长达数百年的蓄奴制破坏了黑人民族的文化传统,给他们造成深刻的心理创伤,同时还给今天的美国社会带来很多难题,其中黑人父性的缺失尤为严重。约翰逊在《中间航道》中就关注了这一问题。在他看来,今天的很多黑人就如同小说中的鲁特福德一样,仍然生活在一种难以名状的怨恨与愤怒之中。黑人需要重新了解那段过去,通过回溯中间航道这段历程,化解压抑在无意识深处的创伤情结,才能拥有更美好的未来。
In destroying the culture and tradition of black people, and causing them serious psychological trauma, slavery with its centuries-long history has also significantly impacted contemporary black life in which the absence of black fatherhood cries for urgent attention. In Middle Passage, Charles Johnson addresses the problem and argues that African Americans like Rutherford in the novel are still haunted by hatred and anger. Johnson's novel urges us to rethink the history of the slave trade and reconsider the inhuman middle passage as a way to recover from historical trauma and strive for a better future.