in which you apply Du Bois’s ideas to Everett’s Erasure
- How would you describe Monk’s relation to his race? Do you think he feels comfortable with being Black? Why or why not? How might Du Bois’s ideas help you understand Monk? To what extent does Monk exemplify Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness? How many identities/roles do you think Monk embodies/plays? What are these identities/roles? Why does he embody/play these identities/roles? How might Monk as a character complicate or speak back to Du Bois’s theory?
- Why do you think Monk writes My Pafology? What do you think of this novel within the novel? How might Du Bois’s ideas help you understand the purpose of My Pafology? Is My Pafology a satire? If so, of what and why would Monk want to satirize it? How would you compare Monk to Van Go? How might Van Go’s story differ from Monk’s? How might Van Go’s story be similar to Monk’s?
- Percival Everett, Erasure, pp. 1–131 (chapters 1–6 and My Pafology)
- W.E.B. Du Bois, excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk
