Annotations for Chapter 1

Annotations for Chapter 1
Pg.7) “They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem?”

This statement is a perfect example of logic because he has a reason for asking questions that so many others have to ask as well.

Pg. 8) “And yet, being a problem is a strange experience,—peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe”

This statement is explaining how no matter who you are, if you are a problem, than it is an awkward position to be in and a strange experience. He gives the example of babyhood, and the continent Europe.

pg.8) "I remember well when the shadow swept across me"

Having knowledge of this quote, is difficult for me, however it stuck out. I think that it means that he remembers when his deepest thoughts dawned upon him when he was a child.

Pg. 9)The freedman has not yet found freedom in his promised land

What this means, is that even though someone is free by law, they are not free in terms of what needs to be done next. They still have to work just like anyone else to make a living for themselves whether it is African Americans or Caucasians. If African Americans couldn’t find a living after slavery was abolished, then they were basically slaves and imprisoned. They were free, but not really free.


pg. 17) "And now what I have briefly...........................souls of black folk."

Within this last paragraph, you see that Dubois wants anyone who looks for the audience to listen to African Americans to understand the struggle and strife that they went through.