Beginning of Essay
"The history of the American Negro is the history of the strife- This longing to attain self conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not africanize Am ....

Middle of Essay
.... of the position of the black man in American society. As the excerpt of the introduction notes, the book is based on the premise that "one may know the soul of the race by knowing the soul of one of its members." In effect, Du Bois seeks to expose his own soul through his tribulations as a black American. But he speaks of a double consciousness whereby the Negro can only see himself through the "revelation of the other world." That is, of white America. He makes a distinction between the American soul and the Negro soul as the two "warring and conflicting parts of the African American identity, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being ....