Both stories that we have been reading, “Up From Slavery” and “The Souls of Black Folk” have explored the period in American history shortly after the abolishment of slavery. Although they are both discussing the same topic, they use very different strategies to express the situations and events of the time. So far in “The Souls of Black Folk” the author has remained almost emotionless throughout the text. For the most part it feels as though events are being explained in a very bland manner with the majority of the explanation being a listing of pure facts. It almost feels similar to reading a history textbook. On the other hand, “Up From Slavery” is a much livelier, personal account.
The two texts also differ in the tone which they give off concerning their feelings toward the African Americans of the time. The author of “The Souls of Black Folk” expresses how the African Americans fought desperately for the betterment of themselves as well as for their race. He celebrates the African American culture by opening each chapter with what could possibly be a song sung during slavery or an account of the hardships of slavery. “He [a freed slave] would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world.” (page 215). Du Bois, author of “The Souls of Black Folk”, stresses the importance of fighting the hardships while still carrying the pride of the African American heritage. Booker T. Washington, author of “Up From Slavery”, is almost the opposite in his text. It seems like any African American who does not join the Tuskegee Institute is made out to be detracting from the image he is trying to set. It almost feels as though he is looking down upon a majority of his race who are not following his agenda. I have not decided which story I like better yet because Washington’s is more engaging but is sometimes offsetting in his viewpoints and Du Bois’s is less interesting but has a more positive take on the efforts of African Americans.
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I agree with your evaluation of the the two texts. This is almost exactly what I thought when reading them. However I do believe that they have more similar ideals than you state here. I think Dubois regarded Washington's work as being fundamental in the uplifting of black society, but that he thought Washington didn't go far enough. That his work was good, but that he compromised to much with white Southerners on the issue of black political power. Dubois also believed more in higher education as opposed to technical training than Washington did. Also i don't think Washington necessarily looked down on people opposed to his vies. In his opinion the work he was doing was vital to the betterment of society, but while he thought people opposed to him were wrong he didn't necessarily treat them with disdain.
Still this was a very good analysis of the texts and the differences between them.
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