Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
W.E.B. DU BOIS' 'ON BEING CRAZY' - A REVIEW
On Being Crazy' is Du Bois' reminisces of his experiences with the 'crazy' whites, mindlessly fanatic against the ideals of social equality. With a tinge of satire, Du Bois brings out the irrationality of racism, juxtaposing it against the rationality of seeing things with reference to their immediate significance, convincing a rational mind of the craziness of racism. Understanding and appreciating the essence of 'On Being Crazy,' would be comprehensive only with an introduction of the author, his principles, ideals and social standing. With his prophetic affirmation that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line," W.E.B. Du Bois challenged the nineteenth-century racial theories. He was branded a threat to national security after World War II by the U.S. administration for his relentless criticism of racism. Yet the post-racist American society considers him the country's most inspiring African-American intellectual.
On Being Crazy' is Du Bois' satirical stab at the white chauvinism. The genius of Du Bois comprehends the power of satire in addressing issues that would otherwise be very difficult to address. 'On Being Crazy' starts with Du Bois seating himself among whites in a restaurant to satiate his hunger, when his table companions...
I wish to eat." To the 'crazy' whites' suggestion that his actions meant social equality he says humorously: " Nothing of the sort, sir, it is hunger." Later at the theatre when the lady frowns at him that he was 'not wanted' there, his reason rubs against the white intolerance again as he replies "I certainly want the music, and I like to think the music wants me to listen to it" implying that to be the only and necessary reason of him being there. To lady's observation that 'it is social equality' he resolves, "This is the second movement of Beethoven's fifth symphony." [Du Bois, 2000 p. 548] With uncomplicated, sensible replies, bearing significance to the real and immediate circumstances, Du Bois shrugs off the white irrationality, his humor and intellect appealing and influencing the reader's sense of humanism. His intellect only seeks solution to the immediate and real problems affecting mankind such as hunger, rest, pleasure etc. He is blase about establishing social equality, for me it has to be naturally so. It is unnatural and irrational to think that one man is inferior to another.
As the narration proceeds, the satire in Du Bois' criticism gains force. And adopting such literary devices as metaphors, his remarks assume the veracity of a true reformer. His allegorical remark to the hotel clerk, when he says, "This is a white hotel," that "Such a color scheme requires a great deal of cleaning" [Du Bois, 2000 p. 548], yet he would not object is more revealing and notched than his earlier simple and subtle reckonings. However his undemanding humor continues to entice the readers through his gentle reply that he wouldn't either want social equality, what he wants is a bed to rest. His criticism is cutthroat with his straight remark: "I call it barbarism" when denied of a sleeper, as it signifies social equality, which the society would not approve of. The…
Reference
WE.B. Du Bois, "On Being Crazy," The Conscious Reader, 8/E Ed. Caroline Shrodes, Harry Finestone and Michael Shugrue. Pub: Longman, 2000
We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honor black women and men who have made their distinct contributions to our history." (Garvey1, 1) Taken in itself and absent the implications to African repatriation that we will address hereafter, this is a statement which seems to project itself upon both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, mutually driven as they would
The oil spill in North Carolina caught her attention along with the fact that "Forty-one states send [toxic] waste to Emelle, Alabama, where 86% of the population is African-American" (Kaplan, p. 378). The skill that Burwell showed in pushing the issue that there was clearly a strategy to place dangerous toxic waste dumps -- that give off cancer-causing PCBs -- in areas where minorities lived was impressive. "Dollie, determined
He simply cannot escape these expectations. So, when Robert DeNiro takes on a comedic role, such as the role of the potential father-in-law in Meet the Parents, the moment he comes on the screen, the audience is aware that he is Robert DeNiro, in addition to the character that is being portrayed. Therefore, his character can do things that other characters could not. Who but Robert DeNiro could portray
Without a doubt, the behavior of the basketball stars in the nineties heightened the reputation of the African-American community, and brought basketball into mainstream prominence. They proved their black masculinity through both leadership and statesmanship, and paved the road for the players of today's NBA. Despite the exceptional standards that the players of the nineties set, the basketball culture in the new millennium seems to differ drastically. The Kobe generation
Diversity Exercise 5: Population Survey It was in October 1997 that the Office of Management and Budget or the OMB announced that the standards for the gathering of federal data on race and ethnicity in the United States of America would be changed from thenceforth, and that the minimum categories for race would be form then onwards, divided into the following categories: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African-American; Native
... Poor Catholic poor-white crazy woman, said the black folks' mouths" (8). But throughout the novel, it is factual treatment of race that dominates any emotional construction of race. The central problem of identity in Cane is grounded in lack of acceptance of what has universally existed i.e. polarities. In the 1920s, writers like Toomer embraced a new kind of racial identity i.e. repudiation of race itself that emerged from accepting