7902201 Otey, Rheba Washington an Inquiry Into
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7902201 OTEY, RHEBA WASHINGTON AN INQUIRY INTO THE THEME OF ISOLATION IN ADOLESCENT LITERATURE ABOUT BLACK YOUTH: AN EXAMINATION OF ITS TREATMENT BY SELECTED WRITERS. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, PH.D., 1978 Universit/ M icrdnlm s International 300 n . z e e b r o a d , a n n a r b o r , mi a s io b 0 1978 RHEBA WASHINGTON OTEY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED AN INQUIRY INTO THE THEI.ffi OP ISOLATION IN ADOLESCENT LITERATURE ABOUT BLACK YOUTH: AN EXAMINATION OF ITS TREATf-IENT BY SELECTED WRITERS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial FuLfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Rheba W ashington O tey, B .A ., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1978 Reading Committee: Approved By Dr. Frank Zidonis % À Dr. A.E.W. Maurer A dviser College of Education Dr. Robert Stull In memory of my beloved mother and father, Lottie Mae and E. Byron Washington, to those precious men, my husband, Robert, and son, James Edward, and to my dearest sister and brother-in-law, Mary Ellen and Herman Brown 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The in d e b ted n ess I owe th e many perso n s named and unnamed who have helped me in the completion of this project can never be adequately expressed. I wish, however, to acknowledge my deepest gratitude to those who have borne with my frailities to make this moment p o s s ib le . To Dr. Frank Zidonis, my major adviser, for the wise counsel, the unending patience, and the beautiful spirit he has consistently afforded throughout my doctoral studies. To Dr. A. E. Wallace Maurer, member of my reading committee, for the deep sincerity, the rightness of judgment, and the warm humility he has always displayed during my long educational pursuit. To Dr. Robert J. Stull, member of my reading committee, for the timely guidance, the intense interest, and the true dedication he has given through all my studies. To Dr. Donald Bateman and Dr. William Nelson and Dr. Sheila Goff for graciously consenting to serve on my oral and final examination committees respectively. To my husband Robert, for the times he chauffered, stepped over papers and books, waited up at night, searched for my reading glasses, and encouraged me to finish the task. To my son James Edward, for the early morning calls, the constant encouragement and the deep belief that his mother would complete the program . And finally, and only because there must be an end: To the Sisters of the Ohio Dominican College for being with me every step of the way. And May God Ever B less For With God All Things Are Possible i i i VITA September 26, 1920.............................................. Born - Xenia, Ohio 1938........................................................................... Central High School, Xenia, Ohio 19^2 ............................................................................ B.A., cumlaude, Wilberforce University, W ilberforce, Ohio 198k ............................................................................ L ib ra ry C e r tif ic a tio n Ohio Dominican College, Columbus, Ohio 19 8 9......................................................................... M.A., The Ohio State U niversity, Columbus, Ohio 1964- P r e s e n t ....................................................... Librarian, The Columbus Public School System FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: English English Education. Professor Frank Zidonis English. Professor A.E.W. Maurer Professor Robert Stull i v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION............................................................................................................. 11 ACKIIO^TLEDGEÎIEI'ITS............................................................................................... I l l VITA........................................................................................................................... iv C hapter I . INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1 Aim of the Study ........................................................................... U Significance of the Study for Teaching ......................... 6 Methodology ...................................................................................... 7 F ootnote s ................................................................................. 12 I I . AN OVERVIEW OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE............................... 13 Theories of Racism ....................................................................... 22 Studies on Changing Racial A ttitudes .............................. 33 Concept of Bibliotherapy ......................................................... 36 Review of Literature .................................................................. 39 The Isolated Black World ........................................... 60 F o o tn o te s ........................................................................................... 71 I I I . ANALYSES OF SELECTED ADOLESCENT FICTION ABOUT BLACK YOUTH....................................................... 76 F o o tn o te s ........................................................................................... 211 IV. VIRGEIIA HAMILTON........................................................................ 215 F o o tn o te s ........................................................................................... 225 V. ANALYSES OF SELECTED FICTION OF VIRGINIA HA.MILTON......................................................................... 226 F o o tn o te s ........................................................................................... 255 V I. SUIIMARY.............................................................................................. 256 Page APPENDIXES A. Bibliographies and Review Sources Consulted ............... 26k B. Preliminary Title Selections ............................................... 266 C. Final Title Selections ............................................................ 269 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 2J1 v i CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The value of literature for adolescents is now generally recognized as important in literary education. As D\7ight Burton reveals, the junior novel apparently "fulfills an important function in the literary education as well as in the personal development of the adolescents."^ Furthermore, a study by Stephen Dunning concludes that adolescents do seek answers to their problems through reading literature which reflects their o^m age group and culture. Thus they may. Burton believes, gain insight into social and intergroup relationships by reading about characters who are searching as they are searching (Burton, p. 59)-^ As part of both an adolescent group and the largest non-white segment in America, the black teen-ager has special recognized commitments, and more often than not the literature of the adolescent subgroup does not reflect non-white values and beliefs ^ toto. For in the context of the black experience, black adolescents have a culture which embraces their own joys, fears and hopes. H istorically black people have embraced a series of shared experiences which are significantly singular in the American experience, and it is safe to assume that blacks need adequate understanding of their customs and values on the part of other ethnic groups as do all groups who plaj’' a part in a nation's life. 2 When English educators assessed the role of literature for all adolescents in achieving cultural parity in the curriculum and in the teaching of the black experience, certain patterns began to emerge. On the one hand, the surge for parity demonstrated the need for literature, by blacks about black adolescents, which would support the development of black positive self-images, self-concepts and social values. On the other hand, it soon became apparent that much of the available literature, then as now, presented the myth of the black world from a majority perspective. This is not to say that this perspective is irrelevant to teaching of the black experience. On the contrary, this approach is meaningful as an example of how the ethnic majority tends to perceive the black experience as but one ethnic experience among many. This viewpoint generally emphasizes the black as either successfully integrating into or co-existing within a pluralistic s o c ie ty . In addition, it was not only evident that majority ivriters dominated the field and that the presence of the creative writing of black authors was minimal, but that some of the latter, largely concerned with articulating social protest themes, were consumed by a philosophy which emphasized that for black America, life represented a series of dehumanizing erosions. Black Americans, these authors posited, were colonized people, devoid of hope and embroiled in despair; hence self-realization, so central to attaining the good life, was a cruel myth to this powerless minority. Meanwhile,other black authors, writing from a majority perspective, emphasized dominant concepts and values which are unrepresentative of the black experience. 3 To be sure, literature written about blacks is important to the teaching of the black experience as a lived and shared exercise. But the ultimate literary value of that experience rests in the validity and integrity of its presentation which must perforce spring from the very well-springs of that experience, delineating the varied levels and rich complexities of the black consciousness, and effecting a fictional black, who