Barin 1 Race & Gender In the late 19th Century and the 20th Century, there were serious social issues and civil rights concerns that revolved around racial and gender delimitations which led to the rise of a number of abolitionist movements who either championed for racial equality, women’s rights, or even both. Racism was the main theme of W.E.B. Du Bois’ works in which he was a strong opponent of lynching, discriminatory policies, and Jim Crow laws which hindered African American freedom, work and education. Du Bois recorded some of his protests on this topic in his collection of essays titled “The Souls of Black Folk” in which he premises that the “problem of the 20th Century is the problem of the color-line”. (Du Bois 1-2) The author’s arguments were a major stepping stone for African Americans in their fight against the inequalities of separate but equal doctrines in social and political life. Just as Du Bois’ literature served as inspiration to the civil rights movements by the African American community, Kate Chopin’s works were viewed as integral promoter for the feminist cause and women’s rights in 20th Century America. Chopin’s work selected for this assignment, “The Story of an Hour”, portrayed the realities plight of women’s freedom and rights in American society. In her story, she uses imagery through the eyes of a married couple which demonstrates the unlimited choices in the lives of women in America. She dictated in her story “Free! Body and soul free! ...” (Chopin 10), words that challenged the society’s predisposed notions of roles of women in the 19th and 20th Century. Whilst she did not view herself as an activist for women’s rights, the society in general viewed her as a key figure leading the women’s rights campaigns because of the impact and influence her works had towards the movement. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:16:21-07:00 Topic #4, Race and Gender The second half of the 19th century was impacted by movements to increase the rights of African Americans and women. Examine 2 works, one by Washington or Dubois and one by Chopin or Gilman; explain how each addresses the quest for equal rights. Identify similarities and differences between the two movements. Compare how and why each writer uses a different literary form (biography, essay, novel, short story) to develop idea. Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:17:41-07:00 discrimination? Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:18:12-07:00 abolition refers to abolishing slavery the suffragette movement had to do with women's right to vote Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:18:37-07:00 use the actual page number from your book Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:19:10-07:00 actually a bit later--she was heavily critiqued at the time of her writings Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:09-07:00 this story does not qualify for the essay. The assignment explicitly states that you must use only texts that we work on as a class. The story was not assig ...

1. Barin 1
Race & Gender
In the late 19th Century and the 20th Century, there were
serious social issues and civil
rights concerns that revolved around racial and gender
delimitations which led to the rise of a
number of abolitionist movements who either championed for
racial equality, women’s rights,
or even both. Racism was the main theme of W.E.B. Du Bois’
works in which he was a strong
opponent of lynching, discriminatory policies, and Jim Crow
laws which hindered African
American freedom, work and education. Du Bois recorded some
of his protests on this topic
in his collection of essays titled “The Souls of Black Folk” in
which he premises that the
“problem of the 20th Century is the problem of the color-line”.
(Du Bois 1-2) The author’s

2. arguments were a major stepping stone for African Americans
in their fight against the
inequalities of separate but equal doctrines in social and
political life.
Just as Du Bois’ literature served as inspiration to the civil
rights movements by the
African American community, Kate Chopin’s works were
viewed as integral promoter for the
feminist cause and women’s rights in 20th Century America.
Chopin’s work selected for this
assignment, “The Story of an Hour”, portrayed the realities
plight of women’s freedom and
rights in American society. In her story, she uses imagery
through the eyes of a married
couple which demonstrates the unlimited choices in the lives of
women in America. She
dictated in her story “Free! Body and soul free! ...” (Chopin
10), words that challenged the
society’s predisposed notions of roles of women in the 19th and
20th Century. Whilst she did
not view herself as an activist for women’s rights, the society in
general viewed her as a key
figure leading the women’s rights campaigns because of the
impact and influence her works

3. had towards the movement.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:16:21-07:00
Topic #4, Race and Gender
The second half of the 19th century was impacted by
movements to increase the rights of African Americans and
women. Examine 2 works, one by Washington or Dubois and
one by Chopin or Gilman; explain how each addresses the quest
for equal rights. Identify similarities and differences between
the two movements. Compare how and why each writer uses a
different literary form (biography, essay, novel, short story) to
develop idea.
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:17:41-07:00
discrimination?
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:18:12-07:00
abolition refers to abolishing slavery
the suffragette movement had to do with women's right to vote

4. Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:18:37-07:00
use the actual page number from your book
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:19:10-07:00
actually a bit later--she was heavily critiqued at the time of her
writings
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:09-07:00
this story does not qualify for the essay. The assignment
explicitly states that you must use only texts that we work on as
a class. The story was not assigned, so unfortunately your essay
will be penalized for failing to follow the instructions and for
writing on text outside of what is approved.
Barin 2
These two authors each challenged societal issues of
discrimination on race and
gender in their respective selected works. The first author, Du
Bois was an active civil rights
activist and Pan-Africanist who founded the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP). Owing to this he was vocal on the
emancipation of the African
American which he documents in the selected work for this
assignment “The Souls of Black

