The Consequences Of Reflection InBlack Skin, White Masks?

De Beauvoir translates the idea of the Veil that Du Bois presents in The Souls of Black Folk in a way that applies to the oppression of women. Du Bois defines the Veil as the greatest problem to the liberation of black people because of the mental oppression it defines. The Veil symbolizes the way the black people see themselves through the white race’s perspective which causes self-hatred and a belief of inferiority to the white race. When arguing the cause of this mental oppression Du

W.E.B. Du Bois has contributed greatly to contemporary sociological thinking because he began a conversation of what it means to be “other” in this American Society. In his conversation of what it means to be other he constructed and included three major concepts that continue to resonate till this day. His concepts include “the color-line”, “the veil”, and the “double consciousness” (Appelrouth and Edles, 269). Together, these concepts not only described past experiences of blacks in American society (e.g., slavery) but also continue to remind us that the relation of whites and people of color remains complex. In Du Bois’s own words, “the Nation has not yet found peace from its sins” (273).

He wants his readers to imagine the pain and humiliation of the ill treatment that African Americans endure on a daily basis. King writes of vicious mobs lynching people’s mothers and fathers, policemen killing people’s brothers and sisters, a man and his wife not receiving the proper respect they deserve because of their skin color, and the notion that African Americans feel insignificant within their communities; this is why these peaceful demonstrators of whom the clergymen attack “find it difficult to wait” (King, 20). However, King believes that soon, injustice will be exposed, like “a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up” (King, 30). This vivid description helps arouse an emotional response, driving shame into the hearts of his white readers.

DuBois's story "The Veil" shows a concept that is visible on many levels. The veil can be seen as the literal darker skin of the black people, which is an easy way to identitify any race from any other race. This physical trait allows for discrimination solely because it is the easiest thing to point out. The veil also explores the idea of the White's lack of acceptance of Blacks as Americans, let alone "real" Americans. The veil also covers the notion of the Blacks' inability to see themselves outside of what America (White Americans) had described them as.

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.

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

W.E.B. DuBois, in The Souls of Black Folk describes the very poignant image of a veil between the blacks and the whites in his society. He constructs the concept of a double-consciousness, wherein a black person has two identities as two completely separate individuals, in order to demonstrate the fallacy of these opinions. J.S. Mill also describes a certain fallacy in his own freedom of thought, a general conception of individuals that allows them to accept something similar to DuBois’ double-consciousness and perpetuates the existence of the veil.

The oppression of certain groups of people is nothing new. These oppressed groups tend to be looked at as different because of their physical features and/or cultural background. Many efforts to improve the lives of the oppressed have been achieved, but there is still a long way to go. These oppressed groups consist of women and different ethnic groups which have had to deal with being pushed around by the white man throughout history. Frantz Fanon deals with his experience as a black man in the French colony of Martinique. Simone de Beauvoir speaks about her experience as a woman in the French mainland. Both authors assert the idea that the man, in particular the white man, sets himself as the superior being that defines what it is to be human and views women and blacks or minorities as the “Other”.

This theme helps illuminate how black people came to be treated in America both when slavery existed and beyond into today’s society. The theme that black people are disposable bodies within American society. Because of the tradition of treating black people as objects or whose value strictly came from their ability to make profit, the idea of what it means to be black in America is imbedded in the danger of losing one’s body. Although slavery has ended, the racism remains as a violence inflicted on black people’s bodies. Coates is more than happy to emphasize that racism is an instinctive practice.

In Dubois (1903) “The Soul of Black Folk” the ideas of double consciousness and the veil affect blacks. A veil is a piece of clothing that conceals a face. The veil is figurative and is presented in the film through Buggin outs questions Sal of the wall of fame. Even though it’s Sal’s pizzeria Buggin out raises a great point. Buggin out tells Sal that the clientele he attracts are black folk. While black folk are the majority of the customers they should have a say on the wall of fame. The veil is to conceal the importance of blacks. To Sal and his sons blacks are not important enough to put on the wall. The community is diverse but Sal’s son Pino view blacks with hate and resentment. Pino views blacks as apes and animals not people. Another example of the veil can be the conversation Mookie has with Pino. Mookie criticizes Pino for constantly critiquing blacks and questions his favorite entertainers. Pino’s

Moreover, they assert racism as not just a surface level issue which affects how people are perceived but it also invades the body and mind of those experiencing prejudice (Garcia & Sharif, 2015). From police brutality to higher levels of poverty, the black community appears to be under attack or forgotten altogether. Their suffering did not start recently. Years upon years of unequal and unethical treatment have been heavily documented. Nevertheless, many appear to believe racism is dead (Sue et al., 2007). According to Garcia and Sharif (2015), this could not be farther from the truth. In fact, they argue the societal structures which promote racism also restrict the black community from reaching optimal health (Garcia & Sharif, 2015). These structures were not formed overnight, and it is foolish to think they will be rebuilt quickly. Nevertheless, Garcia and Sharif (2015) implore their readers to begin this work

Double consciousness refers to the struggle of living on the black side of the veil and defining oneself through the perspective of white society -- a society that rejects the combined aspects of being both black and American. These conditions create an identity crisis for black men and women. W.E.B. Du Bois describes this crisis in the following way: “The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, -- this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost (DuBois 1903).” The root of the problem is a lack of self-consciousness or self-definition. Thus, this essay will focus on the characters within Sula that exemplify

The veil, was something that really stood out to me after reading chapters 1-3. Du Bois explained the veil as, the way African-Americans dealt with social relations in the United States. In other words, although you might be African American you are subject to have another identity: the identity of a person of a black man or woman, which he or she cannot extent him or herself. A black person in the United States, does not carry only one identity, but two conflicting identities that can never be separated from each other. As a child my parents always told me be on my best behavior out in public. I was not a loud to touch anything if we went to the store, but to only stand next to my mother and be quite. Well once I finished chapters 1-3 it

Anger, resentment, and frustration continually build in society creating the need for a collective catharsis, so society vents its accumulated aggressive energy. In White Skin, Black Masks, Frantz Fanon discusses the trauma of colonialism and the societal need for a collective catharsis to release negative energy as result of tension between blacks and whites. He utilizes the work of Carl Jung’s collective unconscious, but he wishes to notion and apply beyond the psychological realm. Fanon feels that the collective unconscious that it has an acquired culture taste that has become present in society. Thus, the archetype of seeing the black man as evil in European society became absorbed into society and was passed down for generations, which created a number of stereotypes. Fanon explores a common stereotype regarding a black man’s reproductive organ and its size, which would scare a white man. Therefore, society tries to counter balance these fears—which are illustrated through stereotypes—and the emotion and guilt are released through the collective catharsis. However, Fanon’s work fails to move beyond colonial examples in relation to the collective catharsis, which hinders his theory for a modern audience. Therefore, this essay will explore will examine the issue of blacks and crime in relation to prison sentencing to push Fanon into the modern period. Thus, we will explore Fanon’s theory of the collective catharsis and the black man as a phobogenic subject. Than we

Frantz Fanon’s, Black Skin, White Masks provides an account of the detrimental effects of colonization and racism for the black psyche. He depicts through the personal retelling of traumatic objectification and through analysis of the productive and reproductive effects of collective catharsis a situation of a social psychosis. According to Fanon, there is something unambiguous about the situations of colonialism and racism that affect the black man, the nightmares that repeat colonial trauma and violence. However, Fanon discusses a specific type of trauma – colonial subjugation – which results in the black man’s “self-division” of his “two dimensions” It is in this text that he explicates the process of racialization as a painful and