Du Bois' The Quest of The Silver Fleece: Sociology Through Fiction

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how Du Bois used fiction to portray sociological facts on race relations impacting an African American community at the beginning of the twentieth century as portrayed by his novel The Quest of the Silver Fleece. It is argued that the African American community depicted in The Quest of the Silver Fleece reflects conditions that were present in Lowndes County, Alabama in 1906. Du Bois therefore utilized fiction to display his sociological findings for the suppressed Lowndes County study. Some may read this report and still hold reservations as to the claim that The Quest of the Silver Fleece reflects what ought to have been present in the Lowndes County study. However, few can deny the sociological accuracy of the living conditions characterized of the Southern Black Belt as portrayed by Du Bois in The Quest of the Silver Fleece.