The Uncalled
What is The Uncalled about?
The Uncalled (1898) is Paul Laurence Dunbar’s first novel, a semi-autobiographical story about Freddie Brent, a young man in a small Ohio town who is raised by a strict, religious adoptive parent and pressured into becoming a minister against his true nature. The novel explores the tension between social expectations and individual identity, the hypocrisy of small-town morality, and a young man’s struggle to find his authentic self. Notably, the novel features white characters, reflecting Dunbar’s frustration with being pigeonholed as a "dialect" writer and his desire to address universal themes.
Main themes in The Uncalled
Small-town America
In The Uncalled, small-town america provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Religious conformity
Religious conformity emerges as a defining element in The Uncalled, shaping character development.
Individual identity
The Uncalled thoughtfully explores individual identity through its central conflicts.
Coming of age
In The Uncalled, coming of age provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Why The Uncalled is still relevant today
The Uncalled reveals Dunbar’s ambition to write beyond racial categories, exploring universal themes of identity and social conformity in a small-town American setting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Uncalled about?
A young man in small-town Ohio is pressured into becoming a minister against his nature, struggling between social expectations and his authentic self.
Why does it feature white characters?
Dunbar wanted to prove he could write about universal themes beyond race, pushing back against being pigeonholed as a dialect writer.
Is it autobiographical?
Semi-autobiographical—Dunbar drew on his own struggles with expectations and identity in small-town Dayton, Ohio.
Can I read it free online?
Yes, the complete novel is available free on TextStack.