The Autobiography of an Ex-Black Man by James Weldon Johnson divulges aspects of the transition from a "mulatto" man that no other novel had addressed before . However Most novels of the time were treated by the author in a straightforward manner, Johnson undoubtedly departs from this to produce an intricate portrait of a mixed-race man. The narrator's treatment of race, as he is able to pass as both black and black white, taints color lines through the uncertainty of his identity. As a result, Johnson forms a complex speaker who in many cases is ironic symbolizing a meaning he does not perceive. The theme of irony, which is widely understood as a gap between what appears to be true and what is actually true, runs through the novel not only when he talks about his upbringing but also when he concludes with his adulthood. It is unknown whether Johnson, by including irony in many circumstances, did so to communicate with the reader, but it is implied that deeper meaning can be extracted through its inclusion. Having made him aware or unaware of his intentions, the novel's irony symbolizes a level of racial ambiguity within the narrator's life due to his lack of a stable identity through which the audience can understand. The narrator's use of language, values, and personality causes the novel to be seemingly ironic and contradictory in nature, displaying a level of meaning that uncovers the internal conflicts the narrator endures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the first flashes of irony evident in the novel is shown during the protagonist's upbringing through the use of a negative term that perpetuates racial oppression. While in school, after recognizing the academic talent possessed by his black classmate, the narrator's first description of him was that his skin was “black as night” (Johnson 9). Characteristics of skin color, eyes, teeth and face prompted him to address the boy with “Shiny,” a racist slur used against blacks. Considering that he was only a nine-year-old in elementary school, it can be interpreted that, due to his adolescence, he was unable to fully realize and understand the negative connotation of the label "Shiny" on a black peer. While this may be the case, the narrator deliberately continues to address his friend as "Shiny" well into his adulthood. Admiring his academic abilities, he says, "Shiny" was considered without a doubt the best speller, the best reader, the best writer - in a word, the best scholar in the class" (Johnson 9). Although he acknowledges his knowledge, he fails to recognize the harm of the term. After learning of his African descent from his black mother, the narrator is conflicted between his white identity with which he was raised and his unknown black identity which he is suddenly forced to recognize of race relations concerning whites and African Americans at the time, the irony is established by his poor ability to detach a negative term from a close black friend Given that he knows his heritage – black heritage – his constant reaffirmation of the nickname” Shiny" is a perpetuation of racial oppression (Johnson 22). This perpetuation demonstrates that not only has he escaped the African-American emotional reaction of oppressive labels, but he fails to recognize the harm that lies behind racialized terms because he does not they hit directly. Typically, an individual of the same race asanother person would refrain from using racist language towards him. For this reason the narrator, a half-black man, using an insult against another black man speaks of the betrayal it evokes. Ironically, the fact that he is mixed race and never stops addressing his friend by his legal name instead of a racist nickname shows the degree of carelessness possessed by the narrator. In other words, the narrator is allowing the use of racial slurs to flourish and be sufficiently used. It means that because he refrains from using terms of endearment for black people, it is acceptable for racially negative terms to be used both loosely and intentionally. Irony is not only shown through the protagonist's unapologetic use of negative racial terms, but is also clearly shown through his focus on the economic status of the African-American community. From the beginning of his transition from the North to the South onwards, the anonymous narrator emphasizes the class differences within the black community that bring him back to his white identity which he strives to reject. Often mentioned in the novel as "the question of race", the narrator has shown that it is not as important as the question of class. As Pisiak explains, “He is given to making broad generalizations and forming simplistic classifications, and while it seems like the narrator can classify anything, his “specialty” is people” (Pisiak, 91). In bringing attention to the customs and status of blacks, he states, “The unkempt appearance, the shambling and shambling gait, the loud chatter and laughter of these people roused in me a feeling almost of repulsion” (Johnson 40 ). He states, “Colored people may be said to be roughly divided into three classes, not so much with respect to themselves as with respect to their relations with whites” (Johnson 55). The feeling of revulsion towards certain customs and a strong focus on the status of blacks directly shows a sense of discomfort for blacks in general. Perhaps unknowingly, Johnson's narrator expresses his interest in class prejudice as a symbol of irony. Considering his move to the South to connect with his black identity, his preconceived notions of the people he is trying to connect with are subtly attacked. His irony demonstrates that he inevitably views the status of African Americans through the lens of an outsider, constantly returning to white values ​​and responses. As he becomes more and more associated with the upper class black community, he says, “That was my entry into running” (Johnson 74). Unable to understand that class does not symbolize acceptance into a race shows how materialistic he is. This communicates to the audience that his values ​​are somewhat distorted as he excessively admires economic status. To contrast, it can be said that the narrator is so accustomed to living in upper-middle class conditions, based on his environment in which he grew up, that when he encounters the opposite, he is shocked. Provided that, the fact that he analyzes and labels Southern African Americans based on their economic status verifies that he despises the customs of African Americans if they are less fortunate and embraces them if they belong to the upper class. His lack of transparency and acceptance transforms through his experiences in Europe to force him to connect with his black roots and contribute in positive ways. While in Europe, the narrator secretly reveals that he was never truly happy because he felt he owed something to black people. community. He said: “I felt the pride of being black leap up inside me; and I began to cherish wild dreams of bringing glory and honor to the Negro race” (Johnson 32). In theattempting to “help those he considered my people,” he moves from Europe to the South and willingly witnesses a celebration and ceremony in which a black man is burned (Johnson 107). Immediately thereafter, he expresses his overwhelming emotions of shame for himself: “Shame of belonging to a race that could be treated this way” (Johnson 137). He expresses remorse at being associated with a race that receives such punishment instead of embracing his black identity. His self-directed response symbolizes the absence of anger directed at the white lynchers. Ultimately, he fails to help those he considers people, black people, because he refuses to intervene and speak out about the injustice that has occurred against the innocent black man. The lack of intervention against the white mob of racists directly signals that they have not left Europe for the greater good of assisting the black community in a positive way. The irony is established in how his action and reaction to the lynching contradict his words. As Skerrett says, “his reaction is not, ironically, a strengthening of his identity as a threatened and oppressed black man, but rather a strengthening of his fear of pain and his mechanisms of escape and avoidance” (Skerrett 556). In other words, the narrator's fears successfully overcome his desire for black identity rendering him unable to respond as either a black person or a white person. The real uncertainty about the “race question” is strengthened considering that his dreams of “bringing glory and honor to the Negro race” are denied (Johnson 32, 55). The narrator's ironic view on race relations is contradictory to his inability to perform, and as a result, his distorted personality and values ​​are shown through his musicality. The importance of music, the kind the narrator uses to navigate life, is ironically overlooked. and he took advantage of it because he didn't appreciate black musical styles. Music is not only literally but symbolically used as a physical and psychological scapegoat as he searches for his “true” identity. His travels throughout Europe and the Americas attest to his affinity for music and pursuit of economic prosperity through his musical skills on the piano. During his struggle to find his identity, he uses classical music, a European musical form attributed primarily to whites, Negro spirituals closely associated with African roots, and ragtime, a blend that includes characteristics of both styles. The narrator becomes curious about ragtime when he hears it played for the first time by a German guest. He states: “I was turning classical music into ragtime, a relatively easy task; and this man had taken ragtime and made it classic. “I was exultant at the immense amount of material I had to work with, not only modern ragtime, but also old slave songs, material that no one had yet touched” (Johnson 104). He means that the phrase "not yet touched" belittles African Americans who actually touched the material and created it themselves. Furthermore, through the way he talks about music and his ambitions, he subconsciously notes that European music is an art form, while the Negro spiritual style of music is not worthy. This irony speaks to his position on the value of musical styles. The connotation of the word material in his statement symbolizes that it has no substance and is less important than classical music because it is not widely accepted in European society. Bruce Barnhart believes, “The narrator sees the music he will encounter as a form of raw material notable as much for having been untouched by other hands as for any intrinsic musical character” (Barnhart 556). This is not aloneindicative of his musical values, but strongly suggests his racial status. This being the case, how he views himself as white during the time is ironically related to his statement which can be seen as a devaluation of Negro spirituals. Considering the racial relations that correspond to Negro classical and spiritual music, his vision of African musical styles speaks to his thoughts on race in general. In his attempt to use a musical style with “no value,” Barnhart suggests that the narrator “repeats the racial hierarchy that connects dark-skinned Americans to formless materiality and lighter-skinned Americans to higher principles of form and order.” (Barnhart 561). Johnson's protagonist's views on music ironically mimic his views on interracial marriage and the racial hierarchy of complexion. The narrator's stance on interracial relationships in the novel is contradictory to his relationship signals a subconscious discontent with his own family. While in the “club,” says the narrator, “I will never forget how difficult it was for me to overcome my feelings of surprise, perhaps more than surprise, at seeing her with her black companion; somehow I never really liked the view” (Johnson 79). He makes it clear to the audience that he doesn't particularly care about interracial relationships between blacks and whites. The novel's conclusion states otherwise; he is later shown to later contradict himself by not only entering