Walker Percy’s essay, “The Loss of the Creature” describes the experiences that each person goes through as either a genuine experience driven by own desires, or one that is already preconceived by experts. Percy believes that people can only learn from experiences that are driven by pure personal desire, and not experiences already preconceived by experts. Percy describes the “loss of sovereignty” as preconceived notions of an experience with the help of experts. W.E.B Du Bois, on the other hand, wrote an essay called, “The Souls of Black Folk” that contradicts Percy’s term of the “loss of sovereignty”. Du Bois strongly believes that with the help of experts, people can then learn what they need to get ahead in life.
Percy presents a type of tourist, which is the “simple tourist”. The “simple tourist” helps Percy to describe someone who succumbs to the “loss of sovereignty”. In Percy’s view, someone who is a “simple tourist” goes along with what the expert’s comment on. They stay on the “beaten track”. When he describes the “beaten track” he means the road that everyone follows put forth by experts. People follow the “beaten track” knowing what lies ahead of them, and thinking that it is the best way to go. Experts take away the “sovereignty” of humankind because they take away any surprise or challenge of a learning experience. Du Bois views the “beaten track” though, as the best way to learn. The educational system that he strongly recommends is a path that he said a person must take in order to succeed in life. That path describes Percy’s view of the “beaten track” because it is a journey that Du Bois suggests that all young people should take. This definitely leaves out any room for them to wander off into their own interests if they should conform.
The students of Du Bois’s essay characterize one of which fits as a “simple tourist”. Du Bois said,
Nothing new, no time saving devices, -simply old time glorified methods of delving the Truth, and searching the hidden beauties of life, and learning the good of living. The riddle of existence is the college curriculum that was laid before the Pharaohs, that was taught in the groves by Plato, that formed the trivium and quadrivium, and is to-day laid before the freemens’s sons by Atlanta University. And this course will not change…(Du Bois, 235).
Because they are expected to follow what expert say, their path is already predestined for them. The students suffer from a “loss of sovereignty” because the experts want the students to learn through the educational package that contains the preconceived notions of the expertise. Du Bois said that nothing will change in the educational system, thus, the students never get a chance to explore other than what experts expect and give them to learn. Percy would describe Du Bois students as “simple” students who are letting expert opinions control what they do, and how they perceive information. The expert’s guidance help to “form [the thoughts] in the sightseer’s mind” (Percy, 566), thus, it takes away from the genuine experience. Percy would describe Du Bois students as “simple” students who are letting expert opinions control what they do, and how they perceive information.
Percy would disagree with Du Bois that “old time glorified methods of delving the Truth, and searching the hidden beauties of life, and learning the good of living” is through being a “simple” student. One cannot be forced into liking something if they are truly not interested in it, but Du Bois argued that education is something that is necessary without taking into consideration the students desire to learn. Percy though, argued with an example that, “A student who has the desire to get at a dogfish or a Shakespeare sonnet may have the greatest difficulty in salvaging the creature itself from the educational package in which it is presented” (573). Percy suggests that the “educational package” gets in the way for a student to explore because within the educational system, there are always rules which can limit and deny the student their genuine experience of exploring on their own. Percy sees that, “…the citizen of Huxleys’s Brave New World who stumbles across a volume of Shakespeare in some vine-grown ruins and squats on a potsherd to read it is in a fairer way of getting at a sonnet than the Harvard sophomore taking English Poetry II” (Percy, 572). The student’s action was all motivated by personal desire, and thus, received the most from the experience. There was not any expert to tell the student that that was the correct thing to do.
Though Percy would define Du Bois’s students as “simple”, Du Bois would have no doubt in describing his students as “complex”. Du Bois believes education is the basis for everything in life, and it is essential to survival in the world. Du Bois would see that if a Negro gets out of the hard life, he/she would be leaving the “beaten track” that exist in their culture and history of the Negro life. Du Bois would deem the experiences on the “beaten track” as something out of the ordinary because the ordinary Negro life does not include education. The black students are expected to work hard jobs to support their family, which leaves no time to go to school. Working for money to support the family is the “beaten track” for the people in Du Bois’s essay. Du Bois predicts that if a student pursues in an education seriously, they would be able to move ahead in life and get off the “beaten track” predestined for them by society.
Du Bois stated that, “The function of the Negro college [is to provide]…the rich and bitter depth of their experience, the unknown treasures of their inner life, the strange rendings of nature they have seen, may give the world new points of view and make their loving, living and doing precious to all human hearts” (248). Du Bois infers that the educational system leads the person off the “beaten track” by expanding their views through the eyes of experts. This characterizes the “complex” tourists, which Du Bois would categorize students into. Percy though, believes otherwise.
