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V. Of the Wings of Atalanta

Summary

Du Bois describes Atlanta, Georgia using comparisons to mythology. He recounts the myth of Hippomenes racing Atalanta, and how Hippomenes placed golden apples on the path to distract Atalanta and win (so that Atalanta would marry Hippomenes) Du Bois states that there is a valuable warning in the story, that one should not be tempted into “thinking that golden apples are the goal of racing, and not mere incidents by the way.” He warns of a shift in priorities. He states that the success and rise of Atlanta further motivates individuals into trying to attain wealth instead of civil rights and equality.

Du Bois extends the analogy to discuss the lack of higher education opportunities available to Black people in the South, both for artisans and “college men.” He states that the “need of the South is knowledge and culture,” which is often placed behind the pursuit of wealth. He believes that a proper system of higher education, both trade schools and developed universities, are the best way to achieve progress. He states that the goal of the education system and the society itself should be to improve the quality of life. “And to make men, we must have ideals, broad, pure, and inspiring ends of living—not sordid money-getting, not apples of gold.”

Analysis

Du Bois begins the essay with rich imagery of the southern city, Atlanta, Georgia and then begins to craft an analogy between the city of Atlanta and the Greek myth of Hippomenes and Atalanta. The myth would be unfamiliar to a large audience, so Du Bois gives details of the story instead of simply alluding to it. The racers in the myth have dissimilar goals just as Du Bois has different goals for the Black people of the South than they seem to have for themselves. The golden apples of the story symbolize the money that Du Bois believes his people are drawn to. Du Bois desires a higher calling for his people. He wants them to work harder for civil rights and equality where they will find true happiness instead of seeking financial gain.

As in his previous essays, Du Bois presents education as the only way forward for his community. He yearns for other Black people to recognize education’s importance for their future as a people, and its ability to allow them to further develop their culture and find a place in the world. Critics derided Du Bois’s emphasis on higher education for Black people, but he believed an educated man was a more moral man. Education was a means to learn of their people's place in history and to build a hopeful future. Du Bois criticizes Washington for his view of what Black people need, and the respect that others give to his opinion is because of Du Bois’s credentials as an Ivy League-educated man who attended integrated schools. His talk of the Veil comes from his experience in these schools. Without his education, Du Bois would not have been equipped to analyze the Veil.

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