter losing his mother at a very young age, the narrator is thrust from his comfortable, middle-class environment, afforded by his distant but aristocratic father, into the wider world. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers.
James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a powerful, trailblazing novel that exposes the intricate relationship between race and class in late nineteenth-century America.Ĭomplete & Unabridged.
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