ipl-logo

Analysis Of A Letter To My Nephew By Langston Baldwin

704 Words3 Pages

Langston Hughes depicts how discrimination has a direct impact on the speaker to explore how it influences the understanding of the speakers identity. The poem starts with the speaker stating "I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen”(Lines 2-3), describing the discrimination they face, being caste away from the public eyes and forced into the shadows. This message is portraying how societal norms dictate how an individual is seen and treated, leading to a distorted understanding of ones self. The opening line, "I am the darker brother," (Line 2) acknowledges the speaker's marginalized position in society, but despite this the speaker embraces his identity and resists societal norms. The speaker’s emphasis saying, “I’ll be at the table when company comes. nobody’ll dare …show more content…

Baldwin urges his nephew to recognize the struggle of their ancestors and to take pride in their heritage. He emphasizes that embracing one's cultural identity can serve as a powerful tool to combat the discrimination and prejudice. Baldwin uses imagery to highlight the black heritage as he says, “the black man has functioned in the white man's world as a fixed star, as an immovable pillar, and as he moves out of his place, heaven and earth are shaken to their foundations”, this metaphor speaks on the importance black Americans have on America’s culture and history, highlighting the fact his nephew needs to embrace who he is in this worked, and know their contribution. Balwin then reminds his nephew, “If you know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go”(), ensuring his nephew that his heritage is inspiration and can give him strength to break out of the mold and reach his full potential. Baldwin’s letter serves as a reminder as a reminder to recognize one’s cultural identity, and use it to fight against

Show More
Related
109 Words | 1 Pages

Both James Baldwin and Melba Beals are well experienced in living in a society where whites are viewed as superior to people of color, and they both know how it felt to feel ashamed in their own skin. In Baldwins letter "My Dungeon Shook" he writes to his nephew about succeeding in such an unfair world. In Melba's "Warriors Don't Cry" she tells her harrowing experiences as she tries to pursue the integration of Central High School as a member of the Little Rock Nine. Melba's experiences and the unfair world Baldwin describes have many similarities and it shows how society's treatment of others can dramatically affect someone's

Read More
1314 Words | 6 Pages

He begins to stray from logos and uses pathos to earn a sense of sympathy and understanding from his White audience. In this, he longs for the people to create this personal connection and intimate experience with the speaker. Baldwin speaks of how African Americans cannot escape the pounding reality facing his people: “You are a worthless human being” (Baldwin). However, this was not what troubled him the most. He found it utterly disheartening that by the time one comes to terms with this corrupt system of reality, it has transferred to their beloved youth (Baldwin).

Read More
1895 Words | 8 Pages

Baldwin’s ‘Blues Text’ as Intracultural Critique.” African American Review, vol. 32, no. 4, Winter 1998, pp. 691–705. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.2307/2901246.

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

In the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he expresses feelings of hate and despair towards his father. His father died when James was 19 years old from tuberculosis; it just so happens that his funeral was on the day of the Harlem Riot of 1943. Baldwin explains that his father isn’t fond of white people due to the racist past. He recalls a time when a white teacher brought him to a theater and that caused nothing but upset with his father, even though it was a kind act. Many events happened to Baldwin as a result of segregation, including a time where a waitress refused to serve him due to his skin color and Baldwin threw a pitcher of water at her.

Read More
148 Words | 1 Pages

Education, fair for all? I should think so, but only because of the case of Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954, in which, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine from the public education system. Due to it's nature, education is one of largest factors for surviving and because of this fact, it was starting to be seen as inherently unfair for those whose children had to deal with the segregation created by the "separate but equal" doctrine. The case brought many unequal points in this doctrine to light for all to see, such as, the segregation of students based solely upon the coloring of their skin, which, had a tedency to slow the educational and/or mental growth of colored children.

