The Souls of Black Folk written by W.E.B Du Bois is a collection of autobiographies and essays of African American people including Du Bois himself. Du Bois conveys an illustration of the African experience to the reader. He describes the hardships and problems endured by African Americans in order to get a glimpse into the souls of African Americans. He is able to convey the hardships of African Americans by using “the veil” as a metaphor. Du Bois describes the veil as "the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in this American world, -a world with yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others” (Du Bois 3). The veil is the separation between African Americans and white Americans and the existence of black life. Du Bois makes apparent this “invisible history” of African Americans throughout the book. …show more content…
Du Bois explains “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line” (Du Bois 13) by analyzing African American history. Du Bois uses rational and emotional appeal by describing racial discrimination through the Jim Crow Laws and lynching. He gives his own history of experiences from his childhood to demonstrate the problems of African Americans. Du Bois describes the people of the north and south having the same flesh and blood. Human beings, just like African Americans, have cultures, beliefs and souls. Du Bois wants equality of rights to be guaranteed like the whites in the Constitution. Du Bois wishes for African Americans to be a part of society without any negativity. He explains the nation manipulates African American into thinking there is nothing wrong with slavery. This is a problem because African American will always be seeking for