Double Consciousness in Sag Harbor

After reflecting on the Head Patting Incident involving Martine, Benji Cooper mentions reading the work of W.E.B. DuBois, who introduced a concept known as "double consciousness." Essentially, DuBois describes double consciousness as the sensation of ".... always looking at one's self through the eyes of others..." in addition to having two identities; "One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body." 

When first publishing the idea of double consciousness, DuBois describes the moment he became aware of his second conscience; "It dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.” Although Benji may not have been able to put his feelings into words at the time of the original Incident, it seems that he is constantly aware of his black identity when in the city, especially because he is wealthy and black; early on in Sag Harbor, Benji explains how as “black boys with beach houses,” he and his younger brother, Reggie, are seen as “the definition of a paradox...” when in reality, this 'paradox' is the only life he has ever known. Double consciousness even affects Benji in Sag Harbor, despite it having a predominantly black population. Benji has dealt with white people touching his hair his whole life, so when Martine pats him on the head, Benji and many of his peers are unsure of whether or not Martine's actions had racist intentions. 

Benji is also hyper-aware of stereotypes and how he fits in with them. From his Brooks Brother outfits to his love of The Smiths, Benji is cognizant of his paradoxical status, and at the same time, struggles relating to his white classmates in the city. One of the moments that struck me the most was when Benji discussed being unable to carry a watermelon on his way to a picnic because being seen with a type of fruit in that single moment would leave him immediately vulnerable to racist stereotyping. Double consciousness affects Benji's identity significantly in Sag Harbor. 


Comments

  1. RylandMay 22, 2021 at 9:34 AM

    I think it is interesting that double-consciousness still comes into play in Sag Harbor. Benji is aware of his interests that don't really fit into the black community even though he is among his peers. I feel like he would be more at ease with his friends in Sag Harbor but instead he just substitutes his New York mask for a Sag Harbor mask. At first I did not really understand why Benji escalated the head patting incident to the scale he did but it does make a little more sense when you consider this frustration he has that he doesn't know how to express.

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  2. ZhaohanMay 23, 2021 at 1:10 PM

    When I was reading the book, the idea of double-consciousness was really interesting to me. While I am not African American, I could relate somewhat that I occasionally felt the stereotypes about my race during my day to day life. However, one major difference is that while Benji feels like he doesn't really fit in to either environment, I feel like I have both a Chinese and American environment I can take advantage of.

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  3. LorenzoMay 23, 2021 at 3:56 PM

    And I found it super obvious how much this double consciousness has affected him. When you mentioned Martine, it reminded me of what I thought when I first read that chapter. I thought that it was so interesting how the fact that Martine is black (even though they can't tell) brought on a whole new meaning to the situation. It has nothing to do with his outward appearance, it's just his identity, and it completely changes what's going on.

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  4. MitchellMay 26, 2021 at 8:23 AM

    I can imagine a reader responding to something like the Head-Patting Incident by saying something like, "These kids are just looking for things to be offended by. They're obsessed with race," etc. But this Incident along with others you mention (like the example of buying a watermelon at the supermarket) demonstrate that Benji and his friends have no choice BUT to think constantly in terms of race. It's not their choice; they live in a society that is historically obsessed with the idea of race, and with African American culture and identity specifically, so these boys can't help but exist in a context where they are aware it is always an issue. Nick can't just choose to wear a big gold rope chain and carry a giant boom box because he's into hip-hop and wants to project this image of himself--he is aware that his style will be seen according to all kinds of prejudiced lenses by the white people who see him walking through Sag blasting his box. He defiantly embodies the stereotype, which Benji views as one "strategy" among many--but there is no strategy available that says they can just ignore race and "be themselves." They are always already operating within a racially defined context.

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