In Chapter 4, Du Bois relates to the reader his personal story of teaching young Black children in a poor, rural town. This entire chapter is intended to generate pathos, or a means of emotionally appealing to one's audience. By relaying to the reader how the lives of the marginalized and disadvantaged play out, Du Bois establishes an emotional connection between his subjects and his audience.
Throughout this chapter, Du Bois approaches his fellow Black Americans as a white academic might—not necessarily an anomalous occurrence, given the fact that Du Bois received an education at Harvard University. Consequently, his attempt to generate pathos reads as rather condescending, as opposed to a more genuine expression of solidarity and commiseration. Notably, towards the end of the chapter, Du Bois deploys racist, colonial, eugenic language against the very people he tries to develop readerly sympathy for:
So I hurried on, thinking of the Burkes. They used to have a certain magnificent barbarism about them that I liked. They were never vulgar, never immoral, but rather rough and primitive, with an unconventionality that spent itself in loud guffaws, slaps on the back, and naps in the corner.
Such an excerpt would not look out of place in the journal of a British colonizer, reflecting upon the people he met while traveling in Africa. In this context, however, Du Bois hopes to generate sympathy, not condescension or disdain.
