Some questions to keep in mind as you read Du Bois and Chesnutt: What kind of a text is The Souls of Black Folk? How and why does Du Bois combine autobiography, non-fiction, and other forms? What does Du Bois mean by “double consciousness”? How does this idea describe the situation faced by African Americans (then or now)? Is it applicable, to some degree, to other groups of people as well? What does the image of the veil suggest about the notion of race as a category of identity? How does Chesnutt’s fiction demonstrate Du Bois’s idea of “double-consciousness”? How does Mr. Ryder’s dilemma metaphorically represent the choices faced by African Americans? How does Chesnutt use dialect and vernacular storytelling (compared to, say, Twain)?
February 21, 2008 at 11:52 am
I find it very interesting that Chesnutt uses a dialect similar to that of Twain for the “coloreds” (as they are referred to) in “The Goophered Grapevine.” Being a Negro himself, I did not expect him to use the vernacular method of storytelling, especially after reading the first three paragraphs of the story which hold rather normal conversational language. In Twain’s writing, he wants the character of Jim to seem ignorant, and, although I found it strange, I suppose that was Chesnutt’s goal as well. The reason for writing about his own race in this manner must have been either to appeal to an audience or to show how the treatment the African Americans received made them ignorant. Any ideas?
February 21, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I think Du Bois double consciousness is born of the combination of the American ideal with the reality of the black situation. The rights and liberties perscribed by the American ideal were and may still be in conflcit with the actual situation of black Americans. This condition formed a double conciousness; leaving black Americans inspired by the liberty and prosperity offered by the American ideal while simultaneously facing the despairity of being second class citizens due to their race. This dyanmic is especially harrowing in a country which proclaims to consider all men equal. Chessnutt’s work expounds this idea, particularly “The wife of my youth”, which depicts a man striving to assimilate American culture, but who ultimately cannot seperate himself from his “dark” past either in his eyes or the eyes of society. African American then becomes a sort of contradiction; the state of being African automatically bars one from being American so what notion of African American can exist.
February 24, 2008 at 11:59 am
I think that one can rightly argue that Chesnutt also uses a “double consciousness.” In the “Goophered Grapevine,” Julius is aware of his “Negro” heritage as recognizes those who have slaved away in the vineyards throughout history for white masters. Furthermore, he fulfills the role as he is portrayed as a foolish character with a uneducated southern dialect. Yet, he also fulfills the American dream by seeking out his fortune, working from rags to riches. He comes about it unjustly through trickery and lies, but was not slavery also unjust? I enjoyed the way in which the African Americans in this short story seemed to have the upper hand. They snuck away with the grapes and snuck away with the vineyard–until the narrator insisted on purchasing it despite the conjury. The white American prevails in the end despite the prior success and hard work of the African American. Julius assimilated by consuming himself with the American dream; yet, America stole it back.
March 4, 2008 at 10:16 am
In Chesnutt’s “The Wife of His Youth”, double conciousness is evident in the character Mr. Ryder. Mr. Ryder realizes his status as a ‘negro’ and knows that if he wants to marry Ms. Dixon he will have to give up his African American heritage and assimilate to the American way. One instance that portrays his double conciousness is the scene where he looks into the mirror and sees himself as “the other.” This “otherness” is the essence of double conciousness that Chesnutt inserts in the story and is what Mr. Ryder realizes he must be put aside in hopes of marrying a white woman.
March 4, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Chesnutt used dialect and vernacular heavily in “The Goophered Grapevine.” On a personal note, I found the story a bit difficult to read due to the fact that it was almost completely told by the “venerable-looking colored man.” The dialect presented a challenge to me as a reader. Like Twain, Chesnutt made it obvious through his use of dialect/vernacular that the African Americans of that era were uneducated and subordinate to whites. The language in “The Goophered Grapevine” is interesting since Chesnutt is an African American himself. He nevertheless uses dialect to portray his own people as more ignorant than whites, adhering to the inferior status that African Americans still struggle against to this day. In that way, the story relates to Du Bois’s idea of “double consciousness,” because although slavery had been abolished by the time “The Goophered Grapevine” was published, and African Americans had some rights as citizens, they still struggled – as Du Bois wrote, “One ever feels his two-ness, –an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”
March 7, 2008 at 1:47 am
I think that Mr. Ryder’s dilemma greatly represents the troubles that African American’s face. Especially in that time African American’s struggled so hard to make themselves be seen as equals and Mr. Ryder at least has a chance to pass as a white man and yet he choses his past. All through the story I couldn’t understand what the point was and why this random woman was talking to him, but as soon as he looked at his face in the mirror I knew who he was. I also couldn’t understand how the woman didn’t recognize him after she goes on and on about how she could pick him out in any crowd. That was pretty ironic. I guess since Mr. Ryder looked so white and could practically pass for a member of the Blue Society, the thought probably never crossed her mind. I greatly admire him for going back and telling her the truth in front of all his high society friends because even though he could have walked away, sealed the marriage with Ms. Dixon and had been considered ‘white,’ he chose the higher rode to be with the woman who loved him enough to search for him all those years. No doubt the road would have been easier for him in society and with opportunities had he ignored her, but he decided to present himself to his friends and let them know exactly who he is and the bride of his youth.
