The collection The Best American Essays of the Century by editor Joyce Carol Oates and co-editor Robert Atwan records intimate individual experiences with historical context in a way that is not only personal, but also profound. In a singular compilation, the reader is able to gain insight on three major overarching themes present in the majority of the essays: social conflict, individuality and assimilation, and innovation. Foremost, one of the primary themes present in the collection is the theme of social conflict. In the essay, “Of the Coming of John,” by W.E.B. Du Bois, the overarching idea is the concept of the racial conflict between blacks and whites. In the text, the “Black John” is juxtaposed with a “White John” as they both go
