In the years from 1935 to the 1950s, African Americans began to take more pride in their accomplishments and advances. They began taking more pride in themselves and spoke out against the social injustices they were forced to endure for so long. The first stirrings of the civil rights movement were also seen during this period. This gave rise to the style of naturalism, emphasizing the nature of mankind in his daily actions. The character is usually a type of "tragic hero," who is controlled by his circumstances and his biology, not by his own free will. The characters are portrayed without moral judgement, only as products of their environment and heredity. The archetypal naturalism novel is Native Son by Richard Wright. Other works by Wright include the autobiographical Black Boy as well as The Outsider and The Long Dream (Gates, 199).
The changes in African-American literature from the Great Depression through the post-WW II years parallels the many changes going on in America at that same time. It was a time of rich cultural development often overshadowed by the significant historical events taking place at the same time (Baker, 156).
African-American literature bloomed with the Harlem Renaissance. Before this period, the literature had been divided into the following two sections: the period up to the Civil War and the period from the Civil War to World War I. The Black American writers of the Harlem Renaissance to the present day differed from the writers of the other two groups; the past sought freedom and identity as slaves and newly freed citizens while the writers since the 1930s dealt with self-discovery and black power. Although both groups studied the themes of equality and race, one suffered to belong while the other sought to be an individual (Davis, 36).
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