HW 2/25

Du Bois talks about how people do not directly say to him, “How does it feel to be a problem?”. But that is what white people mean when they talk to him. He talks about when he was younger how a girl refused his card, and he realized it was because he was different. He realized that the world of opportunities was only for white people, and that he would have to fight to gain his place in the world. He talks about how the history of African Americans is strife. And, how they wish for the opportunity of self-development without be looked down upon. He talks about how even though they are free from slavery, they are not really living in freedom. He talks about their desire for freedom during the war, and the Ku Klux Klan era. And, then finally there was hope of liberty with the fifteenth amendment and they finally got the right to vote. However, their votes were suppressed and ballot boxes were stuffed. And then there was a second decade of their freedom. The African American’s spiritual striving is for freedom. This essay really helps the reader understand the African American’s point of view. This essay is story like and is full of pathos. The reader can really feel the emotion and the desire for freedom. Du Bois wanted people to really understand how African American’s felt, he did this through storytelling and talking about their history. The issue is that African Americans are still looking for true freedom. The audience is white Americans, he wants them to know African Americans’ perspective and desires. The audience can also be fellow African Americans, because this essay gave a voice to what they were feeling.