The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro
Adrienne Kennedy’s psychodrama Funnyhouse of a Negro personifies in her protagonist, Sarah, the internalised racism and mental deterioration that a binary paradigm foments. Kennedy also develops the schizoid consciousness of Sarah to accentuate Sarah’s hybridised and traumatised identity as an Af...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institute of English Studies
2018-10-01
|
| Series: | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| Online Access: | http://www.anglica.ia.uw.edu.pl/images/pdf/27-1-articles/Anglica-27-1-9-Ha-Hogan.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818304225272135680 |
|---|---|
| author | Quan Manh Ha Conor Hogan |
| author_facet | Quan Manh Ha Conor Hogan |
| author_sort | Quan Manh Ha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adrienne Kennedy’s psychodrama Funnyhouse of a Negro personifies in her protagonist,
Sarah, the internalised racism and mental deterioration that a binary paradigm foments.
Kennedy also develops the schizoid consciousness of Sarah to accentuate Sarah’s hybridised
and traumatised identity as an African American woman. Kennedy’s play was
controversial during the Black Arts Movement, as she refrained from endorsing black
nationalist groups like Black Power, constructing instead a nightmare world in which race
is the singular element in defining self-worth. In her dramatized indictment of both white
supremacy and identity politics, American culture’s pathologized fascination with pigmentation
drives the protagonist to solipsistic isolation, and ultimately, to suicide. Kennedy,
through the disturbed cast of Sarah’s mind, portrays a world in which race obsession
triumphs over any sense of basic humanity. The play urges the audience to accept the
absurdity of a dichotomized vision of the world, to recognise the spectral nature of reality,
and to transcend the devastation imposed by polarising rhetoric. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T06:07:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8dc7bde1b2a048f1abebce9f18e597ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0860-5734 0860-5734 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T06:07:19Z |
| publishDate | 2018-10-01 |
| publisher | Institute of English Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-8dc7bde1b2a048f1abebce9f18e597ed2022-12-21T23:57:12ZengInstitute of English StudiesAnglica. An International Journal of English Studies0860-57340860-57342018-10-01271121134The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a NegroQuan Manh Ha0Conor Hogan1University of MontanaUniversity of MontanaAdrienne Kennedy’s psychodrama Funnyhouse of a Negro personifies in her protagonist, Sarah, the internalised racism and mental deterioration that a binary paradigm foments. Kennedy also develops the schizoid consciousness of Sarah to accentuate Sarah’s hybridised and traumatised identity as an African American woman. Kennedy’s play was controversial during the Black Arts Movement, as she refrained from endorsing black nationalist groups like Black Power, constructing instead a nightmare world in which race is the singular element in defining self-worth. In her dramatized indictment of both white supremacy and identity politics, American culture’s pathologized fascination with pigmentation drives the protagonist to solipsistic isolation, and ultimately, to suicide. Kennedy, through the disturbed cast of Sarah’s mind, portrays a world in which race obsession triumphs over any sense of basic humanity. The play urges the audience to accept the absurdity of a dichotomized vision of the world, to recognise the spectral nature of reality, and to transcend the devastation imposed by polarising rhetoric.http://www.anglica.ia.uw.edu.pl/images/pdf/27-1-articles/Anglica-27-1-9-Ha-Hogan.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Quan Manh Ha Conor Hogan The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| title | The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro |
| title_full | The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro |
| title_fullStr | The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro |
| title_short | The Violence of Duality in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro |
| title_sort | violence of duality in adrienne kennedy s funnyhouse of a negro |
| url | http://www.anglica.ia.uw.edu.pl/images/pdf/27-1-articles/Anglica-27-1-9-Ha-Hogan.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT quanmanhha theviolenceofdualityinadriennekennedysfunnyhouseofanegro AT conorhogan theviolenceofdualityinadriennekennedysfunnyhouseofanegro AT quanmanhha violenceofdualityinadriennekennedysfunnyhouseofanegro AT conorhogan violenceofdualityinadriennekennedysfunnyhouseofanegro |