into a relationship with a white woman, but by marrying her and having children. Considering the historical and cultural context, it would not be likely that a member of a race would be against endogamy. As Fleming says, “Not even forced euphemism can hide the fact that his reaction is that of a white man” (Fleming 92). Ironically, the fact that he started a family with a white woman and expressed his discontent with mixed marriages shows that he would ultimately be against his own marriage, taking into account his mixed-race subjectivity. The level of irony that the narrator signals throughout the novel highlights the extent of his racial uncertainty along with his values. The racial ambiguity of Johnson's unnamed narrator gives the novel an ironic status to suggest that the contradictions between his black and white self become his self. identity. A paradox forms as he navigates and sees society from black and white lenses at different times, at his discretion. The breadth of his worldview highlights the level of racial ambiguity and struggle for identity that the narrator possesses. The complexity of playing a “practical joke on society” and ending by selling his “birthright for a plate of lentils” communicates the intricate situation the narrator struggles with (Johnson 1, 154). His oscillation between identity and responses directly contributes to the way his statements create meanings that he does not perceive but that the audience understands. Because of this, the only thing the audience can judge the narrator on is what he symbolizes, therefore transforming his racial identity into an individualistic identity. O'Sullivan proposes that "the narrator continually looks into a distorting mirror, 'unable to be either black or white, constantly seeing the white self from a black perspective and the black self from a white perspective' (O'Sullivan 94). The The fact that he recognizes racism when it affects him directly, but himself perpetuates many of its myths and stereotypes without realizing it illustrates the level of irony that racial ambiguity can create "The Autobiography of an Ex-Racialized Man" which is made up of a man whose identity becomes neither black nor white, but his language, his values ​​and hispersonality. Johnson's depiction of the unnamed narrator's emotional insight into a mixed-race man is monumental. His ability to portray life through irony rather than through traditional literary techniques reveals the importance of analyzing a novel in its entirety. Through the ways in which it reveals a larger dimension of the narrator's life by uncovering the psychological layers, it offers a rather complex nature to the tale. passage concept. It deconstructs the notion of “identity” between all blacks and whites. He thus demonstrates through the protagonist that there is no "ideal concept of Negro" and that race is an invented concept that confines people to a group based on characteristics and values. Because of this, his authorship and the inspiration of his literary style to others gave way to the expanded variety of the "black experience" represented in African-American literature. Despite changes in traditional African American literary styles, James Weldon Johnson's Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man holds a significant place for the reader hoping to be enlightened about the psychological aspects of death. Works Cited Johnson, James W. The Autobiography of a Former Black Man. New York: Penguin Group, 1990. Print. Annotated bibliographyAndrade, Heather Russell. “Review of Critical Opinions on 'The Autobiography of a Former Black Man'.” African American Review, vol. 40, no. 2, 2006, pp. 257–270. www.jstor.org/stable/40033714. This article focuses on “The Autobiography of an Ex-Black Man,” by James Weldon Johnson and its ability to disguise its gender. Considering it's the first fictional text written by an African American to do so, it's monumental. Heather Russel Andrade considers the socio-historical circumstances that frame Johnson's act of writing to be in conflict with the narrator. Babu, Dinesh. “The Theme of “Passage” in the Novels of James Weldon Johnson and Nella Larsen.” IJIMS, vol 1, no. 4, 2014, pp. 53-58. http://www.ijims.com In “The Theme of “Passing” in the Novels of James Weldon Johnson and Nella Larsen,” Dinesh Babu analyzes the depiction of the experience of a light-skinned person of colored origin successfully passing in white society. It attempts to look at, compare and contrast two African-American novels that deal with the theme of the transition of a man and a woman. It shows how the two novels reject the standards of color dividing rules that accept a position within society as predetermined based not only on race, but gender. Barnhart, Bruce. "Chronopolitics and Race, Rag-Time and Symphonic Time in 'The Autobiography of a Former Black Man'." African American Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 2006, pages 551–569. www.jstor.org/stable/40027389. “Chronopolitics and Race, Rag-Time and Symphonic Time in 'The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man' concerns the implications of music as classical, Negro-spiritual and ragtime. In his critique, Bruce Barnhart attempts to expose a key part of the narrator's movement from childhood with his black mother to adulthood. Discusses the constructs of each form of music and how and why the narrator uses them. Brooks, Neil. “Becoming an Ex-Man: Postmodern Irony and the Extinction of Certainty in the Autobiography of an Ex-Black Man.” University literature, vol. 22, no. 3, 1995, pp. 17–29. www.jstor.org/stable/25112206. The criticism directed at James Weldon Johnson's “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” has strongly maintained the position of uncertainty within the unnamed narrator, but his position on racial issues proves to be of equal importance. In this piece, Neil Brooks examines the issue of passing as white not just by being black, but by being a black male. The concept of transition and its socio-economic ramifications are discussed and linked to.