Debouis referred to the double consciousness of black people in "The Souls of Black Folks". How does his revelation about this relate to Romanticism? And with the way that he defines his double consciousness, do you think his optimism about over coming it seem possible?
Although at times Debouis can be seen as optimistic, I actually interpreted his writing as a pessimistic outlook on social boundaries between blacks and whites. Dubouis emphasizes the defining moment in a black persons life in which they realize their race and position in society. He goes on to emphasize that the innocence and perception of life seen before this defining moment is lost and cannot be revisited. Writers such as Hurston on the other hand similarly acknowledge the "eye opening" experience however embrace it as a recognition of individuality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris that DuBois's writing was pessimistic, especially when contrasted with the Romantic movement. In many ways, the revelation and resulting double consciousness described by DuBois are the opposite of the Romantic revelation. In contrast with the Romantic revelation, which gives people heightened self-perception and access to the divine, DuBois's revelation is limiting instead of liberating. This is because the revelation causes Dubois to be at odds between his own self perception and how the world, specifically white society, sees him. Although the Romantic movement spoke of revelations in a positive light, they also warned of society's tendency to cause people to feel alienated from their true selves. I think that this aspect of Romanticism is reflected in DuBois's belief that society and racism have led him to become alienated from his true identity as an American.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Sarah in that the writing of DuBois illustrates that the typical Romantic story does not work for blacks. Also, we discussed how the Black writer is not able to say 'I' because there is a split between the outside and the inside. Furthermore I agree that the "The Souls of Black Folk" is pessimistic because the Blacks realize that they can never quite grasp a foothold in the white society.
ReplyDeleteAlthough most of DeBois' writing was pessimistic, he ended on a somewhat optimistic note about the possibility of overcoming the double consciousness.
ReplyDeleteWhile he does provide a little hope, what Yani, Chris, and Sarah are saying can not be ignored. His poems are overall quite pessimistic. The line picked out, "The Souls of Black Folk" is probably the most pessimistic line of DeBois' Poetry. To be define by society rather than defining yourself is tragic to say the least and completely destroys the hope of the Romantic story as Yani, Chris and Sarah stated.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with those beliefs. To me, a large majority of the text came across as extremely pessimistic. Debouis is describing the point in a black person's life where they realize they can not ever be what they want to be. Having these black people's dreams devastatingly die came across rather depressing to me. Not only did their dreams shatter, they also realize that they are not going to be noticed by whites. How could you ever make a name for yourself in society if nobody acknowledges you? And, as Yani mentioned, the Romantic story does not work for blacks. I believe Debouis attempts to make the end of the text seem more optimistic in attempt to make the text come off as motivational to blacks. If i were black and i were to read a text where my kind inevitably reaches a point where their dreams and identities shatter, i would definitely be motivated to change this for my people, which is the reaction Debouis was going for.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Dubouis has very pessimistic view on African Americans' lives with Double Consciousness. Dubouis' idea on how people see a black person and how that black person sees himself or herself are different because white people see black people with prejudice. This idea agrees with Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Ellison says that the society is blind and fails to see African Americans without racial stereotypes. Even though Romanticism's idea of revelation and finding truth through divinity sounds very positive, I agree with Sarah about some negative parts of revelation in Romanticism. Like in Melville's Bartleby, some Romanticism writers illustrated alienation of human beings which could be similar to DuBouis' idea of African Americans' alienation from the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone else has said about DuBois being pessimistic and the Romantic self not being applicable to black people. When I read his essay, I believe that this experience has happened to him, but I don't think that it's unique to African Americans. I think no matter who you are, people have a tendency to prejudge, and not just on race. It's your looks, how you dress, how you speak. Before the civil rights movement, Blacks undoubtedly had it worse than most other groups in America, but I think we need to be careful about thinking that double consciousness applies only to blacks.
ReplyDeleteSarah you said most of his works were pessimistic. this would lead me to beleive that the ability to overcome the double conciseness was not optimistic but pessimistic even if there was an optimistic note near the end.
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