bekahpaige 's review for:

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

2.0

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This was a long hard slog to get through. Du Bois' prose is extremely pedantic, overly verbose, & intellectualized. This isn't surprising given the time period he was writing in though, as he is clearly trying to impress his educated, white audience. He is constantly referencing and copying the prose of epic works in European literature. There are some excruciatingly detailed essays, which were interesting from a historical perspective, though tedious to get through. I was interested in the early farming. This is clearly not meant as a historical work though, and instead aims to be persuasive. Interesting read when considering the time period. The very real effects of racism run throughout this entire work and give it a sad, desperate air. Du Bois seems to be screaming for the white people to please just give him, and by extension, all black people, a chance at life and decency.