Dunbar vs. Du Bois

The other day in class the group I was in discussed the second question, regarding Dunbar’s image of the mask. We compared and contrasted this image with Du Bois’s image of a veil and his discussion of double consciousness. We decided that Dunbar describes this issue as a choice that African Americans can make. He makes it seem like they can choose to submit to white authority and put their best face forward. He writes, Nay, let [the world] only see us, while we wear the mask” (918). He does make it clear that if they do not choose this option, they will suffer or die for resisting.

On the other hand, Du Bois addresses this issue as if it were innate to African Americans. He discusses the fact that they are forced to see the points of view of others. In this way he suggests that African Americans have no choice but to wear a mask and to appear a certain way to white Americans. He writes, “two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder” (694). This imagery suggests that the twoness of African Americans is something they are born with. He seems to be saying that it is their burden to bear, and that they cannot choose to set it down.