Of Our Spiritual Strivings

Habibat Oguntade
Ap English III
Period 2
Ms Brown

Of Our Spiritual Strivings
In the first chapter of The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. De Bois construes his opinion about the division of African Americans from the rest of American society; their encounters as slaves, as well as the discrimination, anguish and disrespect they had to go through. These individuals were deprived of every imaginable privilege. Freedom especially. Their lives were made miserable by the slave owners who had no mercy on them. The anguish they had to go through seems unimaginable, as no one in these present day can bear what they went through. De Bois shares is own personal experiences and point of views in this piece of literature, creating a mood of sympathy for his audience.
Through their experiences, African Americans realized who they really were. Discrimination was clearly shown to them. They couldn’t do things that the white people did, their opinions died within them as they had no right to make any suggestions or voice out their emotions. They didn’t recall the fact that they were black, until they were being discriminated and segregated . “ The exchange was merry till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card,- refused it peremptorily, with a glance. Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like mayhap, in heart and life and longing ,but shut out from their world by a vast veil to creep through” (Du Bois 44). This quote construes part of social realism, because readers can infer that the speaker is beginning to face reality, as he noticed he is quite different from the people around him and he might be facing some type of social or to be precise, racial discrimination. This kind of man Vs. society conflict generally weakens the individual, and there is always a probability that it will in some areas affect such individual for the rest of their lives.
Despite the fact that things didn’t go well, as they would have wishes, African Americans were able to endure, persevere, and remain as strong as they could, to overcome every obstacle that stood in their way. “ in those somber forest, of his striving is own soul before him, and he saw himself some faint revelation of his own power, of his mission” (Du Bois 49). African Americans suffered a great deal in trying to become better than what they were. Despite all the anguish, disrespect, discrimination and other terrible condition they had faced, they still endured and completely believed in themselves . They would strife hard and never relent on their effort, until they achieved their goals of becoming successful.
Becoming Americanized was difficult for the Africans. It wasn’t easy to eliminate their heritage in order to be accepted by the society. “He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that negro blood has a message for the world” (Du Bois 45). Du Bois wasn’t embarrassed by the fact that he was black. He had pride in his race, and he didn’t feel inferior from the white people . The Africans wanted to keep their own heritage, but at the same time learn what white America had to offer to the Africans, without being submissive and compliant. He believed in his race and was optimistic about his belief that African Americans will become great one day. Obama being the president of the US now, is an example of Du Bois dream that Negro blood has a message for the world.
Du Bois believed that African American should seek for knowledge, and try to leave up to the standard of white people , with the hope that they would become successful, and prove their capabilities to the white people . “It was the deal of ‘book learning’ , the curiosity born of compulsory ignorance to know and test the power of cabalistic letters …..steep and rugged, but leading to heights high enough to overlook life” (Du Bois 49). Du Bois sees education as the best legacy, even though it was a difficult goal to achieve. However it will forever be a great advantage without regrets, to the African Americans.
In conclusion, Du Bois’ strong believe in his race enables him to set high standards for the African Americans. He remained optimistic and believed they could always do better, and reach great heights. He believed they will one day be able to gain superiority over the white people, provided they can work towards it. This goal of fighting for African American right with the means of educating themselves, is a topic that differentiates Du Bois from Booker T. Washington, till this present day.