Ramifications of Racial Identity in Gloria Naylor’s Linden Hills

Abstract

This paper attempts to bring out the racial identity in Gloria Naylor’s Linden Hills. It presents the struggle for African-American identity; the idea of feminist consciousness is brought forward. There is a fight against racism. Women are found to be dominated, humiliated, and harassed by the male characters. The theme of tragic mulatto is introduced in the novel, reinforcing the importance of racial roots. Linden Hills portrays a sarcastic examination of the uncertain struggle for African-American identity in the nineteenth century and twentieth century. The relationship between personal identity and cultural history is the main theme in this novel. Naylor focuses on a community of heartless people who have become detached from their cultural past in the action of ascending the corporate ladder towards a promising monetary future. In this quest of upward mobility, the occupants of Linden Hills have even turned away from the sense of their racial identity.