In Franz Fanon’s essay “The Fact of Blackness” he addresses the ontological issues that arise when discussing “blackness”. For the theorist “blackness” is not a self-created identity, but one that is imposed upon black people. For Fanon “blackness” are not only what is psychically seen or the outer appearance, but also blackness as a social uniform which functions on the larger scale of society to oppress and alienate the black man. Fanon expresses the idea that as a result of not being seen through your individual identity in society, but rather being seen through a specifically molded perspective of a black individual, this derives the deeper ontological issue that deals with the essence of black. For Fanon existing as a third-person, understands that there are three different ways his identity is viewed. Fanon states, “In the white world the man of color encounters difficulties in the development of his bodily schema. Consciousness of the body is solely a negating activity. It is a third-person consciousness. The body is surrounded by an atmosphere of certain uncertainty” (3). Fan explains the notion of “third-person consciousness” as the action of self-awareness in our action and us. Through this self-awareness we are able to see ourselves through the eyes of others and the process of othering begins which is an alienating experience for the black man to see himself through the eyes of a white man. In the same way W.E.B. Du Bois describes that identity is divided into several categories. As a theoretical tool, double consciousness reveals the psycho-social divisions in American society and based on the individual allows for a complete understanding of those divisions. For Du Bois, the concept of double consciousness is characterized by two particular and distinct signifiers; the first is ‘second sight’ – the inherent duality of African American identity and vision. The second, and more problematic signifier, is that of existing ‘behind the veil’ and this may be defined as the limitations of seeing and being seen unclearly. Du Bois makes the claim that double consciousness denies African Americans the opportunity to embrace a their true self identity and rather, the individual is characterized by two categories, as a American and a Negro, thus they are subjected to see themselves through the eyes of others and therefore unable to reconcile their two identities. Fanon uses Philosopher, John Paul Sartre’s theory of existentialism, which emphasizes the existence of the individual as free responsible agents determining their own development through free will.