African-American Literature the American Experience Term Paper

The two have a unity in their interactions, wanting essentially the same things.

The family forms a social system based on the interactions among the members of the family. This is seen throughout the book as each member shows that what he or she has, needs and values depends upon the nature of the social system to which he or she belongs. In this case, Maya, as do other people, belongs to different social systems at the same time. The family is one such social system, and in that system Maya interacts with Bailey, Momma, and Uncle Willie according to their specific roles in the family group. The individual has different roles in the system according to whom they are interacting with -- Maya shows one kind of behavior with Bailey and quite another with Momma.These authors write about the black experience, and just because this is only a portion of the larger American experience does not make their writings any less American in nature. The black experience is as American as any other and complements the experience of the majority society in many respects even as it extends it to new areas.

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Bantam Books, 1970.

Chesnutt, Charles W. The Marrow of Tradition. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1969.

Ellison, Ralph. The Invisible Man. New York: vintage Books, 1989.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Perennial Classic, 1990.

Larsen, Nella. Passing. New York: Modern Library, 2000.….....