Vocab
Define unreconcile
Not brought into agreement or harmony, or not settled.
Give an example of a metaphor
Multiple correct answers
According to Du Bois, how do African Americans feel in response to being excluded from white society?
Despair, suffering, strife, pain, contempt.
Define strife
Suffering, bitter disagreement, conflict.
Define asunder
Apart
Give an example of hyperbole
Multiple correct answers
What does the "veil" represent? Bonus points if you can identify the type of rhetorical device it is.
The "veil" represents the invisible barrier between Black Americans and white society. It is a metaphor or a symbol.
Define contempt
Hate, feeling a person or thing is worthless or terrible
Define seldom
not often; rarely.
What type of rhetorical device does the following excerpt use, and what does it represent?
"One ever feels his twoness, --an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body,"
This excerpt uses repetition to emphasize how constant and significant the feeling of "twoness" or of being "torn apart" is in African American's lives.
Define double-consciousness.
Seeing yourself through the eyes of the "other", rather than seeing yourself from your own point of view.
Define latent
Hidden, yet to be revealed
Define demagogy
Practices that seek support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.
Why might an author use figurative language in their writing?
To go beyond the literal meaning of words to create a more impactful impression on the reader.
What to extremes do the phrases "bleach my soul" and "Africanize America" represent?
"Bleach my soul" means changing himself to fit into white American society, and "Africanize America' means changing America to be more like Africa.
Define avail
Help, benefit, to be of use
Define sycophancy
Insincere flattery given to gain advantage.
Du Bois writes that “the powers of single Black men flash here and there like falling stars.”
What literary device is this? And what does the falling star symbolize in this context?
The literary device is a simile, because it compares two things using “like.”
The falling star symbolizes Black individuals whose brilliance is briefly seen but often ignored or lost before being fully recognized — due to racism and inequality.
If a "double self" is a self split in two, what is a "truer self"?
A true self is a self who is able to hold and express an entire, multi-faceted (merged) identity rather than having to hide or change certain parts.
Define peremptorily
Overbearing, decisive, no room for discussion or consideration