Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory- Postmodern Tales of Slavery in the Americas From Alejo Carpentier to Charles Johnson

This study analyzes the postmodern aesthetics common to seven tales of slavery from the USA, Martinique and Guadeloupe, Cuba and Columbia. The texts range from Alejo Carpentier's "El reino de este mundo" (1949) to Toni Morrison's "Beloved" (1987).



Unlike 19th century slave narratives, many recent novel-like texts about slavery deploy ironic narrative strategies, innovative structural features, and playful cruelty. This study analyzes the postmodern aesthetics common to seven tales of slavery from the United States, Martinique, and Guadeloupe, Cuba, abd Colombia from authors including Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Barnet, Toni Morrison, and Charles Johnson.