Sympathy In Du Bois's 'The Scarlet Letter'

Du Bois’ text conflicts with Smith’s theory of sympathy because Smith did not consider the role of otherness, or alterity, in sympathy. Smith’s sympathy is limited by difference because this impedes the spectator from stepping into the sufferer’s shoes. If the sympathizer cannot imagine himself in the sufferer’s shoes, then he cannot sympathize (Smith 26). Smith's sympathy does not adapt. It hit a psychological and social wall when slavery began because the hierarchy of slavery impeded white folk from sympathizing with black folk. Generally, white folk could not impartially judge their own treatment of Negroes because of the preconception that Negroes were not the same as them; Negroes were less than them. It did not benefit white folk to

Although whites in the North worked to emancipate slaves, they did not understand the severity of the physical, emotional, and mental burden black folk carry. Otherness impedes the white man from sympathizing with the black man; the slave masters does not find value in understanding the pain of their slaves. This lack of sympathy causes strife between both individuals (slave master and slave), as well as both of their races since the Negro individual represents the black

The sympathy black folk need from white folk is an acknowledgement of their ungrounded and unjust racism. The negative effects of the color line on black folk have been clear throughout history. The color line also robs white folk from the cultural and social intelligence black folk can offer if they are educated and trained as equals. Du Bois believes that Negroes gained self-awareness when they were emancipated. Black folk began to understand the depths of their low, marginalized place in American society (5). The Freedmen's Bureau helped former slaves get educated formally and learn how to work for wages (16-17). When the Freedmen’s Bureau failed, the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the Bill of Rights; Negroes received the right to vote (23-24). The right to vote and basic education did not suffice for Du Bois; he longed for blacks to politically lead their Negro and American people. For this reason, Du Bois desired black colleges to educate black folk like white folk were educated, as well as rehabilitate blacks from the psychological effects of slavery (66). The Negro can never discard his duality, but he can learn how to positively use second-sight. The Negroes striving for intelligence will be in vain if white folk do not aid them in their fight. The minimal aid white folk can offer is recognizing black folk as equals and validating Negro experiences, even if