In Du Bios’s “Strivings of the Negro People”, he talks about the struggle to live a life where African Americans feels as though they have 2 different souls in one body longing to emerge the two and find true happiness. He states how African Americans have been “gifted” with second-sight in the American world, in which his has no self- consciousness and can only see himself through how others depict him. The ideology of his two-ness makes him long to merge himself in order to achieve self-conscious man hood and find his true self. He does not wish to lose one over the other or leave behind part of himself, but hopes combine the two and give African American the opportunity to go work towards real self-development. Du Bois purpose of his essay was to explain the obstacles African Americans felt at this time. He wanted to put into words how this fight, for them, not only effected their physical world but also had a hold on their mental. When asked how it feels to be the problem, Du Bois explains how this idea has effects the minds of African Americans because the can only view themselves from what others, who don’t understand the struggles, eyes. This causes the African American man great confusion and self-doubt. Du Bois, in other words, can’t express himself or live in harmony because Americans around him may despise him and don’t believe that he could ever articulate a message out to others. The need to satisfy both his African and American self, have taken a serious toll on the black man to feel like he’s lost all power in his life and this struggle hinders him in many ways. I feel Du Bois takes a pathos approach in his essay by sharing how his strife makes one feel. Alothouh many people who would be expected to read this piece most likely can’t agree with him or chooses not to put it into perspective, Du Bois use of words to express his struggles within himself serves to cause the reader to sympathize. With his expression this can bring the audience into his shoes and see how he views “being the problem” in society at the time.