e ahead in life and get off the “beaten track” predestined for them by society. Du Bois stated that, “The function of the Negro college [is to provide]...the rich and bitter depth of their experience, the unknown treasures of their inner life, the strange rendings of nature they have seen, may give the world new points of view and make their loving, living and doing precious to all human hearts” (248). Du Bois infers that the educational system leads the person off the “beaten track” by expanding their views through the eyes of experts. This characterizes the “complex” tourists, which Du Bois would categorize students into. Percy though, believes otherwise. It is difficult to clearly differentiate who is wrong and who is right in the two essays. Both Percy and Du Bois stand by their statements strongly, but through personal experiences, when education is forced upon the students such as myself, it is hard to absorb all the information being taught, therefore, my interest in learning is lost. Percy sees that as a “simple tourists” characteristic. Like my parents, Du Bois suggests that education provide a successful future. The black students who have not had the chance to experience college should view education as getting off the “beaten track”, but slavery, and hard labor which is their daily life is the “beaten track” that most follow. To Percy, I am “simple” because some of my experiences are influenced by experts, but to my parents I would not be considered “simple” because I am doing something that is not common in their lives. Going to college is out of the ordinary, just like the Negroes. There are so many situations that need to be taken into consideration before categorizing people into “simple and complex”....
