Souls of Black Folk

¶ … 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 were put into bondage by the European colonizers in the early 17th to 18th centuries. The history of the glorious black American race is followed hereafter by a discussion of the enslavement of the race, wherein Africans were transported to America to serve as workers and servants to the European-descent inhabitants of the 'New World' (America). The author further extends his discussion and analysis by studying the long history of enslavement, the lives and experiences of black American slaves in America.

In discussing these issue, Du Bois touches on the concept of "double-consciousness," portrayed as an ideology where the life of the black American is full of paradoxes, or contradictions, that hinder his/her development and achieving freedom from foreign control and bondage. The author describes the phenomenon of double-consciousness as follows: "... The Negro... gifted with a second-sight in this American world, -- a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world." This assertion is loaded, since it implies a social problem not confronted openly by both the American and black American communities -- that is, the black Americans' bondage to American rule and control results to an alteration of the social realities of the individual (black American), where his/her perception of the "self" is heavily influenced by the way American society treats them.

Du Bois traces the origin of this phenomenon, looking closely at the social conditions that prevailed and caused the 'alteration' of social realities to occur. Historically, the black American race is a glorious one, tracing its history from the early Egyptian civilization -- "the shadow of a mighty Negro." In America, the black American race failed to become mighty and glorious; instead, the black American spirit wavered from weakness to strength to weakness once again. This is because poverty and social repression are primary factors that suppress the individual's (black American) right to become an active member of the American society. Thus, because they were socially repressed, black Americans learned to cope and survive their realities by conforming to the ideals of the society -- that is, how the society perceives the black American must also be the black American's ideal perception of his/her self.