ABSTRACT
The previous chapter demonstrates the application of an Afrocentric critical theory that uses Afrikan survivals in the analysis of the focal novels and a sample of other contemporary African American texts. As a genre of expression, the Black novel has not been a static entity. Its development continues and expands, revising both Western canonical texts and African American literary patterns. The contemporary African American novel crosses old boundaries, creates new opportunities for creative expression and merges diverse cultural heritages. This research documents and explicates one of the stages, emergent myths, and proposes a methodology for explicating the Afrocentric nature of recent texts. As Cross and Thomas suggest about the psychology of the Black personality, and as Gates proposes about the development of Black critical perspectives, the thematic content in Black writing also undergoes developmental change.
