The article discusses Stanley Gaines' article "The 'two souls' of Barack Obama" published in the Western Journal of Black Studies. Gaines discusses the criticism that Obama embraces only his white or black heritage. Gaines attempts to show through Obama's speeches and autobiography that Obama has a strong balance of both heritages. He references W.E.B. Du Bois' theory of African Americans struggling to reconcile their African and American identities. Gaines presents Obama as an example of being at peace with both aspects of his identity.

1. Last
Name
1
First
Name
Last
Name
Professor
Weigand
English
69
13
March
2012
Summary
and
Evaluation
In
the
article
published
by
the
Western
Journal
of
Black
Studies,
“The
‘two
souls’
of
Barack
Obama,”
Stanley
Gaines
discusses
the
common
criticism
of
Barack
Obama
that
he
embraces
only
his
white
heritage
or
his
black
heritage.
Gaines
attempts
to
prove,
using
various
quotes
from
Obama’s
speeches
and
autobiography,
that
Obama
has
a
strong
balance
of
both
heritages.
Gaines
references
W.
E.
B.
Du
Bois’
theory
on
the
two
souls
of
African
Americans:
that
they
have
trouble
reconciling
their
African
heritage
with
their
American
heritage,
which
can
have
detrimental
damage
upon
the
psyche.
Gaines
shows
how
Obama
is
an
ideal
example
of
how
one
can
be
at
peace
with
both
“souls.”
This
article
is
highly
philosophical
and
spends
much
of
the
essay
discussing
various
philosophical/psychological
theories,
not
all
of
which
he
applies
to
Obama.
For
example,
he
spends
some
time
discussing
William
James’
theory
about
the
“soul”
being
different
from
the
“self,”
which
could
have
been
mentioned
very
briefly.
This
article
also
needs
to
define
certain
key
terms
earlier
on
to
avoid
confusion.
I
agree
with
the
author’s
opinion
of
Obama
and
am
glad
to
see
him
defend
the
president
against
pointless
accusations.
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