The Burden of Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running

Abstract

One of the leading works of literature in portraying the social changes of African-American community during the turbulent 1960s is undoubtedly August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. Wilson was a keen observer and recorder of his fellowmen’s development in America. It is only after decades of struggle that, in 1960s, these people seem to gradually establish their identity as true African selves in America. The main purpose of the present article is to survey the struggle of these people in discovering their true selves and establishing their social identity in this land. This systematic study also discovers and points up different factors which are requisite for the burgeoning of all dominated cultures. In this regard, Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory is applied which includes different factors in determining the social identity such as different forms of capital, taste, distinction, and habitus.