ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the representation of African American women in literary texts. Since literature is predominantly mirrored by the society it reflects male pursuits and their points of view. Women rarely found space and voice in this male dominant world. The historical labeling of African Americans as slaves has given them a substandard status, a gift they received from White Americans. Geneva Smitherman opines that this double consciousness is a result of Push-Pull syndrome. The enslavement of the African Americans was so brutal, harsh and barbaric that it reflected a pervading misconception that the Blacks were not only less than humans but were often classed alongside mules and other animals of labour.
