(Literature HW)

Barin 1

Race & Gender

In the late 19th Century and the 20th Century, there were serious social issues and civil

rights concerns that revolved around racial and gender delimitations which led to the rise of a

number of abolitionist movements who either championed for racial equality, women’s rights,

or even both. Racism was the main theme of W.E.B. Du Bois’ works in which he was a strong

opponent of lynching, discriminatory policies, and Jim Crow laws which hindered African

American freedom, work and education. Du Bois recorded some of his protests on this topic

in his collection of essays titled “The Souls of Black Folk” in which he premises that the

“problem of the 20th Century is the problem of the color-line”. (Du Bois 1-2) The author’s

arguments were a major stepping stone for African Americans in their fight against the

inequalities of separate but equal doctrines in social and political life.

Just as Du Bois’ literature served as inspiration to the civil rights movements by the

African American community, Kate Chopin’s works were viewed as integral promoter for the

feminist cause and women’s rights in 20th Century America. Chopin’s work selected for this

assignment, “The Story of an Hour”, portrayed the realities plight of women’s freedom and

rights in American society. In her story, she uses imagery through the eyes of a married

couple which demonstrates the unlimited choices in the lives of women in America. She

dictated in her story “Free! Body and soul free! ...” (Chopin 10), words that challenged the

society’s predisposed notions of roles of women in the 19th and 20th Century. Whilst she did

not view herself as an activist for women’s rights, the society in general viewed her as a key

figure leading the women’s rights campaigns because of the impact and influence her works

had towards the movement.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Barin 2

These two authors each challenged societal issues of discrimination on race and

gender in their respective selected works. The first author, Du Bois was an active civil rights

activist and Pan-Africanist who founded the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People (NAACP). Owing to this he was vocal on the emancipation of the African

American which he documents in the selected work for this assignment “The Souls of Black

Folk”. In his works, he describes the biggest problem in American society was the “color-

line” (Du Bois 2) which explained the intellectual and cultural parity amongst members of all

races existent in the American society, more so those faced by African Americans. Du Bois

explains the quest for civil rights by African Americans to be challenged by “double

consciousness” (Du Bois 194) which categorizes the African American community as both

black and American. He argued for social change on the African American treatment in the

19th-20th Century through agitation and protest which clashed with the philosophy of

accommodation forwarded by Booker T. Washington. Whilst Du Bois was more direct in his

literary works by highlighting his issues on racism as his core thesis, the other author

discussed in this paper preferred to employ symbolism and imagery in her short stories to

forward her message.

In Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, she illustrates gender roles in the American

society through the institution of marriage. Through this symbolism, she voices the

restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms demonstrating how the male gender has

constantly oppressed their female counterparts treating them as inferiors and exercising

control over their decisions. She describes the inequality of roles in the marriage as an image

of women’s complete lack of identity and the fact that no rights were provided for them in

7

Barin 3

society. Chopin’s story is concluded with the idea of the possible death of her main

character’s husband, representative of women’s freedom from oppression. (Chopin 157)

Struggles for women’s liberation and African emancipation shared various elements

since both movements were launched around the same time in the mid to late 19th Century.

Both the African American and the women in America faced national oppression and were

unequal to the white man before the law. Abolitionism, the struggle to emancipate enslaved

African Americans, in many ways kick-started the movement for women’s suffrage as the

abolitionist movement in the U.S. had heavy involvement from the women in society. The

African American struggle began to bear fruit after the passage of the 15th Amendment

whereas the struggle for women’s suffrage had to wait until the 19th Amendment was passed

in 1920. African American rights were, however, frustrated until the passage of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964.

The authors studied in this paper each employed different literary forms each which

aid the passing of their distinct messages. Du Bois wrote his works as a collection of (14)

essays which allowed him to separate them into various topics, each tackling a different racial

issue that he had determined. Chopin documented her works as a short story which allowed

her to use imagery and symbolism to pass her message whilst also describing a compelling

narrative that her target audience could relate.

8

9

10

Barin i

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." St. Louis Life 5 January 1895. Document.

Du Bois, W. E. B. "The Souls of Black Folk; Essays and Sketches." Ed. A. G. McClurg.

Chicago: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1868-1963. Essays. 26 September 2019.

Comment Summary Page 1

1. Topic #4, Race and Gender The second half of the 19th century was impacted by movements to increase the rights of African Americans and women. Examine 2 works, one by Washington or Dubois and one by Chopin or Gilman; explain how each addresses the quest for equal rights. Identify similarities and differences between the two movements. Compare how and why each writer uses a different literary form (biography, essay, novel, short story) to develop idea.

2. discrimination? 3. abolition refers to abolishing slavery

the suffragette movement had to do with women's right to vote 4. use the actual page number from your book 5. actually a bit later--she was heavily critiqued at the time of her writings 6. this story does not qualify for the essay. The assignment explicitly states that you must use only texts that we

work on as a class. The story was not assigned, so unfortunately your essay will be penalized for failing to follow the instructions and for writing on text outside of what is approved.

Page 2 7. Cite all of your sources

Page 3 8. that isn't how the story ends. 9. your introduction doesn't contain that information

10. cite your sources