Factory Owners And Slave Owners example essay topic

FIVE FINGERS MAKE UP ONE HAND While reading DuBois, I was struck by the analogy of the hand used to describe race relations. With a simple concept that a child could understand, the entire race problem could be solved. Five fingers on a hand that are all different, yet by working together, they are able to perform many tasks. If you take just one away, it makes it harder for the rest to due all the same tasks. The moral of the story? Even though we are all different, when we work together there is no telling what we can do.

We all bring different skills and experiences to the table, and all are worthwhile. A very simple concept- yet we still have not even come close to putting it in practice. The idea of racial co-existence can best be described by DuBois: .".. the ideal of fostering and developing the traits and talents of the Negro, not in opposition to or contempt for other races, but rather in large conformity to the greater ideals of the American Republic". (DuBois, 43) Once again, in child's terms- each finger cannot work against the other for the hand to work properly.

The question is then posed- why can't we get this straight? DuBois understands part of the problem. Blacks and whites have become intertwined in a vicious cycle. Slavery itself did not create, but enhanced negative attitudes towards blacks. In quite the same way, the institution of slavery greatly enhanced the way blacks felt about whites. White landowners were responsible for disenfranchising a great number of blacks- almost taking away their souls and individuality.

In this analysis, there appears a distinct parallel between the plight of African slaves, and the laborers of the Industrial Age. It would be unfair to suggest that the plight of the American factory worker compared in duration or severity to that of African slaves. However, the similarities are evident. In both cases, people were being exploited for their work.

Whereas the factory worker received some wage, the slave received no wage at all. However, the wages being received in the early part of the industrial revolution, was barely enough to feed and support a family. Both factory owners and slave owners felt that their survival was based on cheap or free labor. In this case, I will suggest that the labor of the slave did have costs to the plantation owner, although minimal- food, shelter, etc.

Similarly, cheap labor in factories helped increase profits. In both these cases, the owners were more concerned with turning a bigger profit than the well being of their workers. Lastly, the spirit and "soul" of the individual was threatened. In the Gilded Age, many workers lost a sense of their true identity, and turned to drinking or long fits of depression. In DuBois' writings, we also here stories of the desperate slave who has had his identity stripped of him by wealthy plantation owners. However, through all the inhumane and degrading atrocities they faced, the spirit of African-American's as a people did not die.

In DuBois' book, we read songs and stories that kept hope alive. We read stories of a spirit that had been diminished, but not lost. And if anything good can be said, it is that the "soul of black folk" survived. But Dubois can be added to the number of victims. He finally fell victim to his own feelings of doubt. The aftermath of slavery brought down many individuals as well.

Tired of undergoing a never ending struggle, and being unable to see any hope at the end, Dubois became another victim. However, unlike our hand analogy, where one finger is lost others have come to take their place. And the hope still exists that positive race relations can be attained. The "soul of black folk" has been hurt, but it has not been destroyed. Hopefully, with leaders of all races and colors, we will attain the ideal of living in harmony with our differences, and to use them for positive works.

Perhaps one day our nation will operate with the efficiency and creativity embodied in the hand.