JJMLL » JJMLL Issues

 

 Jordanian Journals
Home
Editorial Board
International Advisory Board
Scope and Description
Manuscript Submission
Manuscript Organization  
Publication Ethics  
Copyright  
Offprints  
Disclaimer  
JJMLL Issues  
Contact Address

 

      

     
   

The Burden of Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running

  

 

Abstract

 

One of the leading works of literature in portraying the social changes of African-American community during the turbulent 1960s is undoubtedly August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. Wilson was a keen observer and recorder of his fellowmen’s development in America. It is only after decades of struggle that, in 1960s, these people seem to gradually establish their identity as true African selves in America. The main purpose of the present article is to survey the struggle of these people in discovering their true selves and establishing their social identity in this land. This systematic study also discovers and points up different factors which are requisite for the burgeoning of all dominated cultures. In this regard, Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory is applied which includes different factors in determining the social identity such as different forms of capital, taste, distinction, and habitus.

Keywords: August Wilson, Sociology, Pierre Bourdieu, Capital, Taste, Distinction, Habitus.

Authors: Fazel Asadi Amjad , Fatemeh Torki Baghbaderani

Doi: https://doi.org/10.47012/jjmll.15.4.15

 

Cited by: Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures (JJMLL) 2023, 15 (4): 1399-1412

 

Full text

 

References

Bebbington Anthony. 2007. Social Capital and Development Studies II: Can Bourdieu Travel to Policy? Progress in Development Studies 7 (2): 155–62. citeseerx.ist.psu.edu.

 Bhalerao, E. B. 2011. August Wilson’s Ten-play Cycle: A Socio-Economic and Cultural Study. PhD diss., Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. <https://www.researchgate.net /publication/340535480_AFRICAN_AMERICAN_EXPERIENCES_IN_AUGUST_WILSON%27S_PLAY_King_Hedley-_II>.

Bogumil, Mary L. 1999. Understanding August Wilson. USA: South Carolina Press. <https://www. jstor.org/stable/3185510>.

Bouacida, Soumaya. 2021. Childhood is “not a story to pass on”: Trauma and Memory Paradox in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child. Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures 13 (3): 399-410. https://journals.yu.edu.jo/jjmll/Issues/vol13no32021/2.html.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1984. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. Translated by Richard Nice. USA: Harvard University Press.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Translated by Richard Nice. USA: Cambridge University Press.

Critical Analysis & Historical Context. sites.google.com. https://sites.google.com/view/twotrainsrunning-dramaturgy/context-analysis/critical-analysis-historical-context.

Green, Omiyemi. 2020. Risa Thomas: A ‘Cultural Flashpoint’ Representative of the Dramatic Journey of Two Trains Running. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History 6 (2). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5323/48577807.

Li, Yanghua. 2018. August Wilson’s Presentation of Interracial Movements in 1960s. English Language Teaching 11 (6): 41-46. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1179242.pdf.

McCormick, Stacie. 2017. August Wilson and the Anti-spectacle of Blackness and Disability in Fences and Two Trains Running. CLA Journal 61 (1-2): 65-83. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/779375/pdf.

Murdock, Graham. 2010. Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction: a Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. International Journal of Cultural Policy 16 (1): 63-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 10286630902952413/.

Sasa, Ghada. 2012. To Forget or not to Forget: The Dilemmas of Denver in Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature 4 (2): 91-98. https://journals.yu.edu.jo/jjmll/.

Shannon, Sandra G. 1996. The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson. USA: Howard University Press.

Sulkunen, Pekka. 1982. Society Made Visible: On the Cultural Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. Acta Sociologica 25 (2): 103-115. https://journals.sagepub.com/.

Tyndall, Charles. 2002. August Wilson’s Play Cycle: A Healing Black Rage for Contemporary African Americans. PhD diss., repositories.lib.utexas.edu.

Walker, Melonnie. 2019. Dramaturg Interview: Soyica Colbert on Two Trains Running. August Wilson Journal 1.

Wilson, August. 1990. Two Trains Running. New York: A Dutton Book.

 

Copyright © 2006-2022. All Rights Reserved, Yarmouk University