Between the Reservation and Me: Race Identity in the Works of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sherman Alexie

Abstract

I will be analyzing the works of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sherman Alexie, primarily as these works relate to how both authors tackle the issue of racial identity, as well its affect on their writing. In order to accommodate the requirements of an English Studies thesis, I will be discussing the themes of race identity in the writing of these two authors across two mediums each: one primarily textual and one primarily visual. I will also be looking at how their discussion of identity changes from the textual to visual medium. In the case of Ta-Nehisi Coates, I will predominantly be looking at his prose, specifically his seminal book Between the World and Me and how the author tackles race identity and race relations. Finally, to move to the more visual medium, I will be analyzing themes of race and identity in Coates' take on the Marvel Comics superhero Black Panther in Coates' Black Panther (2016), Black Panther: World of Wakanda, and Black Panther and the Crew. Sherman Alexie is arguably the most influential American Indian writer in history. His writing is nearly always grounded in issues of race and identity, specifically as an American Indian in contemporary America. I will first be looking at his fiction writing, including his short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. I will be analyzing Alexie's feature length script Smoke Signals, the first all-Indian movie, which is based on his collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. I will be looking at the script as a piece of visual literature and comparing it to his fiction as it relates to identity, as well as how his portrayal and discussion of race and identity change to fit the visual medium.