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From Within the Frame: Storytelling in African-American Fiction

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From Within the Frame: Storytelling in African-American Fiction W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1998 From within the frame: Storytelling in African-American fiction Bertram Duane Ashe College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, and the American Literature Commons Recommended Citation Ashe, Bertram Duane, "From within the frame: Storytelling in African-American fiction" (1998). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623921. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-s19x-y607 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USRRS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. U M I films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter free, while others may be from any type o f computer printer. The quality o f this reproduction is dependent upon the quality o f the copy submitted* Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send U M I a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back o f the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact U M I directly to order. A Bell ft Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Aibor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/321-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. NOTE TO USERS The original manuscript receiver! by UMI contains pages with slanted print Pages were microfilmed as received. This reproduction is the best copy available UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. FROM WITHIN THE FRAME: STORYTELLING IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FICTION A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Program in American Studies The College of William and Mary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Bertram D. Ashe 1998 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Muabers 9904265 UMI Microform 9904265 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy D. Ashe Approved, April 1_____ , 1998 ( j Joanne M. Braxton Sus/fiti V. Donaldson Arthht Knight facqueftyn Uf. McLendon Robert w. Stepto Yale University H. Cam Walker Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION Pot Dad, Mom, David and Pam: thanks for setting the bar so high For Jordan, a welcome distraction who crawled, then walked, then ran into my office as pages became chapters For Garnet (who also has a peculiar connection to my office), who appeared mid-way through and immediately elbowed himself onto these pages and most of all: for Valerie whose love (and patience) made it all possible iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v ABSTRACT vii INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I. "A LITTLE PERSONAL ATTENTION”: STORYTELLING AND THE BLACK AUDIENCE IN CHARLES CHESNUTT'S THE CONJURE WOMAN 14 CHAPTER II. "AH DON'T MEAN TO BOTHER WID TELLIN' 'EM NOTHIN': ZORA NEALE HURSTON'S CRITIQUE OF THE STORYTELLING AESTHETIC IN THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 75 CHAPTER III. LISTENING TO THE BLUES: RALPH ELLISON'S TRUEBLOOD EPISODE IN INVISIBLE MAN 118 CHAPTER IV. FROM WITHIN THE FRAME: NARRATIVE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE BLACK AESTHETIC IN TONI CADE BAMBARA'S "MY MAN BOVANNE" 152 CHAPTER V. "WOULD SHE HAVE BELIEVED ANY OF IT?": INTERROGATING THE STORYTELLING MOTIVE IN JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN'S "DOC'S STORY" 196 CONCLUSION 228 WORKS CITED 222 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer wishes to express his appreciation to Professor Joanne Braxton, under whose patient guidance this project was conducted. The timeliness of her responses and the critical attention paid to the project, as well as her organizational abilities as chair, made a difficult process much less so. The author is also indebted to Professors Jacquelyn McLendon and Susan Donaldson for their careful reading and criticism of the manuscript. Professor McLendon’s willingness to critique earlier drafts of two chapters as well as the full later draft is gratefully appreciated. It is my pleasure to acknowledge the time and dedication she brought to this project. Professor Donaldson’s incisive, thoughtful and exhaustive response to the full draft was invaluable. Not only did her comments greatly aid the completion of the dissertation, they will continue to pay dividends as work on this project continues. The author also wishes to thank Professor Arthur Knight for his close reading, as well as his comments on an early draft of chapter one some time ago that helped launch the dissertation. Moreover, the writer is thankful for the input Professor Cam Walker gave toward his historical girding for the project, particularly in regards to chapter four, but throughout as well. Professor Robert Gross, the American Studies program, and Jean Brown greatly helped the author toward completion. A Summer Research Fellowship funded research on Charles Chesnutt at Fisk University in 1995, and Ms. Brown’s knowledge and swift attention to detail not only made the writer’s work easier but helped provide a comfortable atmosphere at the program office. The author is extremely grateful to Professor Ray Hilliard, chair, and the English department at the University of Richmond for the use of office space and library privileges during the summer following the author's Spring, 1996 visiting instructorship. Karen Veselits, Renee Sentilles, Marland Buckner, Colleen Doyle Worrell, and Crystal Anderson are only a few friends and fellow students who were there to critique, commiserate and celebrate the steps toward completion. The writer cannot imagine William and Mary’s American Studies program without immediately thinking of them. The author would like to thank Charles Holmes and Greg Lewis for being there; he cannot conceive of the dissertation effort without the regular exercise (physical and mental) they and the rest of the Saturday Morning Hoop Crew provided. The author would like to especially thank Lindsey Robinson for his cheerful friendship. Without v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. regular On My Turntables, this project absolutely could not have been completed. The author would finally like to thank Professor Robert B. Stepto for providing such compelling scholarship on storytelling in African-American fiction, for agreeing to lend his valuable time to serve on this committee, and for not minding that the title of the author's dissertation is a presumptuous but respectful reference to his landmark study of African-American narrative. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore the written representation of African-American spoken-voice storytelling in five fictional narratives published between the late nineteenth century and the late twentieth century: Charles W. Chesnutt’s "Hot-Foot Hannibal," Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Toni Cade Bambara's "My Man Bovanne," and John Edgar Wideman's "Doc's Story." Using Walter Ong’s suggestion that the relationship between storyteller and inside-the-text listener mirrors the hoped-for relationship between writer and readership, this study examines the way these writers grappled with these factors as they generated their texts. By paying attention
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