An Investigation of the Representation of Racial Prejudice and Discrimination in the American Literature

Abstract

The research paper is an attempt to investigate about the difference in approaches towards the issues of racial prejudice and discrimination in American literature. Most of the works produced in America, belonging to any genre, contain the discourse surrounding race. This discourse has been shaped by the diversity of genres, authors and eras where it has taken place. The current research is performed by the textual analysis of two impactful literary works separated by almost a century to analyze the evolution in the discourse. Anti-Black racism has seen its worst days in the United States of America in the form of the practice of forced slavery and even after its official abolition, it continues to persist. Racial discrimination and racial prejudice are grim realities of American society that have been internalized as an abhorrent mindset and literature of every era reflects it.