Important research has been made on literature of African descent in the American land which shows the diversity of African American literary works. Primarily known as the accounts of slaves or slave narratives, the genre has evolved and gained ground through time. The study of African American literature may be of great interest if one considers the amount of works that pinpoint the African roots of many authors who have dealt with issues related to the lives of black Americans. Considered as prolific and committed, Paule Marshall tries to show how black people, alienated and taken out of their countries of origin are undergoing a process of recover and exploration of their African roots. Through her works of self-consciousness, she highlights the gap left by depersonalization and cultural alienation which she strongly denounces and advocates a return to African past. Paule Marshall's fiction accurately represent African American's alienated behaviour and their reaction to go back to the past and explore their original identity and self assertion.