LEGACIES OF SLAVERY IN THE SWEETNESS OF WATER: A CRITICAL RACE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The present research study provides a critical analysis of Harris’s The Sweetness of Water through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT). Using Frantz Fanon’s theoretical insights on race and colonialism as a guiding framework, the researchers examine how the legacy of slavery is represented and how racial oppression is portrayed in the narrative. A qualitative textual analysis method was employed, involving close reading of the novel’s key passages depict the experiences of recently emancipated African American characters in the post-Civil War American South. The analysis reveals that Harris’s novel vividly illustrates the enduring social and psychological impacts of slavery: Black characters struggle with dehumanization, marginalization, and racial violence even after legal emancipation. At the same time, moments of empathy and interracial solidarity in the story highlight possibilities for healing and social change. Through Fanon’s CRT perspective, the novel’s themes of invisibility, trauma, and resistance are interpreted as reflections of systemic racism embedded in society’s structures and consciousness. The study concludes that The Sweetness of Water offers a nuanced portrayal of slavery’s aftermath, reinforcing the CRT premise that racism is deeply ingrained and persistent, while also suggesting pathways toward recognition of shared humanity. This research contributes to literary scholarship by demonstrating how contemporary fiction can be analyzed with CRT to deepen our understanding of historical racial injustices and their lasting effects.