The Quest of the Silver Fleece : A Novel / W. E. B. Du Bois.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963, author.

Contributor:

De Lay, H. S.

Series:

Pine Street Books

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Race--Fiction.

Race.

Swamps--Fiction.

Swamps.

Cotton trade--Fiction.

Cotton trade.

Social classes--Fiction.

Social classes.

Rejection (Psychology)--Fiction.

Rejection (Psychology).

African American women--Fiction.

African American women.

Power (Social sciences)--Fiction.

Power (Social sciences).

Genre:

Love stories.

Psychological fiction.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (440 p.)

Edition:

1st Pine Street Books ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Set in Alabama and Washington, D.C., in the early part of the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois's first novel weaves the themes of racial equality and understanding through the stark reality of prejudice and bias. Originally published in 1911 and conceived immediately after The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois turned to fiction to carry his message to a popular audience who were unfamiliar with his nonfiction works. Du Bois addresses the fact that, despite the legal emancipation of African Americans, the instruments of oppression, in both the economy and government, remained in good working order. At the time he was writing, powerful white industrialists controlled the cotton industry, the "silver fleece" that depended, as it did during slavery, on the physical labor of African Americans. White Americans also controlled local and national government.In the novel, Blessed "Bles" Alwyn, a young man seeking formal education to improve himself, is captivated by Zora, a vivacious, independent woman who lives outside society in a mysterious swamp. Faced with shocking events in Zora's past and ambivalence about how a black man should integrate into American society, Bles pursues his goals and ends up in Washington to assist on a senator's campaign. While in the city, he meets successful African Americans-and falls in love-but he ultimately recoils from the hypocrisies they must endure in order to be accepted in society. Instead, he is compelled to return to Alabama and Zora, where he must face his greatest challenges and fears.With its frank and clear language, The Quest of the Silver Fleece is a remarkable portrait of racial prejudice at the turn of the twentieth century. Through the characters, Du Bois demonstrates the efficacy of self-sufficiency for those who face discrimination while championing the benefits of strength in diversity to American society as a whole.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

1. Dreams

2. The School

3. Miss Mary Taylor

4. Town

5. Zora

6. Cotton

7. The Place of Dreams

8. Mr. Harry Cresswell

9. The Planting

10. Mr. Taylor Calls

11. The Flowering of the Fleece

12. The Promise

13. Mrs. Grey Gives a Dinner

14. Love

15. Revelation

16. The Great Refusal

17. The Rape of the Fleece

18. The Cotton Corner

19. The Dying of Elspeth

20. The Weaving of the Silver Fleece

21. The Marriage Morning

22. Miss Caroline Wynn

23. The Training of Zora

24. The Education of Alwyn

25. The Campaign

26. Congressman Cresswell

27. The Vision of Zora

28. The Annunciation

29. A Master of Fate

30. The Return of Zora

31. A Parting of Ways

32. Zora's Way

33. The Buying of the Swamp

34. The Return of Alwyn

35. The Cotton Mill

36. The Land

37. The Mob

38. Atonement

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

0-8122-0179-5

OCLC:

868967277