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

When James Baldwin was a young kid he was afraid of his father and did not talk to his father very much making him not be able to connect with his father. During the year of his father’s death Baldwin had founded why he is father was also so bitter. Baldwin’s father was also so bitter and cruel to white people because of the weight of white people. This

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

Baldwin’s solution for black people is for them to create their own identity and take a stab at achievement regardless of the social requirements or constraints set before them. For, “You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger". I was fascinated by the comparison of “Letter to My Son” by Ta-Nahisi Coates to that of Baldwin’s. Although they both bring forward the same topics and issues faced by the black community, however they both do not view the problem in the same way, as far as proposing a solution is concerned. For example, Baldwin proposed a solution in which he urges the black community through his nephew to recognize the shameful acts of injustice in America, and express acceptance with love towards the whites even though they may not do the same in

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

For instance in line 2-4 it states “I am the darker brother, They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes,” This reveals how because of his dark skin he is seen as someone who whites should not see, he's an embarrassment to have in front of others. One can infer that the white people he works for don't want him to be seen since in society at the time black people were not equal to them. The tone of frustration is shown in lines 16-18 when stated “They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed I, too am America” This exhibits the tone of frustration because once he eats with others who are white they will see how he is a person to, he is the same as them the only difference they have are who they are as people. We can infer that these whites will see that skin color doesn't matter and be ashamed of themselves for being so ignorant towards

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

One of his most powerful aphorisms reads as follows: “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason” (Baldwin 7). This aphorism makes the reader (his nephew) feel like a victim

Read More
2204 Words | 9 Pages

Baldwin recounts his father’s death as it was the birthdate of his father’s youngest child and his birthday; however his father and him hardly had any relationship to which he now regrets, he shares how he now understands his father: “I had had the time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warning, had discovered the secret if his proudly pursed lips and rigid carriage: I had discovered the weight if white people in the world” (Baldwin 90). Baldwin develops this idea by describing his estranged relationship with his father and contributing his conflicting attitude to his growing paranoia using an instance where he warned him about his kind white teacher and friends: “Some of them could be nice, he admitted, but none of them were to be trusted and most of them were not even nice” (Baldwin 94). He implies his fathers death to be a result of the restrictions and limitations African Americans faced and how stereotypes dictated the way they were perceived which made Baldwin’s father paranoid;

Read More
457 Words | 2 Pages

In the poem “I, Too” by Langston Hughes states “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table When company comes.” the poem depicts the experience of a black man in the past who was discriminated against and not seen as an equal since he was told to go eat in the kitchen when company came over. Despite this, he tells us how tomorrow will be a new day where he will be able to sit at the table and shows us his resilience in being able to do

Read More
676 Words | 3 Pages

Baldwin uses an advanced vocabulary throughout the essay, but only uses slang terms when referring to African Americans. By using phrases like “But if I was a "nigger" in your eyes”, he shows the audience what the words culturally imply such as stupidity and ignorance. Since this is

Read More
95 Words | 1 Pages

Upon being imprisoned for marching Dr Martin Luther King wrote a letter to the fellow clergymen of Birmingham, addressing his reasons as to why he committed his “crime”, This letter was widely known as “The Letter of Birmingham”. This letter was very influential and paramount to the cause of civil rights as it spurred up future events that would play essential roles in ending racial segregation in America. Throughout his whole letter, King used Ethos, logos, and pathos to firmly get his message across while adding rhetorical devices such as repetition, metaphors, and biblical references.

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

In A Letter to My Nephew, James Baldwin, the now deceased critically acclaimed writer, pens a message to his nephew, also named James. This letter is meant to serve as a caution to him of the harsh realities of being black in the United States. With Baldwin 's rare usage of his nephew 's name in the writing, the letter does not only serve as a letter to his relative, but as a message to black youth that is still needed today. Baldwin wrote this letter at a time where his nephew was going through adolescence, a period where one leaves childhood and inches closer and closer to becoming an adult.

Read More
525 Words | 3 Pages

The author states, “I am the darker brother”, talking on behalf of his race, since during his time African Americans were treated unfairly because of their skin color. Hughes does not mention the words racism, segregation, discrimination, or anything about the Civil Rights Movement. Instead, Hughes’ refers to a “darker brother” being told to eat somewhere else. As it talks of such a brother, the reader can easily infer the poem as a cry for the African-American man. This leads the reader to really see the point of view of the

Read More

More about Analysis Of A Letter To My Nephew By Langston Baldwin

Related Topics

Open Document