Folk-life in the Harlem renaissance novel

The lower-class theme that predominates in the Harlem novel stems from the desire of the black novelist of the Twenties to give aesthetic and social sanction to folk-life as a solution to the American race problem. The thesis begins with a broad survey that attempts to recreate the cultural mood and artistic effervescence of an era that unleashed an unprecedented outpouring of black talent. Part One is concerned with the affirmative aspects of the ideal of folk-life. The originality of this study resides partly in its analysis of black folk values and in their description as a kind of racial or group soul. Part Two, which focuses on the critical aspects of the above ideal, explores the historical origins and the fictional expression of the resistance to white American culture. And Part Three examines reservations toward the ideal by dissenting Harlem novelists through a new interpretation of the “passing” theme.La préoccupation avec les basses classes, qui est le trait saillant du roman noir Américain des années 1920, a son origine dans le désir de certains intellectuels de promouvoir une solution culturelle au problème racial. Servant d’introduction à la présente étude de cette solution est une revue générale de l’époque. Elle vise à recréer l’atmosphère essoufflée et d’euphorie qui a marqué la vie contemporaine et qui a vu l’éclosion sans précédent du talent artistic noir. D’abord, on étudie l’aspect positif de la solution. [...