“BETWEEN me and the other world, there is always an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others because of the difficulty of phrasing it correctly... instead of directly saying: What does it feel like to be a problem? They say: I know an excellent colored man in my town; or, I fought at Mechanicsville; or, Do not these outrages of the South make your blood boil (Du Bois 1)? In "The Souls of Black Folk" WEB Du Bois raises awareness of a psychological challenge of African Americans, known as "double consciousness," of living in two worlds: that of the predominant white race and that of the community African American. . As defined by Du Bois, double consciousness is the feeling of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul against a world that looks at us with amused contempt and pity. We always feel his duality: an American, a Black; two souls, two thoughts, two irreconcilable efforts; two warring ideals in a single dark body, whose tenacious strength alone keeps it from being torn apart. (Du Bois 1) In other words, double consciousness can be described as an attempt to make peace with the conflicting values ​​of African heritage and European upbringing in an African American individual. Such an obstacle can potentially be very detrimental to a person's sense of identity. The psychological theory of double consciousness can be explored in the writings of African American authors. The works of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and the first chapter of Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man demonstrate the difficult collision of two cultures within the protagonists that shape their identities and surprisingly help them gain stronger self-esteem that... ... middle of paper ...... conflict between African culture and European education of African American individuals. Double consciousness can potentially be detrimental to the individual if the perception of others influences the perception of oneself. Through the evaluation of the works "Eyes Look at God" and "The Invisible Man", the collision of ideals is illustrated, shaping the identity of the protagonists and transforming into a source of strength rather than weakness.Works CitedDu Bois , WEB "Chapter 1: Of Our Spiritual Efforts." The Souls of the Negro People. New York: New American Library, 1969. 1-3. Print. Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man Chapter 1. The Norton Anthology of American Literature . By Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013. Print..