James Weldon Johnson

A detailed Summary of James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida on June 17, 1871. He was the second of three children. Johnson was an American author, lawyer, and diplomat. He was educated at Atlanta and Columbia universities. In 1898 he became the first black lawyer admitted to the bar in Duval County, Florida. He practiced law in Florida until 1902. In that year Johnson moved to New York, and collaborated on the well-known song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Later Johnson served as U.S. consul in Venezuela from 1906 to 1909 and in Nicaragua from 1909 to 1912. This is the year that The Autobiography of an Ex- Coloured Man was published.

The Autobiography of an Ex- Coloured Man was Johnson's best-known book. This novel examined race relations in the United States through its narrator who wrestles with the question of his racial identity. This is the story of a nameless protagonist who, because his physical appearance is not identifiably "black" he is able to assume the identity of a white American and "pass." As I analyze Johnson's work there are several critical concepts that apply to this particular piece of work. I would like to examine

The first thing that this powerful piece of writing explores is the idea of Double Consciousness. Double Consciousness is the sense of looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. Double Consciousness is an idea of two- ness, being an American and a Negro. Having two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, and two warring ideals in one dark body.

Later in the book it said that in American literature black people are known as one way. Therefore it is hard for the public to recognize them in any other way. Johnson says, "This generally accepted literary ideal of the American Negro constitutes what is really an obstacle in the way of the thoughtful and progressive element of the race." The American Negro's character has been established as a "happy-go-lucky, laughing, shuffling, banjo-picking being." Therefore, the reading public doesn't take him seriously. In a novel where blacks live in respectable homes and in the company of nice people, they were acting like "white folks." This idea was taken as a comedy. Johnson says "No matter how well he may p

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Approximate Word count = 780
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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James Weldon Johnson

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