About this title: Tells of the conflict between blacks and whites, and suggests steps to peace that may lead to mutual understanding. First published in 1903.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very Good. Dover, TPB, 1994 reprint edition. Clean, reasonably tight, light wear, no markings, bookstore stickers on spine and cover. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1995-08-01
ISBN-13:9780451526038ISBN:0451526031
Description: Good. Minimal damage to the cover, dust jacket not necessarily included minimal wear to binding, majority of pages undamaged, minimal to no highlighting/underlining of text, no missing p. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Classics
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780451526038ISBN:0451526031
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Clean crisp cover. No markings inside. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 256 p. Signet Classics (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
"Not only do I find Du Bois a good commentator on society, but his writing alone reduces me to a pile of mush. And it's frankly creepy how much his depictions of America after the civil war struck a chord with me--a lot of what he observes still applies to American society today. The following is a passage that turned into a paper for one of my classes: "I held him in my arms, after we had sped far away from our Southern home,--held him, and glanced at the hot red soil of Georgia and the breathless city of a hundred hills, and felt a vague unrest. Why was his hair tinted with gold? An evil omen was golden hair in my life. Why had not the brown of his eyes crushed out and killed the blue?--for brown were his father's eyes, and his father's father's. And thus in the Land of the Color-line I saw, as it fell across my baby, the shadow of the Veil.""
"This book shows Dubois as a smart man. Although this book is informative to what life was like for Black people post-Emancipation, his writing style is really disjointed. He swings from describing the black soul in metaphors to a more textbook sociological way of writing. It makes sense that the book is actually more of independent essays rather than one coherent work of nonfiction.
Having said that, I do enjoy his metaphor of the veil that separates Black men from society and the constant striving that Black people undergo in order to unite two disparate notion of himself, namely, being Black at the turn of the century, and thus condemned to hopelessness and indentured servitude and that of American which is the beacon of hope and the feeling of a better tomorrow in which equality reigns.
I also enjoyed his critic of Booker T. Washington stance as incomplete in the struggle for Negroes. Even though Washington advocated black self-fulfillment through economic development, DuBois argues that it economic development has to be coupled to a political voice in order for Blacks to achieve the representation they need in America.
Another thing I found interesting is what he points out to be the role of Rev. as the defacto chief of the Black voice. Just like in other civilizations in which there is a dispossessed people, it seems that the Negro turn to spiritual leaders as people who can advocate their welfare thus when the Negro was disenfranchised, it was Rev. Martin Luther King who took on the cause of justice. Similarly, India's independence movement started with Ghandi who was also a holy man.
It is also interesting that he talks about the two types of Negros that grow out of a society based on descrimination and one that actively thwarts their ambition. One is the type who becomes a criminal because he seeks to confront the bs and the other is the two-faced politician who excepts the here and now in order to economically thrive but at the expense of showing what he actually is feeling. At the root of both those type is a common denominator of anger and rage at the injustices of their present situation. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man will later echo these two stereotypes one in the incarnation of Ras the destroyer and the other of the Booker T Washington like administrator.
In one story, it shows a person who strove for knowledge but that knowledge made him aware of the prejudice and injustices of the world and because he was open to it, he could never be happy. I wonder if ignorance of prejudicism actually helps people of today since their is a lot more opportunities in today's society than their once was. Maybe people who are ignorant actually do better and are happier in life because they strive more and spend less time thinking about the injustices of the world.
At one point, DuBois talks about Black leaders who mentor their race out of the veil. I hope once Obama is done being president, he will dedicate his post-presidency to empowering Black people and other minority groups by providing a mentoring circle of prominent minorities to their respective youth so it will be finally clear that the US is the ultimate land of opportunity for all its citizens. I would also hope that he will create or support those non-profits who already foster inter-racial dialogue."
"DuBois is honest enough to admit his own shortcomings in this book, so I won't belabor them here. In brief, the first sections on education, the Reconstruction, and social policy are much stronger than the later sections on music and culture. Overall, DuBois strikes me as brilliant and honest, perhaps too honest for his own good. Much of the material and views contained within this book have become normative, but not all. One has to wonder what the author would write today. Unfortunately for this audiobook, sing-song narration spoils the typically crisp writing."
"What have I learned from this book? I have been educated as to this frighteningly factual statement: "The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." No, "The Souls of Black Folk" is not another sympathy lecture to be categorized into the genre of "white guilt" literature. Instead, W.E.B. DuBois has presented an existent problem, and in itself, an existent reality. Originally published at the century's dawn, this captivating nonfictional evaluation digs deeply into the race issue(s) that are oftentimes left unconsidered or ignored by most people of all creeds and colors. DuBois radiantly applies the usage of autobiography, biography, mythology, memoir, poetry, history, economy, philosophy, heritage, and music in order to (only possibly) provide enlightenment for those who are trapped in the dark. "The Souls of Black Folk" ought to remain engraved into literary fame forever, as its flashing passion and cautious objectivity is hauntingly timeless. What is most striking about this novel is that the problem of the Twenty-first Century may still very well be the problem of the color-line, if to a mere lesser extent than previously. What is the solution to this problem? DuBois himself is unsure and he cannot offer any suggestions--only examinations and statistics. My only disliked aspect of "The Souls of Black Folk" is the author's tendency to lose himself outside of the subject rather than within it. Otherwise, the book is riveting and disheartening in ways that make it unforgettable.
While carrying it with me, my edition of this book would gradually dwindle of its binding, leaving behind torn corners, chiseled edges, and blood-speckled bindings. (The blood had been from a papercut one day...) Just as my copy of the novel decayed with irreversible stains and time, much of the hope for the Negro people deteriorated as well. There is still some chance that a solution will be found one day though..."
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