March 25, 2008 at 8:32 pm
As in response to Judy. I was also confused Chesnutt’s choice of language. i could understand him speaking out against that type of languange being used at all. if he was trying to make a point by being sarcastic he should have made it more obvivious because to me it just seemed demeaning.
April 30, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I don’t know if Mr. Ryder’s choice of language was used improperly in “Wife of my Youth.” I think that the type of language was used to show how Mr. Ryder was maybe becoming accustomed to the new “culture” of the time. It was almost as he was seeing himself as someone different that what he really was. The dialect was hard to read at times, but I think that it kind of foreshadowed more to come when the woman appeared at his door. I really liked the ending to the book, but at the same time I’m not so sure Mr. Ryder was confident in the decision of where he belonged. However, he came clean with his heritage and ended up with the woman who never stopped loving him. Double consciousness is present through the whole story, but I think this is what makes the story interesting, yet difficult to read.
April 30, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I believe that Du Bois uses his autobiography and other non fiction sources in order to strengthen his argument and claim. Giving true accounts of an event strengthens any piece of writing and what area of study. Du Bois’ double consciousness refers to the situation of African Americans living in America. It was hard to be an African American living in America. African Americans did not have the same rights as other people living in America. This is why it was hard to live in America. Du Bois clearly states what African Americans need. “Work, culture, liberty,– all these we need, not signly but together, not successively but together, each growing and aiding each, and all striving toward that vaster ideal that swims before the Negro people, the ideal of human brotherhood, gained through the unifying ideal of Race. . .” (900) Du Bois strove for unifying the races together. This situation that the African Americans faced were the same for other people, including the immigrants who moved to America. I believe that these issues are still present with us today and they will always be. Even though long strides have been made, these issues will always be present.
May 1, 2008 at 10:53 am
I don’t know about anybody else, but I was totally not expecting the old lady to be Mr. Ryder’s wife. I know that the title is “The Wife of his Youth” and all, but he spent most of the story talking about how he wanted to marry Ms. Dixon, all the while knowing that he was married. I know that he probably assumed that she had died, but wouldn’t you make for damn sure that your wife is dead before you marry another woman? Especially when you are trying to pass yourself off as “better” than others in your community. I would think that he would try his hardest to prevent anything from ruining his new “perfect” life. At the end, Mr. Ryder did redeem himself, he accepted his wife into his life in front of his group instead of just shuffling her under the carpet like he could have done.
May 2, 2008 at 1:13 am
I would like to solely address DuBois’s notion of a double consciousness. First of all, what he means by this term is that African-Americans at the time had to view their actions both in the context of their culture and how their actions would fit in with the majority white crowd. In response to the question of if this double consciousness still exists, I believe that it does, maybe not in the exact same sense that DuBois meant, but to some degree double consciousness is still around. All one would have to do, is take a look at any high school. Everyone can remember the kids that really did not know how to act around everyone else because they were unsure of how to fit in. This lack of not knowing how to act around others is a sort of double consciousness because while they view their actions singularly, by themselves, they also think about their actions in the context of how the group members will view their actions. That is how, I think the notion of double consciousness is still alive in the United States today. I also feel that DuBois used the multiple literary forms to really add power to his statements. What i mean by this is that a fiction story can only say so much, but as soon as he added the autobiographical element to his writing it added an entire new level of power to his argument because it illustrates to the reader that this is actually going on in the world, right now.
May 2, 2008 at 1:04 pm
The double consciousness is the way of doing something that is normal to you and your culture but at the same time having to be something different to the rest of society. Blacks knew that they are no different from whites and can do the same thing whites can do but they had to act and talk a certain way otherwise the white society would have condemmed them even more. I think the use of vernaculr further shows the effect of double consciousness by have what we would consider “normal” conversation and then moving to a style similar to Twains in Huck Finn. It shows both sides of the consciousness.
May 3, 2008 at 3:56 am
I found it a bit ironic that though Du Bois was a African American, he still chose to use the same ignorant vernacular that was use in Huck Finn to make Jim look ignorant, stupid, and less civilized. I really didn’t expect this initially because on how the beginning of the poem started. I think that Du Bois’s view towards a double consciousness was very deep because it was his way of describing the African American living situation and standards within America while living in America. We notice as readers that this double consciousness is something that happens to use within our culture and is at the same time different than what is happening somewhere else in America.
May 3, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I thought the way that Du Bois portrayed African Americans was completely ironic and slightly unexpected. His representation of what Twain considered an uneducated dialect shocked many I’m sure since he has such a strong African background. Whether he did this to show society how they were harming their fellow Americans or for shear entertainment purposes is a question better left for someone else.