Ambition by Beryl Weston and "Contending Forces" by Hopkins depicts the lives of Black Americans in the dominant white American society prior and after the legal abolishment of black slavery. Both novels discuss these social issues while discussing and narrating in closer detail the everyday lives of black Americans as they go through their lives in a new established society. In addition, both novels also touch on the romantic pursuits of the characters in the story. These love stories also illustrate how the society and the people in it determine the fate and course of romantic love for the main characters. However, the novels start in a different pace: 'Contending Forces" starts with the abolishment of black slavery, then proceeds with life in a society that has its black Americans as the equals of white Americans, not as slaves of them. Meanwhile, "Ambition" by Weston starts initially with the already...
[ View Full Essay]