• Elham Jalali Karveh

  Author

Myths are one of the most important elements included in the history of not only African-
American lives but also the lives of each and every one of us. Myths are inevitable human
resources at times when no other idea justifies our being. As Barthes posits, for it is human
history which converts reality into speech, and it alone rules the life and the death of mythical
language. Ancient or not, mythology can only have an historical foundation, for myth is a type of
speech chosen by history: it cannot possibly evolve from the 'nature' of things. This study looks
into the significance of "Myths" and their determining roles as semiological systems in August
Wilson's dramatic twentieth century cycle plays; Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and
Gone and The Piano Lesson. In these plays, myths take the forms of individuals, rituals and even
ancestral objects. It can be observed that each one of these elements performs the most
important role in conveying the significance of the African-American psyche and delicately
portrays the eminent influence of ancestral backgrounds in shaping the lives of each character.
The works of scholars such as Roland Barthes, Henry Gates, as well as many more, have been
employed to better grasp this matter.

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