The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man |
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| Title: | The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man |
| Author: | James Weldon Johnson |
| Publisher: | Digireads.com |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 01 January, 2005 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 1420925458 / 9781420925456 |
| List Price: | $4.95 |
| Amazon Price: | $4.95 |
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This book is also available, brand-new, from 3rd-party marketplace sellers at Amazon.com, from $3.30.
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
"The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" is James Weldon's Johnson fictional account of a light-skinned mulatto who can pass for white. The anonymous narrator is the son of a black mother and a white father living in the early part of the 20th century in the rural south, the urban north and in Europe. The novel masterfully explores the complexity of race relations between whites and blacks in America and the search for racial identity by one of mixed ethnicity.
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Customer Reviews:
• Great Read.
06 January, 2009
Would recommend this for an alternative insight into growing up african-american in the United States,
- Amazon Customer Review
• Autobiography Of An Ex-colored Man
12 February, 2009
This was a really enlightening read. It prompts the question back in the day if you could "pass" would you? I enjoyed it.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Excellent
24 February, 2010
A powerful little novel, packs a lot of substantive issues into a tight and thoughtful narrative.
There are three main things this work tackles:
1] Exploration of racist conditions in early 20th century United States. Quiet but potent, such a scenario inevitably causes us to what's shifted from this account, and then what hasn't. For a portion of the book this issue seemed almost too light, too much a matter of verbal prejudice rather than more fundamental realities--but it came full force near the ending, with a vivid narration of a lynching.
2] Debate concerning such racism. Here the work is less succesful, and seems to a greater extent dated and less useful. The larger approach is credible enough but the exploration of racism as a component of southern pride and regional nationalism feels incomplete. The arguments analyzed here are major racist tenets, but they don't get at some of major overlapping motifs behind abhorrence. Even more deficient are the counter arguments against racist definitions of blacks and black culture. The intent is certainly laudable, but the actual speeches given--largely pointing to black music as a self-evident sign of accomplishment rather than degradation--miss a lot and close the book on assessment in a way I doubt was applicable even in the author's time.
3] Attempted opting out of this issue. This element is where the book shines, showing the systemically inhumane treatment of blacks, and the ambivalent and muddled human response to this. Faced with long odds and no prospects of racial equality, the protagonist chooses--as the title indicates--to pass as white and give up efforts for a wider struggle. Not an heroic choice, but eminently understandable, and puts a far more tangible face on the many characters real and fictional who did sacrifice deeply in a question for human justice.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Autobiography Of An Ex-colored Man Review
13 May, 2009
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a insightful and captivating story that examines and explores what race relations in the early twentieth century where like. It is told though the eyes of a biracial man as he sets out on a journey across the world to find his self identity and place in the world. My favorite thing about the book was that when the main character travels around the world. The locations and people have such lively and colorful descriptions they almost seemed real.
The book was written in 1912 by James Weldon Johnson who wrote the book as if it was a factual biography. The story never really happened, but is written with such great detail and depth it feels like could have happened. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction.
Mrs. Sage's Class
Greg
- Amazon Customer Review
• Everything Was Great !
29 September, 2009
This product I received it in a timely matter. The book was in perfect condition. The only thing I do not like is the print is VERY small so it makes two pages seem like a whole chapter. I don't know if it is just that edition, but the print is small. It seems interesting so far so hopefully I can get through it. Great product. Lovely story.
- Amazon Customer Review
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