The Souls of Black Folk Analysis Essay Example
Kyle Zimmerman
TRAD 101
Dr. Ijagbemi
November 3, 2010
The Souls of Black Folk Throughout the book “The Souls of Black Folk,” W.E.B. Du Bois portrays what it is meant to be an African American in the twentieth century. Through Du Bois eyes, blacks went through many problems and hardships in their community. One of the main problems with the African American community was the issue of poverty. The “Color line,” as Du Bois mentions, was one of the main issues for all the problems. Du Bois shows the social, economic, and political problems throughout the community, but also gives solutions to many of the problems. The African Americans, during the period of the twentieth century, went through many challenges and hardships. Du Bois used the veil to show how discriminated the African Americans. They were never socially respected throughout their community. The main problem economically, was that the blacks had no land. Without land how are you supposed to make money, when farming was the main source of income of most people at that time? So the white men used tenant farming as a way to give the African Americans a chance. But the problem with tenant farming was that the white men would always get a portion of what the African Americans grew. So by doing this, the white men knew they would have total control of the African American society because they could order them to give them any percentage of what the African Americans made. This always kept the African Americans in debt. But the main source of the problem was the African American community had no political power. Without any political power throughout their society, the white men were able to come up with all of the rules. They could always be in control. While Du Bois showed many problems the African American society, he also offered them many solutions. Du Bois said that the community needs to strive to get civic equality. If they would be able to gain equality, then they would be able to grow as a
TRAD 101
Dr. Ijagbemi
November 3, 2010
The Souls of Black Folk Throughout the book “The Souls of Black Folk,” W.E.B. Du Bois portrays what it is meant to be an African American in the twentieth century. Through Du Bois eyes, blacks went through many problems and hardships in their community. One of the main problems with the African American community was the issue of poverty. The “Color line,” as Du Bois mentions, was one of the main issues for all the problems. Du Bois shows the social, economic, and political problems throughout the community, but also gives solutions to many of the problems. The African Americans, during the period of the twentieth century, went through many challenges and hardships. Du Bois used the veil to show how discriminated the African Americans. They were never socially respected throughout their community. The main problem economically, was that the blacks had no land. Without land how are you supposed to make money, when farming was the main source of income of most people at that time? So the white men used tenant farming as a way to give the African Americans a chance. But the problem with tenant farming was that the white men would always get a portion of what the African Americans grew. So by doing this, the white men knew they would have total control of the African American society because they could order them to give them any percentage of what the African Americans made. This always kept the African Americans in debt. But the main source of the problem was the African American community had no political power. Without any political power throughout their society, the white men were able to come up with all of the rules. They could always be in control. While Du Bois showed many problems the African American society, he also offered them many solutions. Du Bois said that the community needs to strive to get civic equality. If they would be able to gain equality, then they would be able to grow as a