'A Cultural Mongrel': Transatlantic Connections in Charles Johnson's Middle Passage

Author: Crisu, Corina

Source: Comparative American Studies, Volume 6, Number 3, September 2008 , pp. 265-280(16)

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Abstract:

Drawing on a variety of philosophical and critical views, this paper dis cusses the way in which Charles Johnson's Middle Passage reconsiders the African American character, in the context of transatlantic slave history. The argument centers upon Johnson's ability to construct innovative, mongrelized versions of black identity through a continuous process of rewriting key texts such as Equiano's Narrative, Melville's 'Benito Cereno', and Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In this never-ending cross-cultural exchange, Johnson's novel offers a fresh perception of black identity, while simultaneously throwing new light upon the earlier narratives. Pointing to Johnson's Heraclitean view of identity, the paper analyzes how the main character's transatlantic journal incorporates a multitude of perspectives that make him question his own assumptions, discover his roots, and live with alterity by seeing himself as another.

Keywords: TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE HISTORY; COLONIAL/POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES; EQUIANO; POLYTROPIC IDENTITY; MEDIATING VISION; MELVILLE; AFRICAN AMERICAN CHARACTER; CONRAD; INTERTEXTUALITY

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/147757008X330186

Publication date: 2008-09-01

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