African-american manhood: obstacles, reactions and reconciliation in A raisin in the sun, Dutchman and Blues for Mister Charlie

Abstract

The present work intends to analyze the plays 'A Raisin in the Sun', by Lorraine Hansberry, 'Dutchman', by Amiri Baraka, and 'Blues for Mister Charlie', by James Baldwin, regarding the male characters' performance of the African-American masculinity. Written during the height of the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s in the United States, these plays carry a strong critique of mainstream American society, which permits a clearer perception of the obstacles, responses and healing processes involved in the African-American man's construction of his manhood. To substantiate this research, it was first necessary to revisit Gender Studies to localize the problems of the construction of masculinity along with the issue of hegemonic masculinities. Only after observing the patterns related to the shaping white hegemonic masculinities in American society is that subjugated masculinities, such as African American's, can be comprehended. The construction of masculinity the characters Walter Jr., Clay and Richard undergo exemplifies the theory used to observe and describe the obstacles and responses African-American men face to reach their manhood. Each character in their own way confronts similar obstacles, as well as responds to them similarly, displaying a pattern of African-American men's obstacles and responses involved in the construction of black manhood. Besides, the process is painful to the characters in all the three plays, and the pain inflicted upon them, sometimes, is only extinguished by their death. Nonetheless, it is in the healing process that the most paradoxical aspect of this construction is highlighted. It is through the mending and bonding support offered by their women that black men are finally able to reach their maturity as men and overcome their problems