STUDY OF BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS AND RACISM IN RICHARD WRIGHTS NATIVE SON AND RALPH ELLISON’S INVISIBLE MAN

The twentieth century American literary scene is characterized by the emergence of black writers who are concerned with creating what is called "Black Consciousness". This concept became a form of literary expression associated with the Afro-American movement, whose concern was for the discovery of the meaning of the black man's experience. Black consciousness has to do with the revolutionary consciousness which occupies most Afro-American writing.

This concept emphasizes the Afro-American search for self-esteem in a hostile social environment and the quest for a language to affirm a "black selfhood" as well as express the richness of an oral culture. These elements are examined in Richard Wright's Native Son and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. These works marked a high point in the Black-American literary tradition. Both novels are protests against the hatred, injustices and racism in the America society.