Traditional black literature since the 1960’s tends to operate according to the creed: “Black literature BY blacks, ABOUT blacks, directed TO blacks. ESSENTIAL black literature is the distillation of black life,” Ekaterini Georgoudaki states. However, similar opinions had been voiced much earlier than the 1960’s. Langston Hughes stated in his 1926 essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” that no black artist can be truly called a black artist, if he intends to be a poet for black and white. He reports the following incident:
One of the most promising of the young Negro poets said to me once, “I want to be a poet – not a Negro poet,” meaning, I believe, “I want to write like a white poet”; meaning subconsciously, “I would like to be a white poet”; meaning behind that, “I would like to be white.” And I was sorry the young man said that, for no great poet has ever been afraid of himself.
Behind Hughes’s comment lies the assumption that even “[w]ithout going outside his race [...] there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work.” Hughes’s suggestion that the black artist take his material solely from within the black community limits the choice of topics for the black artist and restricts his scope. Furthermore, Hughes claims that the black poet writing about the relations between black and white may contribute “his racial individuality, his heritage of rhythm and warmth, and his incongruous humour that so often, as in the Blues, becomes ironic laughter mixed with tears.” The black writer, according to Hughes, has to obtain a particular style, marking him clearly as black.
Table of Contents
1. The Treatment of Race and Gender in Rita Dove
1.1 Introduction: Definitions of Black Literature and Feminist Writing
1.2 Analysis of Race in "Wingfoot Lake" and "Crab-Boil"
1.3 Analysis of Gender in "Daystar" and "Aircraft"
1.4 Conclusion: Dove's Inclusive Representation
Objectives and Topics
This essay explores how Rita Dove transcends traditional, restrictive notions of race and gender through a selection of poems from her collections "Thomas and Beulah" and "Grace Notes." The central research question examines how Dove navigates and challenges established literary expectations—specifically the definitions of "black writing" proposed by Langston Hughes and the feminist manifestos of Hélène Cixous and Gilbert & Gubar—to offer a more inclusive perspective on identity.
- The critique of essentialist definitions of black literature and feminist writing.
- The analysis of race relations and social barriers in "Wingfoot Lake" and "Crab-Boil."
- The examination of gender roles, domestic estrangement, and masculine fragility in "Daystar" and "Aircraft."
- The shift toward a dual perspective that views men and women as complementary rather than oppositional.
- The evaluation of Dove's deviation from stylistic requirements imposed by racial or gender-based literary creeds.
Excerpt from the Book
The Treatment of Race and Gender in Rita Dove
Traditional black literature since the 1960’s tends to operate according to the creed: “Black literature BY blacks, ABOUT blacks, directed TO blacks. ESSENTIAL black literature is the distillation of black life,” Ekaterini Georgoudaki states. However, similar opinions had been voiced much earlier than the 1960’s. Langston Hughes stated in his 1926 essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” that no black artist can be truly called a black artist, if he intends to be a poet for black and white.
Behind Hughes’s comment lies the assumption that even “[w]ithout going outside his race [...] there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work.” Hughes’s suggestion that the black artist take his material solely from within the black community limits the choice of topics for the black artist and restricts his scope. Furthermore, Hughes claims that the black poet writing about the relations between black and white may contribute “his racial individuality, his heritage of rhythm and warmth, and his incongruous humour that so often, as in the Blues, becomes ironic laughter mixed with tears.” The black writer, according to Hughes, has to obtain a particular style, marking him clearly as black.
The same pattern can be found in a particular type of feminism which claims that women should be writing for women about women’s issues. Hélène Cixous writes in the introduction to her 1975 essay “The Laugh of the Medusa:” I shall speak about women’s writing: about what it will do [Cixous’s emphasis]. Woman must write her self: must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies – for the same reasons, by the same law, with the same fatal goal. Woman must put herself into the text – as into the world and into history – by her own movement [my emphasis].
Summary of Chapters
1. The Treatment of Race and Gender in Rita Dove: This introductory section establishes the theoretical tension between established definitions of black and feminist literature and Rita Dove’s artistic practice.
1.1 Introduction: Definitions of Black Literature and Feminist Writing: This chapter contrasts Langston Hughes's requirements for "essential" black literature with Cixous and Gilbert/Gubar's demands for a distinct female-centered writing culture.
1.2 Analysis of Race in "Wingfoot Lake" and "Crab-Boil": This section examines how Dove uses symbols like the swimming pool and the bucket of crabs to depict racial inequality while simultaneously rejecting isolationist strategies.
1.3 Analysis of Gender in "Daystar" and "Aircraft": This part explores the frustrations of domestic life and masculine ideals, highlighting how Dove adopts a balanced, dual-perspective approach to both genders.
1.4 Conclusion: Dove's Inclusive Representation: The final section synthesizes the findings, arguing that Dove successfully moves beyond binary definitions of identity to present a more holistic, complementary view of human experience.
Keywords
Rita Dove, Thomas and Beulah, Grace Notes, Langston Hughes, Hélène Cixous, Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar, Race, Gender, African-American identity, Feminism, Literary criticism, Wingfoot Lake, Crab-Boil, Daystar
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this work?
The work examines how Rita Dove's poetry navigates and often transcends the rigid expectations imposed by racial and feminist literary theories prevalent in the 20th century.
What are the central themes discussed in the analysis?
The central themes include the critique of essentialist identities, the impact of social structures on individual expression, the intersection of domestic life and societal roles, and the possibility of cross-racial or cross-gender understanding.
What is the primary research goal of this essay?
The goal is to demonstrate that Dove rejects the "isolationist" or "separatist" demands of traditional manifestos to create an inclusive literary space where diverse experiences can coexist.
Which critical framework does the author apply?
The author uses a comparative framework, contrasting Dove's poetic output with the theoretical assertions of Langston Hughes, Hélène Cixous, and the duo Gilbert and Gubar.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It provides detailed analyses of specific poems like "Wingfoot Lake" and "Crab-Boil" regarding race, and "Daystar" and "Aircraft" regarding gender, moving back and forth between the text and established theory.
Which keywords define this analysis?
Key terms include identity, race, gender, feminism, literary boundaries, complementary perspectives, and the specific collections Thomas and Beulah and Grace Notes.
How does "Wingfoot Lake" serve as a critique of racial barriers?
The poem uses the imagery of a swimming pool to represent an exclusive "white" environment, highlighting the systemic exclusion of black families while pointing towards the potential for future cooperation.
Why does the author consider Dove's gender representation more "advanced"?
The author argues that while feminists like Cixous stress the "otherness" of women, Dove offers a sympathetic, dual-sided view that emphasizes how men and women complement each other within the shared struggles of daily life.
- Quote paper
- Björn M. Itrich (Author), 2005, The Treatment of Race and Gender in Rita Dove, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/46155
