Summary Of Virginia Woolf 's ' Mrs. Quot. B. Dubois

W.E.B. Dubois The great African American intellectual W.E.B. Dubois was born in the post-Civil War era. Being born at this time encouraged him to fight for equal rights for blacks. At this time, blacks were still suppressed very greatly. Dubois, having had lived in an all black community, experienced racism first-hand in the North (Donalson, 558).

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois is a influential work in African American literature and is an American classic. In this book Dubois proposes that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." His concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others," have become touchstones for thinking about race in America. In addition to these lasting concepts, Souls offers an evaluation of the progress of the races and the possibilities for future progress as the nation entered the twentieth century.

"Double-consciousness this sense of always looking at one 's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one 's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity" (Dubois, 8). W.E.B. Du Bois had a perfect definition of double-consciousness. The action of viewing one 's self through the eyes of others and measuring one 's soul. Looking at all of the thoughts good or bad coming from others. This is present in the main character of the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. The Absolutely True Diary is about a boy named Junior that is fourteen years old and living on the Spokane Reservation. Junior was born with too

The next aspect of double consciousness consists of the rejection of African Americans by white Americans and institutions. Blacks are forced to live in America, but at the same time, are not considered “true” Americans and are separated by the veil that DuBois talks about. DuBois first feels this rejection when a little girl at his school rejected his card for no reason other than his skin color. He asks, “Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house?” (Dubois 896). He describes opportunities for blacks as “relentlessly narrow, tall, and unscalable to sons of night” (896) giving the impression that a

DuBois’ double-consciousness is quite simply the twoness of American Negroes. It is this sense of “always looking at one’s self through the

naturally endured identity issues. I feel that W.E.B Du Bois’ idea of double consciousness comes

First published in 1979, Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred is a unique novel, which can be categorized both as a modern-day slave narrative, and as a science fiction time-travel tale. In the novel, Butler uses time-travel as a way to convey W.E.B. Du Bois’ theory of double-consciousness. Dubois’ theory is based on the idea that people of color have two identities, both struggling to reconcile in one being. His theory about the complex nature of the African-American experience directly relates to Butler’s use of Kindred’s protagonist, Dana, and her experience time travelling as a modern-day African-American woman, and her experience of a pre-abolition, nineteenth-century slave.

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” (Dubois)

Through his work, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” W.E.B. Dubois takes the reader on a journey through the typical black man’s eyes. He creates a new meaning of the African American man as he shares personal experiences and stories of the past alike. He plays upon the heart strings of every reader, no matter the race, with his literary knowledge of words, use of pathos, and stories of his past experience to pull in emotional ties to his work. The application of dualism allows the reader, who is most commonly white men, to choose a side to sympathize with, for Dubois gives the sense of double consciousness as the African and the American throughout his entire work.

DuBois' mature vision was a reconcilation of the "sense of double consciousness" - the "two warring ideals" of being both black and American. He came to accept struggle and conflict as essential elements of life, but he continued to believe in the inevitable progress of the human race - that out of individual struggles against a divided self and political struggles of the oppressors, a broader and fuller human life would emerge that would benefit all of mankind (Kerry W.).

DuBois’s narration style in the first chapter of Souls of the Black Folk is very familiar, natural, almost as if he is telling you the story himself. He begins the first chapter with the main problem of every black American: the problem of double consciousness, ability to understand two different points of view at the same time. Specifically, to understand what it means to be black and American at the same time. The quote that exemplifies this best reds, “One ever feels two-ness, -an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder (2). I think this idea of double consciousness will continue to be prevalent throughout the entire book. DuBois’s notion of double consciousness consists of being split between “two warring ideals” one “American”, another “Negro;” you must see yourself how a white American might perceive you, which at that time was negative. What also struck me as interesting was the fact that while telling his personal autobiography, DuBois shows how his community shaped him because he lives a life of two parts and it is the color line that divides his life.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an African-American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, co-founder of NAACP, and author of “The Crisis” which is the longest running black publication in the United States. Du bois was born in 1868 in Massachusetts, the same year that the 14th amendment was passed, about five years after the emancipation proclamation, and three years after the American civil war. He graduated with two bachelor’s degree and was the first African-American to receive his PHD from Harvard University. Dubois was also a peace activist who advocated nuclear disarmament, and he was one of the first proponents of race-conflict theory. Du bois work on the idea of “Double-consciousness” attempts to answer: What is it like to be a visible minority in America, especially for those who identify as black or African-American?

It doesn’t take long to figure out that race and ethnicity issues continue to affect America - a quick glance at the news will show the latest riot, hate crime, or police brutality incident. This centuries old struggle has given rise to a number of literary works on the topic, many of which take a different approach to the issue. W.E.B. Du Bois, for instance, published the work The Souls of Black Folk in 1903, arguing for blacks’ right to equality in a horrifically segregated society. In these essays, Du Bois coined the term “double-consciousness,” wherein those with black skin must view the world both from their own perspective, and from the perspective of the predominately white society. The short story Recitatif by Toni Morrison explores this concept through the removal of the characters’ races, and the film Do the Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee, tells a story to demonstrate it. While the former shows double-consciousness through the usage of ambiguity, the latter almost directly references the concept. Taken together, these two sources argue a multi-faceted version double-consciousness, wherein society alienates the characters in ways that go beyond just the color of one’s skin.

DuBois’s purpose is to try to convince people to see blacks as equal to whites, and DuBois largely uses people’s patriotism to make his readers relate and associate with his cause. These appeals to emotion, combined with his strong voice and diction, create an effective argument for equal rights and treatment for all people.

Double Consciousness is when a personal identity is split up into different parts. W.E.B. DuBois came up with the term and sociological theory. For example, a young black man is aware of how he views and feels himself. That same young black man is also aware of how other black people view and how other people from different races view him. The theory of Double Consciousness does not only pertain to men but to women as well. The two books that show double consciousness in action but in different time periods and different genders are, "Passing". “Passing” was written by Nella Larsen deals with the situation of being a black woman that is passing for white and how that affects Double Consciousness in that of a woman who is passing. "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates discuss how double consciousness plays is still apart of everyday life for African Americans in the United States but from the viewpoint of a Black man.