Book Review: James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and the Rhetorics of Black Male Subjectivity

Abstract

James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and the Rhetorics of Black Male Subjectivity', Aaron Oforlea, analyses the strategies that Toni Morrison and James Baldwin employ in their quest to tell the African-American story. He uses subjectivity, intersectionality, discursive divide, among others, to explain to the reader the issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality. He analyses their African American characters and how they thrived despite their problems of social alienation, sexual preferences, and class status. The discursive divide is a concept discussed throughout the novel; it entails moving from the objects of discourse to an empowered agent. In this paper, we will highlight the various concepts addressed by the authors in each chapter.