Roger Rosenblatt’ s bookBlack Fiction, in attempting to apply literary rather than sociopolitical criteria to its subject, successfully alters the approach taken by most previous studies.As Rosenblatt notes, criticism ofBlack writing has often served as a pretext for expounding onBlack history.Addison Gayle’ s recent work, for example, judges the value ofBlack fiction by overtly political standards, rating each work according to the notions ofBlack identity which it introduces.
Although fiction assuredly springs from political circumstances, its authors react to those circumstances in ways other than ideological, and talking about novels and stories primarily as instruments of ideology outwits much of the fictional enterprise. Rosenblatt’ s literary analysis discloses affinities and connections among works ofBlack fiction which solely political studies have overlooked or ignoreD、 Writing acceptable criticism ofBlack fiction, however, presupposes giving satisfactory answers to a number of questions. First of all, is there a sufficient reason, other than the racial identity to the authors, to group together works byBlack authors Second, how doesBlack fiction make itself distinct from other modem fiction with which it is largely contemporaneous Rosenblatt shows thatBlack fiction constitutes a distinct body of writing that has an identifiable, coherent literary tradition. Looking at novels written byBlacks over the last eighty years, he discovers recurring concerns and designs independent of chronology. These structures are related to the themes, and they spring, not surprisingly, from the central fact that theBlack characters in these novels exist in a predominantly White culture, whether they try to conform to that culture or rebel against it. Black Fiction does leave some aesthetic questions open. Rosenblatt’ s theme-based analysis permits considerable objectivity, he even explicitly states that it is not his intention to judge the merit of the various works, yet his reluctance seems misplaced, especially since an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results. For instance, some of the novels appear to be structurally diffuse. Is this a defect, or are the authors working out of, or trying to forge, a different kind of aesthetic In addition, the style of someBlack novels, like Jean Tommer’sCane, verges on expressionism or surrealism; does this technique provide a counterpoint to the prevalent theme that portrays the fate against whichBlack heroes are pitted, a theme usually conveyed by more naturalistic modes of expression In spite of such omissions, what Rosenblatt does include in his discussion makes for an astute and worthwhile study.Black Fiction surveys a wide variety of novels, bringing to our attention in the process some fascinating and little-known works like James Weldon Johnson’ sAutobiography of anEx-colored Man. Its argument is tightly constructed, and its forthright, lucid style exemplifies levelheaded and penetrating criticism. The author believes thatBlack Fiction would have been improved, had Resenblatt ______. A、evaluated more carefully the ideological and historical aspects ofBlack fiction B.attempted to be more objective in his approach to novels and stories byBlack authors C.explored in greater detail the recurrent thematic concerns ofBlack fiction throughout its history D.assessed the relative literary merit of the novels he analyzes thematically