Articulation of African American Identity in Ralph Ellison’s Juneteenth

Abstract

Only culture can be a surest weapon to amend the distorted image of one’s own identity. This research focuses on how Ellison rejects the trend of presenting African American culture as that of suppressed community that minimizes the people to be true to stereotypical image. Ellison brings African American culture at the centre of his novel, Juneteenth. This novel has really drawn the African American culture into a positive discussion among the wider audience. The black characters in this novel speak out Ellison’s vision of liberation and redemption as a complex phenomenon which can never be complete without cooperation, understanding and we-feeling. Likewise, this research has ventured into the process of identity formation. White American like Bliss is not ready to realize his identity as connected with blacks so he tries to evade his identity and as a result meets a tragic destiny. By reflecting the notion of connectedness, Ellison strives to reserve a dignified space for Black culture thereby asserting the fact that black culture is an important stakeholder of American identity without which America remains identity less.