The Comet, a dystopian short story written by W. E. B. Du Bois, centers on the two survivors of a deadly toxin that kills everyone else in New York. However, these two survivors, Jim and Julia, are from two completely different worlds; Jim is a working-class, black man while Julia is a rich, white woman. Through their conversations, actions, and emotions, Du Bois weaves a message about how trivial the social structures of human society are.
A particular conversation Jim and Julia have that illustrates Du Bois’s point occurs near the end of the story. While on the roof of the Metropolitan Tower, the pair talk about their respective backgrounds, which leads to Julia saying the following phrase:
"'Yes,' she [Julia] said slowly; 'and how foolish our human distinctions seem--now,' looking down to the great dead city stretched below, swimming in unlightened shadows.”
In this quote, we can see Julia’s development as her previous beliefs about class and race disappear. By including the word “slowly” and using dark adjectives such as “dead” and “unlightened,” Du Bois gives this scene a remorseful tone. It seems as if Julia is reflecting on the past, realizing the wrongs of the old society and “how foolish our human distinctions seem.” Additionally, she finally accepts Jim as an equal--as a human. Instead of using a phrase that distinguishes her from Jim, such as “my people’s,” she uses the word “our,” referring to her and Jim as one. This moment of Julia’s growth also highlights Du Bois’s message that everyone is equal, and the different social divisions in society are “foolish.”
The context of when this phrase is said is important: to their knowledge, Jim and Julia are the only two people left on a dead planet. Notice how Julia says “now,” which refers to the current situation: a great dead city. It was only through the death of millions that the social structures and barriers were able to collapse. This idea that Jim and Julia only recognize each other as equals because of an apocalyptic event suggests that these “human distinctions” are deeply ingrained in the foundations of our society. In fact, we can see how deeply the ideas of race and class are buried in Julia through her statement, and more specifically, the em-dash before she says now (“--now”). Looking at the sentence mechanically, the em-dash isn’t necessary; “how foolish our human distinctions seem now” is grammatically correct. Why then, did Du Bois include an em-dash? While the em-dash is a highly versatile punctuation mark, it is commonly used in place of commas or parentheses to provide more emphasis. Therefore, by including the em-dash, Du Bois could be drawing attention to the word now, which also leads back to the idea that Julia only sees Jim as an equal because of the apocalyptic situation. The em-dash could also suggest that Julia pauses while talking. This pause could be the literal moment of remorse and reflection suggested by the tone of the sentence, showing Julia’s hesitance to enter an unfamiliar world where race and class don’t exist. By including these details, Du Bois is suggesting that the society’s “distinctions” are deeply buried in not only civilization, but individuals as well, and as a result, it will take something extremely radical or drastic in order for humans to move past these groupings.
This sentence shows the growth of Julia’s character, which is a medium that Du Bois uses to convey his idea that race and class are meaningless, but are strongly linked with the foundations of human society.
Seeing that Du Bois was a wise man, this sentence has quite a lot of truth. When Du Bois wrote The Comet, the main "distinctions" in society were race and class, and these categories often led to the mistreatment of people. Granted, the issues of race and class have greatly improved today, but they still exist, and humans have formed even more groups to put themselves in. Whether it's gender, sexuality, or Apple vs. Windows, people give themselves labels that creates separation from others. While I believe that people should embrace their identity, acknowledge the unique traits of others, and form their own opinions, I don’t believe that these differences should cause conflict or the oppression of others.
At the end of the day, everyone is human.
As you've stated, I also believe it's in our human nature to categorize ourselves or find a "group" to belong to. Distictions, in my opinion, are important to help us find what makes us different. Otherwise, we'd become one huge mass of beings. For example, we'd group ourselves by nationality. It's a simple way to say you're influenced by different opinions or cultural practices. The same thing goes with class. It can become motivation to either stay in your class or rise to a higher one. However, I agree that hateful attitudes towards distictions like the tension between black people and white people make people closed minded. Julia inevitably runs back to her "group" of white folks despite almost breaking the ongoing boundaries between race and class. I just hope that everyone can find a middle ground of respect for each other without the need of a devastating apocalypse.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, I think race and class decisions can certainly be harmful, but at the same time, I think they can also help you explore your own identity. As someone who is part of the larger Asian-American community, I find that other people with commonalities provide me with a way to do things such as speak my native language, eat foods from another culture, and talk about things that are pertinent to that specific group of people. I think W. E. B. Du Bois is not only stressing the fact that we should see everyone equally, but that we should be able to understand and comprehend the difference between finding commonalities and becoming exclusive and setting boundaries. For example, I believe that in the story he points out the development of jazz music, which wouldn't be possible if the African-American people in the area did not interact with each other and bond over their common interests.
ReplyDeleteI believe that differentiation such as race or class is highly ingrained in society just as you suggest Du Bois was eluding to in this piece. I agree with your mention of the importance of the use of the word "now" and the em-dash that precurses it. It displays Du Bois's views on how, only in situations such as those, are human distinctions able to fade into the background. It is only in specific, disastrous, conditions that people are able to see each other as equals. Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of Du Bois's statements regarding societies distinctions. Our commonplace standards are so ingrained in society that it would literally take a catastrophe for us to change it. Just the sheer stereotypes we form as a child growing up from various influences such as personal experiences and media, are nigh impossible to change. When we think of an white or black person, we immediately form a mental image of what a typical white or black person is, often forgoing their humanity, and instead associating them with certain traits.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct about the social distinctions we still seem to have today. Julia's persona was somewhat off-putting because just when it seems to the reader that she genuinely got over her previous ideology of race and social statuses, she ends up running off with her father and fiance as soon as she sees them and leaves Jim behind. It says a lot that it took the death of millions to get her to change just a little bit, and even then she ended up going back to her previous ways in the end. Du Bois gives a really powerful message about how deeply ingrained racial distinctions are in people's minds.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of the story--you've made it clear how Du Bois intends to show how entrenched racial and class stigmas are in our society. I think the part after your chosen passage also elucidates what Du Bois believes to be the problem. Even after Julia undergoes this revelation, she is unwilling to protect Jim against the abuse of her fiancee. The problem isn't just that people view superficial differences as inherent--it's that even those who realize that blacks and whites are equal don't do enough to make things right.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the detail of the em dash. In my analysis I missed that, and I think you're right; it seems as though a hesitance in her voice, though it could also simply be acting as a dramatic pause.
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