The Negro Dramatist's Image of the Universe, 1920-1960

Here, Turner discusses Negro dramatists' image of the universe through their depictions of the hero, their attitude toward education and the North, and their representations of Negro society. Examining a wide range of drama from the 1920s to the 1960s, he displays a change over time in Negro drama's image of the universe that represents the maturing of the Negro dramatist to a "standard- conscious, accurate painter." He argues that Negro dramatists' representations of various facets of their universe, from the protest dramas of the 1920s-30s to the more contemporary works of the 1950s, become more objective and that their attitudes become less constrained as the need for protest diminishes. Implicitly suggesting that readings of Negro drama should recognize Negro drama in relationship to its American context, his examination includes reference to early American dramas such as Royall Tyler's comedy The Contrast (1787). Turner reads Negro drama in relationship to early American plays such as Tyler's to show, for example, that the Negro dramatist's attitudes toward education are linked to an anti-intellectual impulse characteristic of American society as a whole and are not attitudes isolated in Black society. In his reading, the changes in Negro dramatists' imaginings of their universe are connected to the general American culture and highlight the changing social standing of the Negro artist. The Negro dramatist, he concldes, is becoming more individualistically centered as Negro artists gain social standing and are no longer compelled to regard themselves as spokesmen for the race.