Creating A New Identity

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the central characters in Johnson's "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" and Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" who both create or forge false identities for themselves. The paper focuses on the characters' attempt to 'pass' as someone else and construct a false identity that leads to the acquisition of a new racial or social status. The paper highlights how these attempts are accompanied by inevitable problems and difficulties that result in frustration and eventually disillusionment.

From the Paper:

"The publication of the two narratives, Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and James Weldon Johnson's An Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, coincides with a period in the American cultural life in which the search for the 'American Dream' was a very prominent theme. Also, the nineteen twenties constituted the decade in which the Harlem Renaissance or the 'New Negro Renaissance' sprang as a cultural movement in America. As it is well known, the Harlem Renaissance was an attempt at 'uplifting the black race' through a redefinition of African American identity and a celebration of the values specific to black culture. These two themes form the core of the novels under investigation- the fulfillment of the 'American Dream' in The Great Gatsby and the uplifting of the black race in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Modern Library, 1934.
• Johnson, James Weldon. The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927.
• Wald, Gayle. Crossing the Line: Racial Passing in Twentieth- Century U.S. Literature and Culture. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000.

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• Term Paper # 109881 : "The Harlem Renaissance: A New Black Identity"
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