Premise. The black quest for freedom is a noble and heroic journey comparable to that of the classical mythological gods and heroes as portrayed in Greek Mythology. / This study is based upon a firm conviction that there is a very strong similarity between the courage of the mythological hero as he appears in classical literature and the courage and spirit of the black personality that endures throughout the struggle from slavery to freedom. Through an analytical comparison of selected literary excerpts these similarities are isolated and identified within the respective cultures in the following manner: / First, through a synthesis of the classic pattern of the heroic journey described as the rites of passage through separation, initiation and return by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces with the odyssey of the black experience as portrayed by Alex Haley in Roots, the premise is established. / Second, the classical mythological community is compared to the southern plantation community through a consideration of the two authority figures--Zeus, ruler of Mount Olympus, and the master, ruler of the Big House: with some detail to Zeusmortal and master-slave mating, unusual birth circumstances, and the impassioned reactions of Hera and the plantation mistress. / Third, parallels are drawn from a comparison of some of the major themes and heroes of the two unique cultures, such as: survival--magic (Odysseus and Frederick Douglass), resurrection--escaping bondage (Dionysus, Perseus and Henry "Box" Brown), man receives fire--slaying illiteracy (Prometheus and Mary McLeod Bethune) and mythological monsters--Jim Crow (Heracles and Martin Luther King, Jr.) / Finally, a portrait of the mythic black hero, the personification of the black quest, is created as a composite figure of the many men, women, and children who--through the generations--dared to take a stand for the betterment of the human condition. The study concludes with a consideration of the boon--Quality Life--the black hero bestowed upon the populace and the apotheosis accorded this personality in American society. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-12, Section: A, page: 3730. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75252 |
| Contributors | ROSEMOND, SARAH LOUISE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 150 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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