Book excerpt: How far has the American Dream been accessible to black characters in African American literature? The answer to this question requires a deep probing of the emotional and ideological patterns delineated in Black American narratives. This book traces the African American journey from the plantation to the power dome through multiple socio-artistic perspectives of Black American authorship. It captures numerous referential inventions ranging from the ‘colored’ to the ‘Black American,’ while throwing light on the transforming status of America’s Native Son, the marked visibility of its Invisible Man, and endless aspirations hovering Just Above My Head. This book highlights how these narratives—despite their authors being fundamentally different in their respective approaches—are connected to each other.