The Quest of the Silver Fleece

By W.E.B. Du Bois

Book Overview

Set in Alabama and Washington, D.C., in the early part of the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois's first novel weaves the themes of racial equality and understanding through the stark reality of prejudice and bias. Originally published in 1911 and conceived immediately after The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois turned to fiction to carry his message to a popular audience who were unfamiliar with his nonfiction works. Du Bois addresses the fact that, despite the legal emancipation of African Americans, the instruments of oppression, in both the economy and government, remained in good working order. At the time he was writing, powerful white industrialists controlled the cotton industry, the silver fleece that depended, as it did during slavery, on the physical labor of African Americans. White Americans also controlled local and national government.

In the novel, Blessed Bles Alwyn, a young man seeking formal education to improve himself, is captivated by Zora, a vivacious, independent woman who lives outside society in a mysterious swamp. Faced with shocking events in Zora's past and ambivalence about how a black man should integrate into American society, Bles pursues his goals and ends up in Washington to assist on a senator's campaign. While in the city, he meets successful African Americans--and falls in love--but he ultimately recoils from the hypocrisies they must endure in order to be accepted in society. Instead, he is compelled to return to Alabama and Zora, where he must face his greatest challenges and fears.

With its frank and clear language, The Quest of the Silver Fleece is a remarkable portrait of racial prejudice at the turn of the twentieth century. Through the characters, Du Bois demonstrates the efficacy of self-sufficiency for those who face discrimination while championing the benefits of strength in diversity to American society as a whole.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812218922
• ISBN13: 9780812218923
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Pine Street Books
• Length: 434 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Another Great Du Bois Read

Who else but Du Bois could provide so much history, economics, romance, and drama in one book. I could not put the book down. I wonder how much, if any, influence Du Bois had on Toni Morrison, Edward Jones, and Ishmael Reed. This book, written in 1911, has themes and characters like those in "Song of Solomon", "Aunt Hagars Children", and "Flight to Canada". I read this book during the Obama quest for the presidency I kept thinking/feeling while reading, we sure have come a long way.

read it

Du Bois himself called The Quest "an economic study of some merit." Wow, it sure was an emotionally engaging economic study to read! This book is a page-turner. Du Bois attempts to take his reader into the heart of American neoslavery without using the traditional form of slave narrative. The fictional work of this famed writer of "The Souls of Black Folk," is a penetrating glance into soul of a nation built on dehumanizing labor.