It is difficult to clearly differentiate who is wrong and who is right in the two essays. Both Percy and Du Bois stand by their statements strongly, but through personal experiences, when education is forced upon the students such as myself, it is hard to absorb all the information being taught, therefore, my interest in learning is lost. Percy sees that as a “simple tourists” characteristic. Like my parents, Du Bois suggests that education provide a successful future. The black students who have not had the chance to experience college should view education as getting off the “beaten track”, but slavery, and hard labor which is their daily life is the “beaten track” that most follow. To Percy, I am “simple” because some of my experiences are influenced by experts, but to my parents I would not be considered “simple” because I am doing something that is not common in their lives. Going to college is out of the ordinary, just like the Negroes. There are so many situations that need to be taken into consideration before categorizing people into “simple and complex”.
Другие работы по теме:
Macbeth Essay Research Paper MacbethIn the story
Macbeth Essay, Research Paper Macbeth In the story of Macbeth, there are three basic themes that are seen time and time again. The themes of disorder, darkness and gffgd. They not only are used to show, or describe something, they are also there to show a repeating symbolism throughout the play.
English Revolution Essay Research Paper During the
English Revolution Essay, Research Paper During the early 1600’s, there was much political struggle in England. These struggles led to a civil war between cavaliers, or royalists, who were mainly Anglicans; and Roundheads, or parliamentarians, who were Puritans.The Anglicans belonged to the Anglican Church (the Church of England).
Poem Fears Essay Research Paper To look
Poem: Fears Essay, Research Paper To look out on the world, and have no sense of direction, is a feeling of losing your every possession. Not just the materialistic possessions that you own, but the possessions of your heart, of your mind, of your soul. You have no where to turn, no where to run, or for that simple matter, no where to walk.
Asoka Essay Research Paper AsokaAsoka was the
Asoka Essay, Research Paper Asoka Asoka was the third member of the Mauryan dynasty and the grandson of the founder of the first Indian empire, Chandragupta Maurya of Magadha. Some say Asoka was the most powerful monarch to embrace Buddhism. Asoka was born in 304 B.C. and came to power in 270 B.C. after a short struggle in which one of his brothers was killed.
ShakespeareS Macbeth Essay Research Paper Illusion versus
Shakespeare?S ?Macbeth? Essay, Research Paper Illusion versus Reality in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” Throughout the entire text of William Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, there is an evident struggle between reality and illusion. In the very first scene of the play, the Weird Sisters prophesize a future that Macbeth is assured will come true.
Emily Jane Bronte Essay Research Paper Emily
Emily Jane Bronte Essay, Research Paper Emily Jane Bronte Emily Jane Bronte remains a mystery. Very little is known about her. There is little information, and much of what we have is contradictory. She is the author
Themes Of The Book
” Eaters Of The Dead” Essay, Research Paper My book is titled ?Eaters of the Dead? by Michael Crichton. There are two major themes to this book. First is man versus man and the second is man versus nature. The nature that man is going up against in this book were the supernatural monsters that terrorized the town.
My Struggle Essay Research Paper Since I
My Struggle Essay, Research Paper Since I was young, there have always been a struggle between my parents and I. This situation began when my father passed away when I was three years old. I have lived with
Good Or Evil Essay Research Paper Is
Good Or Evil Essay, Research Paper Is Man Inherently Good, Bad, Both? Psychologists often struggle with the question does man have inherently good characteristics, or do they lead to the negative. What makes a man act the way he does? Is it nature, hormone imbalances, or the way he is raised? Man s intrinsic characteristics can be good bad or both.
Communism And Socialism Essay Research Paper Communism
Communism And Socialism Essay, Research Paper Communism and Socialism are types of governments that try to keep people equal. These governments grow in popularity when human society is split into the two classes of have and have-nots; thus, a struggle in social classes cause a reformation in the government.
The Drug War Essay Research Paper Everyday
The Drug War Essay, Research Paper Everyday someone is thrown in state prison for anywhere from 3 years to life for the “illegal” use of the drug known as marijuana. It has come down to it that thousands of pounds of marijuana are smuggled over the border of Mexico and into the United States. Regardless of the fight or struggle of people to insure the so said safety of our younger generations from the use of these drugs more and more comes into the Unites States.
Darwin And Science Essay Research Paper Charles
Darwin And Science Essay, Research Paper Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was a British Scientist. He laid the foundation of modern evolutionary theory with his concept of the development of all forms of life through the slow-working process of natural selection. His work had a lot of influence on the life and earth sciences and on modern thought in general.
Beowulf 2 Essay Research Paper Good and
Beowulf 2 Essay, Research Paper Good and evil has existed throughout time. Heroes have defended the righteous, as villains were bent on destruction. This story represents these qualities in both main characters. The struggle began when God allowed Satan dominion over the earth. Since then the battle between them has been recorded throughout literary history.
