Leiden University Student Repository

Baxter, Daisy (2020)

Classical Reception in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon

Master thesis | Literary Studies (MA)

A comparative study of the ways in which African American authors Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison use the classical tradition in their novels Invisible Man and Song of Solomon. The thesis explores the texts through the lens of reception theory and considers the potential problems involved in writing about black classicism or 'classica africana.' It finds that both Ellison and Morrison not only comment on the classical tradition but also, through strategic allusion and appropriation, challenge the ideas of cultural purity and literary hierarchy it has historically been used to assert.

classical reception

african american literature

toni morrison

ralph ellison

black classicism

Author

Baxter, Daisy

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

English Literature and Culture

Supervisors

Liebregts, P.T.M.G.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en