Contemporary African American Fiction: The Open Journey

Contemporary African American Fiction: The Open Journey
ISBN-10
0838637876
ISBN-13
9780838637876
Category
Business & Economics / General
Pages
163
Language
English
Published
1998
Publisher
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
Author
Robert Butler

Description

The book argues that from its very beginnings African American journey narratives are distinctively "non-teleological"; that is, they typically resist being directed toward an end point in a particular place and instead exult in movement through indefinite space. They view movement as intrinsically valuable, a process of endless becoming rather than a carefully mapped journey resulting in a completed state of being rooted in a fixed place. As such, these journeys are a compelling metaphor of the American desire for the "new life" consisting of unlimited personal development. The writers examined in this book offer a unique set of variations on this kind of open journey.

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