It has been a very controversial task to evaluate Charles Johnson’s works. Some critics praise him for his contribution to promoting black literature with his neo-slave narratives, while many others criticize him for his betrayal against black nationalism. From Johnson’s perspective, however, the aesthetic concern of literary creation is in accordance with its political concerns. No matter whether we aim to create beautiful art or a just society, we are seeking the same values of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. The moral novel in its real sense should lead readers to clearing up misunderstanding and improving mutual understanding, so as to promote the creation of a harmonious “beloved society”. Such an aim is at once ethical and political, since it intends not only to improve human relationship transcending race, class, color, and nation, but also to bring about a final social change.%约翰逊的小说一直面临很多争议。有人称赞他在新奴隶叙事方面拓宽了黑人文学的美学疆界，也有人批评他背叛了黑人民族主义传统。其实对约翰逊来说，文学创作的美学目的与政治目的是统一的，不管是为了创作美的艺术还是为了更正义的社会，都是对真善美的追求。真正的道德小说应该引领人们消除隔阂、增进了解，为共建一个和谐美好的“友爱社会”创造条件。这样的使命既是伦理的也是政治的，因为它不仅意在改善跨越种族、阶级、肤色和地域的人与人之间的关系，而且渴望最终带来社会改变。
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