Hard Times Essay Research Paper CharlesDickens
Hard Times Essay, Research Paper CharlesDickens’ novel, Hard Times, is a story of two struggles–the struggle of fact versus imagination and the struggle between two classes. It takes place in
Struggle For Education Essay Research Paper Struggle
Struggle For Education Essay, Research Paper ?Struggle For Education? In ?Kaffir Boy?, Mark ?Johannes? Mathabane?s mother strives to send him to school. She does not let anything get in the way of her ambition. Even though her husband disapproves, she will not let anything get in her way, but now her desires for her son to be educated are stronger.
Rose Circle Essay Research Paper Rose oh
Rose Circle Essay, Research Paper Rose, oh how you lie there, Lifeless and withered, Deprived of water and of food, You struggle to survive, You catch the odd droplet of life,
ChinaTaiwan Essay Research Paper After the fall
China-Taiwan Essay, Research Paper After the fall of the Qing Empire, nationalists, known as the KMT established the Republic of China. However the KMT was rife with corruption, and a new faction inspired by Russian communist ideology soon emerged to struggle for power. After World War II, the clash between the KMT and the communists continued.
Farewell To Manzanar Essay Research Paper Farewell
Farewell To Manzanar Essay, Research Paper Farewell to Manzanar Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston’s novel, Farewell to Manzanar ,discusses the internment of Japanese-American people in a relocation camp from 1943-1945. The autobiographical work reveals, through the eyes of a Japanese American teenage girl, her inner struggle with her identity as a person of the Japanese race living in California during World War II.
The Old Man And The Sea An
Analysis Essay, Research Paper The Old Man and The Sea: An Analysis I read this book for the first time in high school and I remembered it just as well as if I had read it yesterday. As I read it again I remembered some of the
Good Vs Evil Essay Research Paper Good
Good Vs Evil Essay, Research Paper Good vs. evil is an important concept. It is a life long struggle inside of you. In life, you are in a constant limbo between good and evil. One day, you might be in a good mood and the other day you might be in an evil, or bad mood. Before history and even in history, good vs. evil has always been a historic struggle.
Conflict Management Essay Research Paper In the
Conflict Management Essay, Research Paper In the dictionary conflict is defined as a struggle, a battle, even mutual antagonism. Some people seem to thrive on creating conflict while others do their best to avoid conflict.
Antigony Essay Research Paper Summary of
Antigony Essay, Research Paper Summary of “Antigone” by Philip Harsh In “Antigone” by Philip Harsh, the play Antigone by Sophocles is critisized. Many argue about the originality of the play. Scholars believe that a large portion of the play was made up by Sophocles instead of being reffered to the orginal epic.
Client Essay Research Paper The Client
Client Essay, Research Paper ?The Client? / John Grisham 1. I enjoyed reading this interesting book. It talks about eleven years old Mark Sway and his younger
Julius Caesar Essay Research Paper Julius Caesar10044
Julius Caesar Essay, Research Paper Julius Caesar 100-44 BC Born in 100 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar became one of the most famous and remembered Romans of all time. His parents were Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. Julius Caesar’s most famous
Something About Mary Essay Research Paper Something
Something About Mary Essay, Research Paper Something about Mary Its a comedy film, that came to Spain in November of the 1998. It was directed by the Farinelli brothers. And his main stars are: Cameron Diaz (Mary), Matt Dylon (a strange detective) and Ben Stiller (Ted).
An Analysis Of From Silence To Words
Essay, Research Paper An Analysis of From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle Through this essay, Min-zhan Lu depicts the struggles she faced growing up in China while speaking English. I feel the paragraph that best exemplifies this struggle is one found on page 239. In this one paragraph, Lu expresses her fear of losing command over the two languages that she speaks, English and Chinese.
Jungle Essay Research Paper The Jungle written
Jungle Essay, Research Paper The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair in 1905, the author supports Socialism over Capitalism and used the struggle to keep the house in order to portray the evils of Capitalism on the family and the society in General.
Jack London Essay Research Paper Sam JMrs
Jack London Essay, Research Paper Sam J. Mrs. Shields 10/02/98 Jack London Jack London fought his way up out of the factories and waterfront dives of West Oakland to become the highest paid, most popular novelist and short story writer of his day. He wrote passionately and prolifically about the great questions of life and death, the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity, and he wove these elemental ideas into stories of high adventure based on his own firsthand experiences at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California.
Sexism Essay Research Paper Sexism in the
Sexism Essay, Research Paper Sexism in the world today The battle of the sexes is obvious everywhere and is applies to anything. From athletics to the military, men and women struggle to beat the other, but I find it to be