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 soul’s 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. 

With this depiction of the black man, Du Bois can push the audience to see

the American side of the negro and maybe pull empathy out from the reader.  

Though he does not wish to lose one over the other or leave behind part of 

himself, he hopes he combine the two and give African American the opportunity 

to go work towards real self-development without being judged on who they are. 

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 effected the minds of 

African Americans because the can only view themselves from what others, who 

don’t understand the struggles, eyes. With the African American man’s great 

confusion and self-doubt, he wishes the world could take him for who he really is 

rather than being seen as an issue.

            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 himself. With his essay, he gets his message across in a way that 

conveys his thoughts/ feelings to the reader. The need to satisfy both his African 

and American self is the purpose of his piece. I feel Du Bois takes a pathos 

approach in his essay by sharing how his strife makes one feel. Although 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 

himself, both parts of him.