Irony and Subversion in James Weldon Johnson's The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man

Abstract

Near the end of James Weldon Johnson's novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man, the narrator, a mulatto, wonders when liberals will recognize the implications of the limits put upon free speech by Southern opinion.(1) While the narrator doesn't expand upon this remark, the narrative itself does, through its portrayal of the ability of language to create, define, control, limit, oppress, and distort such things as opinion, custom, law, culture, and identity. The racial themes and subjects of the narrative not only demonstrate the slipperiness of color lines, they also deconstruct the dichotomies of white and black words, and white and black worlds. Ultimately, the novel suggests that literature itself is slippery, capable of producing different readings and of possessing different significance depending on its historical and cultural contexts. The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man in the story of an unnamed of mixed white and black blood, who narrates his own autobiography.(2) His mother is the favorite servant of a wealthy, white family; his father, a son in that family. Shortly before marrying a white woman of his own class and social standing, the narrator's father sends the boy and his mother to live in Connecticut, where he continues to support them, allowing them to lead a comfortable although not luxurious existence. A precocious young boy, the narrator is brought up with no concept of racial differences until he enters public school and learns of a difference between the dark- and light-skinned students. Assuming that he himself belongs to the latter group, the narrator goes so far as to participate in the persecution of some black children. Eventually, the school's principal abruptly and insensitively informs the young boy that he, too, belongs with the other students. After an initial period of shock and disbelief, the narrator withdraws into an isolated existence and begins to examine his racial background and to accept his assigned inferior status.(3) His father visits the boy and his mother, and vows to make a great man of his musically talented, intelligent son, but gradually severs all ties with them. After his mother's unexpected death, the narrator travels to Atlanta to attend college, only to have all his money stolen. With nowhere else to go, he forgoes any hopes of attending college and determines to investigate the land of his people instead. Disgusted by the living conditions of lower-class blacks, he finds work in a Florida cigar factory, then moves to New York City, where he takes up gambling and ragtime music, and is discovered by a jaded millionaire (perhaps another passing black or mulatto, Maurice J. O'Sullivan, Jr. has suggested(4)). The millionaire takes the narrator to Europe, where he passes for a white and enhances his musical talent. Upon his return to the United States, the narrator intends to live as a black man, adapting black music and slave songs to the themes of classical music as a way of introducing them to a larger audience.(5) After witnessing the horrifying lynching of a black man, the narrator determines to let the world take him for what it will. Not surprisingly, he is regarded by all as a white man, and makes a small fortune in the New York City real estate market. He marries a white woman, but only after confessing his secret to her. After she dies while giving birth to the second child, the narrator devotes his life to her memory and to their children, vowing that they shall never learn of his background. The autobiography ends on a note of uncertainty; despite his apparent success in matters of money and love, the narrator is discontented. He feels that he has relinquished a chance to become a true success as a black man, opting instead for the insignificant success of a white man.(6) Many recent critics of the novel have focused on its level and quality of irony, paying particular attention to the question of how self-consciously ironic the narrator is. …