Double Consciousness and Triple Person - Essay Example

Double Consciousness and Triple Person Introduction Dubois and Fanon both criticise how the black man’s identity is defined by forces other than himself. He must struggle to exist in a society that denigrates, undermines and oversimplifies him. While Dubois thinks of this identity as torn between two extremes, Fanon believes that it more intricate by making reference to three parameters. Fanon augments Dubois’ assertions by painting a more detailed picture of the life of a black man in America. Double consciousness and the triple person Fanon described a conflicting Negro identity that had three parts; an internal self, an external one and a historical one. None of these images were in harmony with one another thus causing the black man to feel powerless and void. The historical identity stems from the fact that African Americans are descendants of slaves. This group comes from a generation of perpetual servants who made minimal contributions to contemporary society. As Fanon laments, these descendants will always carry the burden of their past. The irony of it all is that instead of appreciating and pampering the former slave, society rejects him and taunts him because of it. The author also defines an internal identity as the real authentic self. This identity is defined by the black man’s inner and outer characteristics. It is the way the Negro truly should be; a powerful force of nature; an element that has defied the odds and lived on in a hostile society. This black man is a human being capable of dreaming, achieving and maximising his potential. Finally, and most importantly, Fanon’s third person must contend with the external identity. This is defined by the person’s race; it is the most predominant of all. The black man’s race is all the world sees, yet society insists on judging him according to its own standards. Fanon believes that accepting only the Negro or race identity is tantamount to being amputated. It rips off all other elements of his being and leaves him frustrated. The white man appears to call the shots in this society. He defines who the black man can and cannot be. Fanon bemoans the fact that this identity is branded onto black people as soon as they are born. They eventually realise that they are objects of others’ gazes. In one line he quotes the assertions of a white child: “Mama see the Negro! I’m frightened.” (Fanon, 1952, 109). The white gaze is indeed a primary component of the black man’s existence. Dubois also defined the black man’s identity through a double consciousness. This refers to two aspects of the Negro’s existence – that of being an American citizen and that of being a Negro. He believed that these two characters forever wrestled with each other. At one point, the African American thinks of himself as a human being and a unique individual. However, this must often contradict the tendency to be perceived by others in the white world differently. Therefore, Negros struggle to see themselves as they truly are in light of how the white, external lens perceives them. Both Fanon and Dubois agree on the fact that the black man has no outlet in this unequal world. No matter which hand he plays “the black man always loses” (Fanon, 1952, 111). Dubois talks about the uselessness of education. When the black man strove to authenticate himself in the eyes of the white man, his efforts would never be good enough. For instance, black doctors have striven to become accomplished professionals. However, the poverty of their people forces Negro professionals to exhibit quackery. The white world then judges them harshly by stating that this was expected of black people. Likewise, Fanon talks about the inconsequential effects of educational prowess in his article too. He believes that a black man can become an engineer or surgeon if he so wishes and will attract all manner of praise from the white community. However, these praises are only dependent on perfection on his part. If the Negro dares to make a mistake, then fingers of judgement will pound upon him like never before. In fact, white observers will remark that this was expected of the black man regardless of all the right things he did. One slight mistake is sufficient to ruin chances of success for generations to come. Both authors thus appear to concur in terms of the powerlessness of the true, authentic black individual in the third person or the double consciousness. This part of Negro existence will never measure up or be good enough to the dominant majority. The most important part of the third person and the double consciousness is often undermined by this tendency to seek approval from others. In the double consciousness, both extremes of identity often wrestle with each other in understanding black prejudice. Dubois believes that black people have somehow bought into justifications for it. They have come to see it as a cultural struggle. When the world looks at Negros, it thinks of them as barbarians representing low culture and low races. Therefore, the poverty, ignorance and crime prevalent in this race are often justified by fact distortions. The Negro humbly accepts such rationalises in homage to progress and high culture. Similarly, in the triple person, Fanon believes that African Americans cannot even come to terms with the term slavery. To the white world, it is nothing more than a bitter reminder of the past. Injustices against them have been justified thus denying the inner self in the triple person from really coming to terms with his past. These explanations have left the Negro with no choice but to contend with external definitions of his identity. Perhaps one of the areas that the two authors appear to disagree on is their explanations of the black man’s identity is the way the struggling identities try to reconcile their positions. Dubois believes that this can be achieved through the ballot. He calls this “self dense against a second slavery.”(Dubois, 1903, p. 5). Furthermore, culture and liberty can at least attempt to bridge the gaps between the Negro as perceived by others, and the American citizen as perceived by oneself in the double consciousness. On the other hand, because of the triple person narrative in Fanon’s explanation, black men often respond to differences between their external, racially-defined selves and the inner ones through rationalisation. Because of the burden of being a member of the black race, the Negro tries to rationalise his world. He seeks to show his naysayers that they are wrong. In just the same way that the Jews used rational thought to convince others that prejudice was inhumane; the black man also uses reason to convince others. He sort of becomes a “Missionary of the universal (Fanon, 1952, p. 112) . Science taught the world that the Negro is indeed a human being. This person is physically and morphologically similar to the white man. It therefore made sense for society to use these findings to eliminate all prejudices. Fanon soon realised that his perceived victory was short-lived. Even reason was insufficient to convince the white world about the humanity of the African American. This predominant community frowned upon racial mixing and still felt that the purity of their race would be threatened by others so different from them. In essence, Fanon was trying to show how being a triple person prompts black men to do more than is necessary to correct society’s wrongs. They use science and intellectual arguments to demonstrate the universality of their being. However, even this standard is not sufficient to get them out of their quagmire. Fanon’s Negro self in the triple person appears to be more of an intellectual compared to the self in the double conscious. This latter persona is a social one that uses electoral and cultural processes to reconcile his two inner personas. Conclusion The authors appear to echo similar sentiments in the triple person as well as the double consciousness. They both acknowledge that a Negro’s inner self is constantly wrestling with external identities of race. Fanon and Dubois also concur on the futility of education or other social mechanisms for advancement. They even agree that the individual’s conception of prejudice is interfered and distorted by the white world. However, they differ in terms of how blacks respond to these disjointed personas. Fanon claims that the self uses rational thought and intellectual philosophies to convince others of their wrongs while Dubois calls for a cultural and social reawakening instead. References Dubois, W.E.B., 1903. The souls of black folk. NY: Dover Publications. Fanon, F., 1952. The fact of blackness. Seattle: Bay Press. Read More