Fragmentation and Black Consciousness in Amiri Baraka’s The System of Dante’s Hell

Abstract

Amiri Baraka’s The System of Dante’s Hell is a 1965 avant-garde novel that has become one of the most discussed and challenging works of African American literature. The novel depicts the protagonist’s multi-faceted descent into a racialized place of existential hell, which may be seen as similar to the fragmentation of his own self and the harrowing journey towards a new Black consciousness. Through the theoretical lens of the Black Arts Movement and existentialism, the article examines how Baraka is radicalizing Dante Alighieri’s familiar form in order to produce an American hell influenced by systemic racism, cultural alienation, and a deeply rooted and internalized sense of oppression. The novel's non-linear structure, its tangled and random narration, and graphic realism mirror the psychological dilemma of its protagonist, his sexuality, and identity in a hostile white-dominated society. After examining the complex themes, concerning disillusionment over assimilation, the tensions surrounding Black masculinity, and the pain that arises from confronting deeply internalized self-hatred, the paper argues that The System of Dante’s Hell is not merely a representation of suffering, but a necessary excavation of the soul through a brutal encounter with the “system,” which ultimately liberates the protagonist and re-establish their sense of self within the larger societal fabric.