Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in American Literature

Abstract

American literature has a long history and many forms of expression. However, racial and cultural differences are one of the more important topics. The United States is vast and populated. Different races and cultures merged here to create America’s diverse cultural landscape. In this multicultural context, racial issues and cultural diversity in American literature have become important points of comfort. It explores the concrete implementation of the study, which looked at black literature as a starting point. Black literature is one of the most representative literary classes in American literature, and its background is closely related to racial issues. From the time of slavery, black Americans began creating their own literary works to resist white oppression and to raise their voices. This literature depicts the suffering and struggle of blacks based on black culture. Especially in the early 20th century, black literature began to appear on the doors, represented by writers such as Will Tudor and Langston Hughes. These works promote black values and attitudes as the main means of expressing black culture. These works are full of ethnic issues and cultural diversity. For example, Will Tudor’s novel Black and White tells the story of a black family and a white family. Through the comparison of the two families, whites reflected the status of blacks and the uniqueness of black culture in the next chapter. Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too” expressed the aspirations of blacks for freedom, equality, and democracy. The ethnic issues and cultural diversity of these works became an important representation in American literature.