RESEARCH ON THE SIGNIFICATION IN AFRO-AMERICAN WRITERS’ LITERARY WORKS

Abstract

Afro-American literature was produced, developed and expanded under the composite effect of history, reality, African culture, and white culture etc. Ideally, Afro-Americans hope to integrate into the white culture, but in reality they choose to keep far away in order to maintain the Afro-American folk tradition. Therefore, Afro-American literary works keep assimilating and separating in the cultural conflict. The Afro-American writers are good at presenting the real history in their works, magnifying and exposing the real tragic situation of blacks in white-oriented world, and endowing the distorted soul and destructive behavior of blacks with the historical origin of African culture through rich Signification of language and image. The application of Signification endues their works with both historical and synchronic cultural value. Studying the Signification appeared in their works from the perspective of Afro-American literary theory will make the readers better understand the author’s deep thinking on the survival and life of Afro-Americans, and even the common human psychology and the accumulated cultural wealth presented in the works.