Easy Rawlins’ Identity: a Unique African American Male Detective

Abstract

Using the hardboiled conventions as the narrative framework for his series, Walter Mosley portrays a black detective hero, Easy Rawlins, who goes through a process of discovering his true identity by exploring the nature of being a black male throughout the 1950s and 1960s in America. He displays peculiar characteristics in the way of leading his life and the use of his double consciousness and his abilities as a trickster.

Utilizando el género negro como marco narrativo, Walter Mosley ha creado la figura de un héroe afroamericano, el detective Easy Rawlins, que va descubriendo gradualmente su identidad como hombre negro en las décadas de 1950 y 1960 en Estados Unidos. Rawlins exhibe rasgos únicos en lo que concierne a su estilo de vida, su doble conciencia y sus habilidades como charlatán-estafador.