The purpose of this article is to analyse some of the multicultural issues pertaining to the 20th century American literature. Multiculturalism represents a political and philosophical ideology which spread back in the beginning of the 20th century as a means of “voicing” the need to deal with the ethnic and cultural diversity of nations. It started as an official policy and afterwards became a major interest for writers, especially those belonging to specific ethnic groups. The idea of multiculturalism interfered with other social and political issues, such as the feminist orientation, contributing to the development of distinct cultural identities. Multicultural American literature resonates with the hopes and fears of the whole of American history and reflects the rich complexity and variety of the American experience. The confusion over identity, particularly identity centered on ethnicity and gender, informs, complicates and enriches the literature. The present article seeks to reflect these multicultural issues that appear in the 20th century American literature with the help of three important writers from this period: Bernard Malamud with his work “The Magic Barrel”, Alice Walker with her short story “Everyday Use” and William Faulkner with his story “Barn Burning”.