The common aspects of the following two essays of W.E.B.

Du Bois’s The Souls of

Black Folk (1903), “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” and James Baldwin’s of “My Dungeon Shook”

(1962) is the concept of a misleading identity on Blacks to establish the mental effect that

America has on the identity of African Americans. Both of these readings utilize this concept in

order to demonstrate how there is a misleading identity of African American’s that has been pre-

established in America. As this quote would point out, “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-

consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring

one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. ” (Du Bois 4) there

is a clear illustration of how African Americans are affected mentally with the false identity that

White American have created on them. As you read both essays and as it will be briefly

interpreted these concepts of a misleading identity is a major issue addressed that has significant

value to these readings.

With James Baldwin’s essay it was very obvious on what he was trying to accomplish by

writing a letter to his nephew where he was in a way warning him. When he states “I know what

the world has done to my brother and how narrowly he has survived it and I know, which is

much worse, and this is the crime of which I accuse my country and my countrymen and for

which neither I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are

destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it.”

(Baldwin), with the word “crime” he is referring to the effect of mental disturbance that has been

caused on African Americans. Baldwin is expressing how this disturbance is destroying Blacks

menatlly without even knowing it. Which leads to the purpose behind this essay where he is

trying to improve the way his nephew looks at the world, not wanting his nephew to deal with

these demons and to affect him negatively like the rest.

 This mental effect is ultimately a cause by the way society reacts to African American led

by the false identity that has been created for African Americans which is interpreted in depth

within Du Bois work. Throughout this essay he is basically having a conversation with himself

sort of like a battle of the difficulties that come with being an African American in America. It is

mentioned, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an

American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of

Opportunity closed roughly in his face.” (Du Bois 4), which showcases how there is battle he is

having because of what he has to deal with. Even though Du Bois saw it as a gift for them

because it would make them more intelligent where they could see both sides unlike White

American. It challenged them mentally which he saw the benefits out of because he was a well

educated African American but many can imagine that several will not have that same

perspective like we can see in Baldwin. Even though they both share the same concepts their

point of view on it is a little different whereas they ultimately agree that there is a false identity

on Blacks that can cause mental disturbance.

The false identity is created in several forms that can involve expectations, stereotypes

and judgment that can cause an impact mentaly that can lead to negative effects which are what

both these pieces reveal. In “My Dungeon Shook” declared as follows, “The details and symbols

of your life have been deliberately constructed to make you believe what white people say about

you. Please try to remember that what they believe, as well as what they do and cause you to

endure, does not testify to your inferiority, but to their inhumanity and fear.” (Baldwin), where

he is acknowledging the expectations and standards that White American have imposed on to the

black community where it can cause a toil mentally affecting several African’s American with

their life choices as it stated in the second paragraph. This identity is placed on them which is
what this piece is saying by writing this letter to advise him before he grows into the age where

this false identity gets put on him and affects him mentally causing him to end up in the wrong

path. As he makes clear is destroying the lives of African American hoping to prevent his

nephew into let it hold him down like the quote in which he ends his writing with “One of them

said, "The very time I thought I was lost, my dungeon shook and my chains fell off."” (Baldwin)

which means that those identities should not chain them down if they do not fall into that prison

of false identity they created.

As one continues to interpret this same concept out of both these pieces it can be realized

how well they demonstrate this approach. In the “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” it was included,

“But the facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-

disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an

atmosphere of contempt and hate.” (Du Bois 10), where he is describing this inner battle that any

African American would most likely deal with daily. With this quote one can see how a mental

disturbance comes into effect because of all these standards or stereotypes that have been created

for African Americans can have them question their identity. Du Bois' perspective focuses more

on getting his readers to appreciate it whereas Baldwin approach is more not allowing this

challenge to bring you down. Whereas one can see how Baldwin’s is more intimate obviously

because it is a letter to his nephew but Du Bois is more informative in informing his readers.

As demonstrated the common aspects of the two essays of W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls

of Black Folk (1903), “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” and James Baldwin’s of “My Dungeon

Shook” (1962) is the concept of a misleading identity on Blacks to establish the mental effect

that America has on the identity of African Americans. With these two pieces it was successful

to demonstrate how there is a false identity that is imposed on African Americans that cause
mental effects. As mentioned in one of these pieces “Well, the black man has functioned in the

white man's world as a fixed star, as an immovable pillar, and as he moves out of his place,

heaven and earth are shaken to their foundations.” (Baldwin), this misleading identity can either

be a gift or challenge to the black community but will not stop them nor hold them down.