The Souls of Black Folk: Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Having spent most of the book combining history, sociology, political analysis, and memoir, Du Bois again switches genre here by including a fictional story. This is a distinct contrast to a book whose explicit message is the promotion of knowledge and truth. However, the story of John Jones shows that certain truths can only be conveyed through fiction. While Jones was likely not a real person, his story is realistic, and in a way he comes to symbolize Southern black youth as a whole.

It’s clear that despite growing up together, John Jones and the “White John” now have divergent lives. Whereas a college education is deemed indispensable for the White John, white people like the Judge and his family espouse their community’s general opinion that education wills somehow “spoil” black people like John Jones. This attitude implies that white people in the South perceive educated black people as a threat to their own relative power and privilege. With this in mind, there are clearly social and legal barriers preventing black people from reaching the same level of education or positions of influence that white people have the opportunity to achieve. Additionally, the fact that the townspeople are divided on racial lines exposes the legacy of slavery that still exists in Southern towns like Altamaha in the late 19th century (when the story takes place) and suggests that there is lingering hostility between white and black communities.

Here, Du Bois returns to his exploration of the downsides of knowledge. While John lived in Georgia, he was cheerful and carefree, a picture of blissful ignorance. While studying at Wells Institute is supposed to be a positive and empowering experience for John, the transformation it provoked is largely negative, as it appears that John’s lack of opportunities as a child meant that he wasn’t properly prepared for college. John is also disconnected from his family and community, struggles to perform well at the Institution, and is burdened with a new understanding of racism and injustice.

The white man’s comment that his black friend was named after him implies that this is actually the “White John” and that the childhood playmate he’s referencing is John Jones. The fact that the two young men’s paths happen to cross is significant, as it only further emphasizes how different their circumstances are despite both happening to be in New York at the same show. Whereas Jones is struggling in school and came to the city in an attempt to remedy his personal struggle with internalized racism, the White John is seemingly thriving and is here on a carefree excursion with his date. And even though Jones is no longer in the segregated South, he still faces casual racism from people like the White John. This contrast between two young men, former friends from same small town, demonstrates how significantly racial oppression and unequal opportunity can shape a person’s life path.

This chance encounter between John Jones and the “White John” once again emphasizes just how divergent their lives have become since childhood. Whereas the two Johns were once playmates, race has clearly become a dividing factor both in how society treats them and in how they regard each other. The ease with which the White John is able to have Jones thrown out of the concert hall suggests that even relatively liberal places like New York City are still haunted by the U.S.’s legacy of slavery and that black people are generally regarded as inferior in the North as well as the South. Jones’s humiliation shows just how devastating this racist atmosphere can be on an individual’s psyche, and his self-doubt suggests that he has internalized the racism he faces to the point that he believes he’s “destined” to be a second-class citizen who will never find acceptance or success.

John is unable to replicate the sense of community he had back home when he moves away, yet when he returns home, he finds these ties have been severed irrevocably. When he then attempts to encourage his community to build new ties and create a greater overall sense of unity, he is attacked because they believe he is “tramping on the true Religion”—essentially, challenging the internalized beliefs and status quo that the black community has accepted as their lot in life. Leaving home thus permanently severs John’s sense of belonging to his community.

The conversation with the white Judge is a direct parallel to Alexander Crummell’s encounter with the bishop. It seems that John’s disheartening experiences at the Institute, as well as the humiliating racism he experienced in New York, has disillusioned him to the point of accepting his “subordinate” status as a black man in a Southern town. The Judge is clearly being racist and manipulative when he claims to be a “friend” to black people like John, but John makes the opposite decision to Alexander and agrees to “accept the situation” that the Judge demands (thereby aligning himself with Booker T. Washington).

The contrast between the White John and John Jones is again made obvious here: the White John’s success at Princeton has allowed him to return to a supportive community with high expectations for him, whereas Jones’s absence at the Wells Institute has left him alienated from and rejected by the black community. Whereas the White John has the potential to rise through the ranks of local and state leadership, Jones must reconcile himself to being a schoolteacher who’s “subordinate” under the Judge’s thumb. Further, the fact that the White John is the one who has the opportunity to govern the black population of Altamaha (and potentially of Georgia), despite his scorn for them, shows how racial oppression lends itself to keeping power in the hands of the white majority.

The fact that the postmaster still refers to the adult John Jones as “little black John” suggests that the white community still judges Jones primarily by his race rather than by his personality or accomplishments, and that he is still insignificant and even infantile and their eyes. However, this view is challenged by the Judge’s furious reaction to Jones’s subversive curriculum—in the same vein as the community’s belief that education would “spoil” Jones, the Judge seems to believe that teaching black schoolchildren about equality could provoke an uprising or a demand for equal rights. His closure of the school is thus a self-serving move to ensure that the black community in Altamaha remains oppressed, uneducated, and subservient.

The White John’s predatory treatment of Jennie reveals another sinister underpinning of his racism. His interest in Jennie takes on a fetishizing quality, as he thinks of her as a “little brown kitchen maid” whom he is physically attracted to but who is inferior to him on every level. Especially given the fact that Jennie is the family’s hired help and is therefore under the White John’s authority, the unequal dynamic between them is disturbingly similar to that of a master and a slave. The White John’s attempts to grab and chase Jennie imply that he will try to sexually assault her when he catches up to her; his desire to cruelly dominate and abuse Jennie in this way seems to be a way of channeling his pent-up rage that’s fueled by racism and sexism. Notably, the ease with which the White John makes the leap from ideological racism to racially-motivated violence suggests that even seemingly nonviolent racists have the potential to do great harm if they’re given the opportunity and power to do so.

Du Bois’s description of Jones having woken up from a dream upon hearing Jennie being assaulted more broadly implies that Jones is waking up from the “dream” or delusion of being able to get ahead in a racist society in which the cards are stacked against him. This is further emphasized by his brutal murder of the White John “with all the pent-up hatred of his great black arm,” as this implies that in killing the White John, he is also symbolically taking a stand against everything the White John represents: racism, unequal opportunity, and unearned privilege and entitlement. In this way, Jones’s murder of the White John (like the White John’s assault of Jennie) takes on a kind of slave/master dynamic in which the oppressed rises up against the oppressor.

Given that Jones goes back to the woods rather than fleeing town, it’s clear that he has no real intentions of going north. The removal of the White John’s body in Jones’s absence implies that someone else has discovered what’s happened, which portends serious consequences for Jones if he’s charged with the crime. Lynching was a common punishment for black criminals (as well as innocent black people, as they were often framed and rarely given fair trials) during this time, and it seems that in deciding to stay in Altamaha rather than returning to the North, Jones has accepted this violent fate.

Again, John’s passivity and mocking attitude toward the ominous sound of approaching horses suggests that he’s already accepted he’ll be killed by the vengeful white mob. John’s tragic fate, and his resignation to it, symbolizes Du Bois’s belief that all African Americans are doomed to be lynched, whether literally or metaphorically, by the racial oppression inherent to late 19th- and early 20-century U.S. society. In this way, Du Bois sends the disturbing message that under the status quo, John can never be free in life—his only path to freedom is through death.