Double Consciousness analysis + Personal Experience

         After reading the first chapter of W.E.B. DuBois' book, I found some interesting information about his use of double consciousness. In this first chapter, we see that DuBois is laying out the thesis of how Southern blacks need the right to vote, right for an education, to be treated with equality, among other issues. This chapter also helps coin the term "double consciousness", which he defines as a sensation that sees oneself through the eyes of others and is measured by the looks of amusement, contempt, or pity from the world. Dubois claims that in order to keep the "twoness" together, it would require immense strength alone to keep it from tearing free. He also uses a metaphorical veil that is worn by all African-Americans due to their view of the world and the various potential opportunities that differ greatly from the white people. Throughout DuBois' life, he has been trying to erase the color line that has been around since the beginning of slavery. The veil in this plays the part of hiding oneself from the atrocities that surround him and from the social degradation that controls the poor man. With his explanation, the main idea of the veil is that it serves as both a blessing and a curse, with no way to remove it.
        Reading about "double consciousness", I feel that it greatly represents me in my public and private lives. When I proceed through school and any part of my life that involves interaction with strangers or acquaintances, I hide behind my own veil of shy and introvert personality. I usually remain quiet and in the back, not willing to show my face to a large crowd or display myself in front of a group. Not immune to problems, many think that I come off as a rude individual when in reality, I just can't open up to others due to my own insecurities about interactions. In my private life however, I'm one of the best people to hang around. I always keep the party alive and tend to be blunt and passionate towards people and some of their problems.
       With the knowledge I learned from DuBois, I think that it's a good thing to have in order to to understand how people act the way they do. Some of the most common reasons to live a double life is to separate what kinds of lives someone may live or to preserve a relationship with someone as a means to protect them from some sort of danger. Whatever the reason, knowledge about "double consciousness" allows us to see the reasoning behind their choices and why they chose such a choice.
                                                                                                                    - Nikki "Nikolas" Pham