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Schule > Englisch > "On Being Crazy" von W.E.B. Du Bois

Book review “On Being Crazy“

I want to inform you about the story “On Being Crazy“. The author of this text is W.E.B. Du Bois. The story appeared in 1907. It’s taken from “American Negro Short Stories”.
The short story deals with problems of a black man in Texas. This main character walks trough this area in the USA and meet lot’s of people, which don’t accept him.
First he walked into a restaurant, because he was hungry. The companion feels offend, because the black man sat on the same table. After this the main figure visited a theatre. But there a lady showed him, that he is not wanted there. In a hotel, where the main character wanted to stay, it was nearly the same situation. The clerk said, that this hotel doesn’t keep niggers. In the end of the story a traveller evaluated the man just by his skin, too. After this they discuss about the problem and the black- skinned man askes the wayfarer who of them both crazy is. The stranger answers, that both of them are crazy.
What could we learn from this story? The short story shows that discrimination of black- skinned people exists even in our days. The people in the story believe, that they are better people just because of the colour of their skin.
I like this short story. It shows how people feel in these bad situations. Nobody accept him on this day. In my opinion the reader can imagine well how he would feel in such a situation. It’s great that the story makes attentive to a big problem, because of course the character is more important than the colour of the skin.

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