Of Our Spiritual Strivings by Du Bois
Question 1
Du Bois, in the poem “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” how African Americans are alienated by their white counterparts. According to the person, every white American
considers them as different and wonders how to ask the Negros how it feels to be a “problem.” The persona states that he first realized that he was an “Outsider” when a white girl would receive presents from all his peers but refused to accept his gift. The sense of isolation is seen throughout the first chapter, as Du Bois keeps asking himself why God would allow him to be a “problem.” He also wonders why God would create African Amerian and place them as subjects or in the shadow of all other races. According to the persona, African Americans view themselves in the eyes of the whites and realize that they are treated differently in society. They, therefore, decide to deal with the issue differently. In the case of the Du Bois, he declares that he wants to excel in everything that he does, so the community realizes that African Americans were either equal or better than their white counterparts. This was a declaration not to sit back and question God but stand up and fight for his position in society.
The sense of being an outsider is also seen in Hurtson’s work when Zora’s mother dies, and she goes to live with an aunt. She is reminded of her different skin color when some people bring up the story of slavery to her. Like Du Bois, Hurtson also decides to find a way of not getting sad and therefore laughs when she is reminded of her grandfather.
Question 3
Most of the literary works that study in unit two point to an American society that is full of racism. The main argument most of the stories is that discrimination was very rampant in the United States at the time when the books were written. In “Battle Royale,” the grandfather’s last words in his death bed are to encourage the narrator of how tough African Americans have to fight to remain relevant in the eyes of the whites.
The grandfather is convinced that one has to be considered a traitor to fit among the whites. The grandfather considers himself a traitor and wants the narrator also to become a traitor among his own people.
The theme of discrimination is also present in Du Bois’s work when he suggests that African Americans have a sense of “twoness” within them to show that they have several personalities within them. According to Du Bois, African Americans are discriminated to the extent they are constantly looking at themselves in the eyes of the whites and try to live lives that could validate their skin color I before the whites. Du Bois thinks that the whites consider African Americans to be some kind of a problem.
Question 5
Although not mandatory, American Literature II is taught in many colleges because it narrates the events experienced in traditional American society and compares them to the current circumstances. The authors of the literary works used in teaching the course strived to inform the coming generations where America was back then in terms of diversity and coexistence and where it is today. Some of the lessons we learn from the teachings are the effects of racism. Du Bois narrated the events during his childhood when a new white student refused to accept a gift from him and how it made him feel. He ends up concluding that African Americans are a problem that the whites want to figure out how it feels to be a problem. This communicates how diminishing racism was. The author, however, devises a method that he teaches to the readers on how to survive discrimination. According to him, the best way of overcoming discrimination is excelling in everything you do and coming out superior to the perpetrators of racism. In “Battle Royale,” the author uses the grandfather to remind readers that they can still win the war against discrimination by being traitors and not conforming to the ideas of inferiority that have instilled among African Americans. Besides, the author is advised to live with his head in the lion’s head. The grandfather wants the narrator to take risks, interact, and compete with the whites as a survival instinct. The works offer advises on how to overcome societal evils while reminding the potential perpetrators of the consequences of their actions.