Resurrecting the Past to Find the True African American Identity: Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Arts- Ain Shams University-Egypt

Abstract

This paper aims to trace the principal characteristics of Afrocentricity in August Wilson’s play Gem of the Ocean which is wonderfully rich with the intricate layers of the African American pre- and post-slavery experience. It presents a close study of the African American’s Masterpiece in a thematic approach to show how history, culture and community are rooted in the African American identity. Afrocentricity is used in this paper to provide a vehicle for analysis relevant specifically to the African and African American experience – particularly in the areas of history and cultural studies – for African Americans. The play provides ample layers of interesting topics namely violence and spirituality. The violence that runs through different incidents in the play is the violence of the oppression of African Americans, which kept them in poverty powerless to control their fate. The spirituality of the characters provides them with strength which they have brought along from their journey across the ocean. Rewriting history through this play comes as an eye-opener to the wrongs and struggles the African ancestors endured for their grandchildren to enjoy a better life. Going back to the roots of the African tribes proves that this race once enjoyed a culture and a solid identity that has disintegrated and somehow vanished over the years. Written in 2003, the play presents the severe racial discrimination and poverty conditions African Americans suffered from. The journey on board the ‘Gem’ or the slave ship across the ocean shows the degradation of slave life encompassing violence, isolation and utter despair to reach both a metaphorical and physical shore.

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Nardeen Mohamed Nabil El-Atrouzy

She is a lecturer at the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams University. She earned her MA in Children's Literature from The American University in Cairo and PhD in Comparative Literature from Ain Shams University. She is a holder of Specialized Diploma in Arab Women Leadership for Social Work and a holder of Diploma in Art Therapy for Kids and Teens from Ain Shams University.

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