The Souls of Black Folk: Genre 1 key example

The Souls of Black Folk is a sociological, informative piece of writing, intended as a means for Du Bois to both document and analyze the problems faced by Black Americans in the early nineteenth century. Notably, the writing goes beyond mere documentation: Du Bois uses a wide variety of literary techniques and figurative language to truly place his readership in the shoes of struggling Black Americans. Scattered throughout the text are multitudinous examples of simile, metaphor, and personification, accompanied by quite often vivid imagery. Du Bois puts his Harvard education to good use, referencing all kinds of poetry, prose, drama, and mythology from the Western literary canon; at times, he even strays from the English language, including excerpts in German.