Black Criminality in the Drama of August Wilson
Abstract
In the world of August Wilson’s drama, Black crime is both a frequent and a complex phenomenon. A close examination of this phenomenon reveals a striking relationship between Black crimes, revolutionary consciousness, and the mythological heritage of the rule-breakers. Therefore, understanding this relationship is important in assessing the level of Black culpability in the rule-breaking culture in Wilson’s drama. This paper examines this problem and argues that by locating the root causes of these crimes in the endemic racist culture, by privileging the need for revolutionary action, and by creating characters whose mythological ancestry within the African worldview predetermine their cause of action, Wilson elevates his Black rule-breakers to the status of warrior-victims and puts the burden of guilt on the White oppressors, thereby subverting the myths of Black criminal pathology common in the dominant culture.References
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