Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Maintaining Ideology through Racial Distinction during the 1930s America in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

Bibliographic Data

ID21707698
AuthorsRaisa Hani Tamara (0000-0003-3793-8644, Universitas Gadjah Mada), Achmad Munjid (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
Year2022
Volume22
Issue2
Pages268-279
Publication date2022-09-26
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language and Literature (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1410-5691 • E-ISSN: 2580-5878
PublisherSanata Dharma University (PUBLISHER • ID)
DOI10.24071/joll.v22i2.3489
OpenAlexW4297154531
LanguageEN
References cited5

Racial issues in 1930s America illustrate the high racial tension between Whites and African-Americans due to the series of mass racial violence. Despite the rapid industrialization, African-Americans, in this period, struggled to find their equal place in society. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man depicts the social conditions of African-American workers’ socio-economic backwardness in the 1930s. This novel is set during the post-reconstruction era of America, where Jim Crow laws were instituted. Therefore, the analysis of racial distinction in this novel is conducted using Post-Nationalist American Studies and Marxism approach. Therefore, this qualitative research utilizes Althusser’s theories: of Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The findings show how White ideology is depicted and maintained: (1) the depiction of Ideology can be seen through the class distinction and racial dependency in which African-Americans are created to be inferior and submissive to White people. Then, (2) the maintenance of ideology relies on Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatuses, such as religious, family, education, legal, politic, trade union, communication, and cultural institutions, function as an adjunct of the state that perpetuates and preserves White-centered values. Thus, the racially segregated society essentially only supports the needs of White capitalists as the ruling class

Backwardness · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Race, History, and American Society

  • Modernism, Mass Culture, and the Harlem Renaissance

    Jane Kuenz, Jane E Kuenz•Modernism/modernity•2007

  • The Family

    Faith Robertson Elliot•Journal of Law and Society•1989

  • Ambivalent Man

    Jesse Wolfe•African American Review•2000

  • The Family as a Public and Private Institution

    Barbara Laslett•Journal of Marriage and the Family•1973

  • Can Marxism Explain America's Racism

    Sidney M Willhelm•Social Problems•1980

Highly citedNo

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae