¶ … Darkwater: Voice From Within the Veil, by W.E.B Du Bois. Specifically, it will discuss the philosophy behind the book, and what Du Bois was trying to convey to his readers.
DARKWATER have seen the human drama from a veiled corner, where all the outer tragedy and comedy have reproduced themselves in microcosm within" (Du Bois 483).
Many people consider W.E.B. Du Bois to be one of the most influential African-Americans to work and write before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Written in 1920, "Darkwater" has become a classic in African-American non-fiction. He believed Africans should govern themselves and argued seriously for the end of colonial rule in Africa. Many of the essays in this book also carry this central theme.
Colonies, we call them, these places where "niggers" are cheap and the earth is rich; they are those outlands where like a swarm of hungry locusts white masters may settle to be served as kings, wield the lash of slave-drivers, rape girls and wives, grow as rich as Croesus and send homeward a golden stream (Du Bois 505).
However, "Although Darkwater as a volume was sparked by the intersection of African anti-colonialism and the American struggle for racial justice during the war, those concerns and several of Du Bois's original essays dated from earlier years" (Du Bois 482).
Another central theme to the work is the role of black women in the economy of racial oppression, and several essays plead for the elevation of black women in black society, and point out how oppressing the women only succeeds in oppressing the race. Mingled with these sober and often disturbing themes are essays celebrating beauty and the richness of life, and lyrical poetry celebrating God, nature, and love. These different types of writing succeed in making the book a collage of serious and sundry themes, making it infinitely more readable and enjoyable to the reader.
Du Bois writes...
Souls of Black Folk: a Call for Ultimate Liberation Published in 1903, Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois remains to be one of the most important and a pioneering book on political, economic, social, and cultures lives of African-Americans in America. It is a collection of autobiographical and other essays by Du Bois that touch upon a variety of issues, including slavery, racism, liberation, history of African-Americans, and the
Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois The Theme of Double-Consciousness in The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois In his literary work, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois discusses the history of the enslavement and struggle of black Americans in the American society for years. In this essay, Du Bois talks about the glorious history, and gradual decline of the black American race as they
Souls of Black Folks In the book The Souls of Black Folks, author W.E.B. Dubois writes about the disparages in the treatments of southern blacks. Throughout the work Dubois discusses the various issues that require attention and the policies in the United States which require reformation in order to create equality in the races. African-Americans of the south deserved the right to vote, a decent and equal education, and above
He thus rejects Afrocentrism as a fundamental political act of self-definition by American Blacks along with the term as an African Diaspora to describe slavery, given that the slave trade dispersed members of Black tribes in Africa and in other areas of the Western world. Black Americans, once again, have produced a unique cultural legacy and suffered unique historical injustices, as distinct from the injustices of colonialism. Also, even
" The author characterizes the obsession with whiteness and the immorality that it inspires in the treatment of blacks as being (ironically) responsible for the "shriveling and dying" of white souls. He also describes how as a black person, he has an unfiltered view into the naked truth of the character of many white people. Since white people regard blacks as completely inconsequential, they routinely suspend their normal efforts to compose
Black Bottom August Wilson introduces the importance of Christianity in African-American lives, especially in the characters of Toledo, Cutler, and Levee in the play "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." This play is not overtly about religion, but it is about the African-American experience and cultural identity. Religion plays a major role in the personal and collective identities of African-Americans. Christianity has an ambiguous and paradoxical position within African-American culture. As the religion
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now