{"product_id":"james-baldwin-toni-morrison-and-aaron-ngozi-oforlea-9780814253908","title":"James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and the Rhetorics of Black Male Subjectivity","description":"In \u003ci\u003eJames Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and the Rhetorics of Black Male Subjectivity\u003c\/i\u003e, Aaron Ngozi Oforlea explores the rhetorical strategies that Baldwin's and Morrison's black male characters employ as they negotiate discourses of race, class, gender, and sexuality. According to Oforlea, these characters navigate a discursive divide that separates limiting representations of black males in dominant discourses from a decolonized and empowered subjectivity. Specifically, the discursive divide creates an invisible boundary between how black subjects are seen, imagined, and experienced in dominant culture on the one hand, and how they understand themselves on the other. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Oforlea's book offers new analyses of the character dynamics in Baldwin's \u003ci\u003eGo Tell It on the Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eIf Beale Street Could Talk\u003c\/i\u003eand Morrison's \u003ci\u003eBeloved\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSong of Solomon\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Tar Baby\u003c\/i\u003e. The black male characters in these novels encounter the discursive divide, or a cultural dissonance, when they encounter dominant representations of black male identities. They use these opportunities to construct a counter-discourse about black male subjectivity. Ultimately, Oforlea argues, these characters are strategic about when and how they want to appropriate and subvert dominant ideologies. Their awareness that post-racial discourses perpetuate racial inequality serves as a gateway toward participation in collective struggles for racial justice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Aaron Ngozi Oforlea\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0814253903\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814253908\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ohio State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/12\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 278\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.83lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.58d","brand":"Aaron Ngozi Oforlea","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43942689833215,"sku":"9780814253908","price":35.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_fc5198a9-fa38-44b9-b257-94f8139284ab.jpg?v=1681493791","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/james-baldwin-toni-morrison-and-aaron-ngozi-oforlea-9780814253908","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}