chapter 7

Chelsey Wilkins
Chapter 2pg.Lit.
01-11-10

W.E.B Du Bios wrote The Souls of Black Folk with a blatant goal to accomplish. The story was meant to give readers a glimpse of what life was like for African Americans during the civil war era. Du Bious gave reliable examples and credibility. Evaluating chapter seven, Du Bois’s obvious appeal to pathos was detected.

Chapter seven told a lot about the thriving population of African Americans in Georgia. Du Bios told the events that affected the African Americans socially and emotionally. Detailed diction was used in describing the unlovely villages in the unpopular state. The over-crowded population of blacks was not a sense of freedom because the book talked about how they were treated socially. Georgia was one of those states that took the law into their own hands and decided to continue allowing the flow of slave trade. Of course leaders had to rise to carry weaker slaves through the fate of slavery, and some overcame it by continuing their journey to the land of Creek Indians. When the land of the Creek Indians was referred to, it was described as luxurious, rich rolling, and well tilled, as Georgia was described as bare, monotonous, straggling unlovely villages. The distinct comparison between the two areas was to me meant to express the different emotions slaves felt while being in Georgia but thriving for the land of the Creek Indians. His comparison also hinted to me why this book is during the era of social realism, because just the African Americans feelings in two different areas were flashbacks of what life was like those very moments.

Figurative language was used throughout chapter seven. The source of imagery really helps put the reader in the shoes of African Americans during this era, which basically captures the essence of social realism. “The sun is setting, but we can see the great cotton country as we enter it, _the soil now dark and fertile, now thin and gray, with fruit-trees and dilapidated buildings…” This quote is a prime example of strong imagery pulling the reader in, to the point that I could even envision the sun setting beautifully darkening the soil and fruits. Another example would be, “For a radius of a hundred miles about Albany, stretched a great fertile land, luxuriant with forests of pine, oak, ash, hickory, and popular; hot with the sun and damp with the rich black swamp-land…” Once again the vision of a beautiful forest with big luxurious prospering varieties of trees growing. Du Bios’s dedication too this book shows brightly through his vivid imagery.

To conclude, chapter seven was more about the African Americans and how they handled themselves socially during the post civil war times. Pathos and figurative language were used in abundance. This chapter really showed me why this book would be characterized under social realism.