5. Folk”. In his works, he describes the biggest problem in
American society was the “color-
line” (Du Bois 2) which explained the intellectual and cultural
parity amongst members of all
races existent in the American society, more so those faced by
African Americans. Du Bois
explains the quest for civil rights by African Americans to be
challenged by “double
consciousness” (Du Bois 194) which categorizes the African
American community as both
black and American. He argued for social change on the African
American treatment in the
19th-20th Century through agitation and protest which clashed
with the philosophy of
accommodation forwarded by Booker T. Washington. Whilst Du
Bois was more direct in his
literary works by highlighting his issues on racism as his core
thesis, the other author
discussed in this paper preferred to employ symbolism and
imagery in her short stories to
forward her message.
In Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, she illustrates gender roles
in the American
society through the institution of marriage. Through this

6. symbolism, she voices the
restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms demonstrating how
the male gender has
constantly oppressed their female counterparts treating them as
inferiors and exercising
control over their decisions. She describes the inequality of
roles in the marriage as an image
of women’s complete lack of identity and the fact that no rights
were provided for them in
7
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:36-07:00
Cite all of your sources
Barin 3
society. Chopin’s story is concluded with the idea of the
possible death of her main
character’s husband, representative of women’s freedom from
oppression. (Chopin 157)
Struggles for women’s liberation and African emancipation
shared various elements
since both movements were launched around the same time in

7. the mid to late 19th Century.
Both the African American and the women in America faced
national oppression and were
unequal to the white man before the law. Abolitionism, the
struggle to emancipate enslaved
African Americans, in many ways kick-started the movement for
women’s suffrage as the
abolitionist movement in the U.S. had heavy involvement from
the women in society. The
African American struggle began to bear fruit after the passage
of the 15th Amendment
whereas the struggle for women’s suffrage had to wait until the
19th Amendment was passed
in 1920. African American rights were, however, frustrated
until the passage of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
The authors studied in this paper each employed different
literary forms each which
aid the passing of their distinct messages. Du Bois wrote his
works as a collection of (14)
essays which allowed him to separate them into various topics,
each tackling a different racial
issue that he had determined. Chopin documented her works as
a short story which allowed

8. her to use imagery and symbolism to pass her message whilst
also describing a compelling
narrative that her target audience could relate.
8
9
10
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:58-07:00
that isn't how the story ends.
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:21:16-07:00
your introduction doesn't contain that information
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:21:20-07:00
cite your sources
Barin i
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." St. Louis Life 5 January
1895. Document.
Du Bois, W. E. B. "The Souls of Black Folk; Essays and
Sketches." Ed. A. G. McClurg.

9. Chicago: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1868-1963. Essays. 26
September 2019.
Comment Summary
Page 1
1. Topic #4, Race and Gender
The second half of the 19th century was impacted by
movements to increase the rights of African Americans and
women. Examine 2 works, one by Washington or Dubois and
one by Chopin or Gilman; explain how each
addresses the quest for equal rights. Identify similarities and
differences between the two movements. Compare
how and why each writer uses a different literary form
(biography, essay, novel, short story) to develop idea.
2. discrimination?
3. abolition refers to abolishing slavery
the suffragette movement had to do with women's right to vote
4. use the actual page number from your book
5. actually a bit later--she was heavily critiqued at the time of
her writings
6. this story does not qualify for the essay. The assignment
explicitly states that you must use only texts that we
work on as a class. The story was not assigned, so unfortunately
your essay will be penalized for failing to follow
the instructions and for writing on text outside of what is
approved.

10. Page 2
7. Cite all of your sources
Page 3
8. that isn't how the story ends.
9. your introduction doesn't contain that information
10. cite your sources
Barin 1
Race & Gender
In the late 19th Century and the 20th Century, there were
serious social issues and civil
rights concerns that revolved around racial and gender
delimitations which led to the rise of a
number of abolitionist movements who either championed for
racial equality, women’s rights,
or even both. Racism was the main theme of W.E.B. Du Bois’
works in which he was a strong
opponent of lynching, discriminatory policies, and Jim Crow
laws which hindered African
American freedom, work and education. Du Bois recorded some

11. of his protests on this topic
in his collection of essays titled “The Souls of Black Folk” in
which he premises that the
“problem of the 20th Century is the problem of the color-line”.
(Du Bois 1-2) The author’s
arguments were a major stepping stone for African Americans
in their fight against the
inequalities of separate but equal doctrines in social and
political life.
Just as Du Bois’ literature served as inspiration to the civil
rights movements by the
African American community, Kate Chopin’s works were
viewed as integral promoter for the
feminist cause and women’s rights in 20th Century America.
Chopin’s work selected for this
assignment, “The Story of an Hour”, portrayed the realities
plight of women’s freedom and
rights in American society. In her story, she uses imagery
through the eyes of a married
couple which demonstrates the unlimited choices in the lives of
women in America. She
dictated in her story “Free! Body and soul free! ...” (Chopin
10), words that challenged the
society’s predisposed notions of roles of women in the 19th and

12. 20th Century. Whilst she did
not view herself as an activist for women’s rights, the society in
general viewed her as a key
figure leading the women’s rights campaigns because of the
impact and influence her works
had towards the movement.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:16:21-07:00
Topic #4, Race and Gender
The second half of the 19th century was impacted by
movements to increase the rights of African Americans and
women. Examine 2 works, one by Washington or Dubois and
one by Chopin or Gilman; explain how each addresses the quest
for equal rights. Identify similarities and differences between
the two movements. Compare how and why each writer uses a
different literary form (biography, essay, novel, short story) to
develop idea.

13. Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:17:41-07:00
discrimination?
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:18:12-07:00
abolition refers to abolishing slavery
the suffragette movement had to do with women's right to vote
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:18:37-07:00
use the actual page number from your book
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:19:10-07:00
actually a bit later--she was heavily critiqued at the time of her
writings
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:09-07:00
this story does not qualify for the essay. The assignment
explicitly states that you must use only texts that we work on as
a class. The story was not assigned, so unfortunately your essay
will be penalized for failing to follow the instructions and for
writing on text outside of what is approved.
Barin 2
These two authors each challenged societal issues of
discrimination on race and
gender in their respective selected works. The first author, Du
Bois was an active civil rights
activist and Pan-Africanist who founded the National

14. Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP). Owing to this he was vocal on the
emancipation of the African
American which he documents in the selected work for this
assignment “The Souls of Black
Folk”. In his works, he describes the biggest problem in
American society was the “color-
line” (Du Bois 2) which explained the intellectual and cultural
parity amongst members of all
races existent in the American society, more so those faced by
African Americans. Du Bois
explains the quest for civil rights by African Americans to be
challenged by “double
consciousness” (Du Bois 194) which categorizes the African
American community as both
black and American. He argued for social change on the African
American treatment in the
19th-20th Century through agitation and protest which clashed
with the philosophy of
accommodation forwarded by Booker T. Washington. Whilst Du
Bois was more direct in his
literary works by highlighting his issues on racism as his core
thesis, the other author
discussed in this paper preferred to employ symbolism and

15. imagery in her short stories to
forward her message.
In Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, she illustrates gender roles
in the American
society through the institution of marriage. Through this
symbolism, she voices the
restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms demonstrating how
the male gender has
constantly oppressed their female counterparts treating them as
inferiors and exercising
control over their decisions. She describes the inequality of
roles in the marriage as an image
of women’s complete lack of identity and the fact that no rights
were provided for them in
7
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:36-07:00
Cite all of your sources
Barin 3
society. Chopin’s story is concluded with the idea of the
possible death of her main

16. character’s husband, representative of women’s freedom from
oppression. (Chopin 157)
Struggles for women’s liberation and African emancipation
shared various elements
since both movements were launched around the same time in
the mid to late 19th Century.
Both the African American and the women in America faced
national oppression and were
unequal to the white man before the law. Abolitionism, the
struggle to emancipate enslaved
African Americans, in many ways kick-started the movement for
women’s suffrage as the
abolitionist movement in the U.S. had heavy involvement from
the women in society. The
African American struggle began to bear fruit after the passage
of the 15th Amendment
whereas the struggle for women’s suffrage had to wait until the
19th Amendment was passed
in 1920. African American rights were, however, frustrated
until the passage of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
The authors studied in this paper each employed different
literary forms each which

17. aid the passing of their distinct messages. Du Bois wrote his
works as a collection of (14)
essays which allowed him to separate them into various topics,
each tackling a different racial
issue that he had determined. Chopin documented her works as
a short story which allowed
her to use imagery and symbolism to pass her message whilst
also describing a compelling
narrative that her target audience could relate.
8
9
10
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:20:58-07:00
that isn't how the story ends.
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:21:16-07:00
your introduction doesn't contain that information
Wendy Lym @ 2019-10-11T10:21:20-07:00
cite your sources
Barin i

18. Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." St. Louis Life 5 January
1895. Document.
Du Bois, W. E. B. "The Souls of Black Folk; Essays and
Sketches." Ed. A. G. McClurg.
Chicago: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1868-1963. Essays. 26
September 2019.
Comment Summary
Page 1
1. Topic #4, Race and Gender
The second half of the 19th century was impacted by
movements to increase the rights of African Americans and
women. Examine 2 works, one by Washington or Dubois and
one by Chopin or Gilman; explain how each
addresses the quest for equal rights. Identify similarities and
differences between the two movements. Compare
how and why each writer uses a different literary form
(biography, essay, novel, short story) to develop idea.
2. discrimination?
3. abolition refers to abolishing slavery
the suffragette movement had to do with women's right to vote
4. use the actual page number from your book
5. actually a bit later--she was heavily critiqued at the time of
her writings

19. 6. this story does not qualify for the essay. The assignment
explicitly states that you must use only texts that we
work on as a class. The story was not assigned, so unfortunately
your essay will be penalized for failing to follow
the instructions and for writing on text outside of what is
approved.
Page 2
7. Cite all of your sources
Page 3
8. that isn't how the story ends.
9. your introduction doesn't contain that information
10. cite your sources