Leroi Jones used the term “the Bottom” to symbolize the rootlessness associated with African Americans. The African Americans struggled to identify themselves and find an order in their lives. Baker sheds light on Leroi’s “the Bottom” symbolism by using a “black hole” metaphor. The “black hole” was used as a domain of ‘wholeness’ symbolizing the African Americans’ escape from the incarcerating Whites’ restraints. Albeit the cultural confusion among the African Americans, writers such as Ellison and Baraka wrote poems on the black culture. Therefore, the terms “the Bottom” and “black hole” represented the inability of the African Americans to distinguish their culture from the Whites’ culture.
What did Leroi Jones and Houston A. Baker mean when they describe the Black writers’ search for self-awareness as a trip to “the Bottom” and a “black hole”?
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Academic.Tips. (2022) 'What did Leroi Jones and Houston A. Baker mean when they describe the Black writers' search for self-awareness as a trip to "the Bottom" and a "black hole"'. 6 December.
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Academic.Tips. (2022, December 6). What did Leroi Jones and Houston A. Baker mean when they describe the Black writers' search for self-awareness as a trip to "the Bottom" and a "black hole"? https://academic.tips/question/what-did-leroi-jones-and-houston-a-baker-mean-when-they-describe-the-black-writers-search-for-self-awareness-as-a-trip-to-the-bottom-and-a-black-hole/
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Academic.Tips. 2022. "What did Leroi Jones and Houston A. Baker mean when they describe the Black writers' search for self-awareness as a trip to "the Bottom" and a "black hole"?" December 6, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/what-did-leroi-jones-and-houston-a-baker-mean-when-they-describe-the-black-writers-search-for-self-awareness-as-a-trip-to-the-bottom-and-a-black-hole/.
1. Academic.Tips. "What did Leroi Jones and Houston A. Baker mean when they describe the Black writers' search for self-awareness as a trip to "the Bottom" and a "black hole"?" December 6, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/what-did-leroi-jones-and-houston-a-baker-mean-when-they-describe-the-black-writers-search-for-self-awareness-as-a-trip-to-the-bottom-and-a-black-hole/.
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