WEB DuBois The Souls Of Black Folk
When William Edward Burghardt Du Bois wrote The Souls of Black Folk, he had no idea that it would become one of thegreatest pieces of southern literature written in his time. This book made a definitive impact on how black culture was viewed. The Souls of Black Folk even revolutionized white society's perceptions and attitudes toward blacks. Through the usage of vivid descriptions in the areas of dialect, food, symbols, location/landmarks, architecture, and characters, W.E.B. Du Bois portrays the south in its truest form. One of the most substantial elements of southern culture in literature is dialect. Du Bois depicts southern dialect in this novel, using shortened, incorrect forms of words. Many of the characters in The Souls of Black Folk speak, using "Them white folks," "Fitey-three cent," "Gits," "Sittin'," "So does yo'," "Heah,""Plum full o'," and other sayings. One man even stretch his "southern drawl" to say "He 'peared kind o' down in tha mouf." Food and drink also play an important role in a southernnovel. Du Bois uses food and drink, such as fried pork, corn meal, and whiskey to reveal his deeply rooted southern culture.
Entertainments, suppers, and lectures are held beside the five or six regular weekly religious services. To say the least, it is truly a "work of art". rites, "Hello!" cried my driver,- he had a most impudent way of addressing people, though they seem used to it,- "what have you got there?" "Meat and meal," answered the man, stopping. The symbols in The Souls of Black Folk also reveal its southern flavor. The meat lay uncovered in the bottom of the wagon,- a great thin side of fat pork covered with salt; the meal was in a white bushel bag. The schools are mostly small, tiny plank houses, such as the one that "has within it, a double row of unplaned benches resting mostly on legs, sometimes on boxes. "The Negro church of today, explains Du Bois, "is the social center of Negro life in the United States, and the most characteristic expression of African character. Many southern names mentioned in this novel were "Lugene", "Mun Eddings", "Mack", "Ed", "Doc Burke","Reuben", "Neills", "Hickman", "Josie", "Fanny", "Martha", "Jim", "John", and who could forget- "Uncle Bird. In this astounding piece of southern literature, Du Bois captures the reader's mind, takes them on a journey to the south, and inquires the moral and mental issues surrounding the perceptions of African-Americans within "white" society at the dawn of the 20th century. " Another of the seemingly endless aspects of southern culture is location/landmarks. Du Bois creates his characters so clearly and realistically, that they dance off the page, and into the mind of the reader. Considerable sums of money are collected and expended here, employment is found for the idle, strangers are introduced, news is disseminated, and charity is distributed. Their bodies are thin and spindly, their faces are stained with dirt and filth, and their clothes are torn and frayed from wear. Various organizations meet here,- the church proper, the Sunday-school, two or three insurance societies, and mass meetings of various kinds.
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