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Analysis Of Notes Of A Native Son By James Baldwin

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James Baldwin’s nonfiction essay “Notes of a Native Son” begins with a statement of death and birth. He starts off by making it aware to the reader that his father died on the same day that his father’s last child was born. The essay truly examines a complicated father-son relationship. Baldwin reflected on his memories and the relationship he shared with his father.

Baldwin lays out every detail of the relationship of him and his father. He shares many examples of how he is both similar and different from his father. It seems throughout the essay that he is oblivious to the difference that he has with his father. For example, in one part of the essay Baldwin points out that he was getting along very well with his father because they shared ‘‘the vice of …show more content…

Which his father funeral was also his nineteenth birthday. Baldwin also reveals that he was extremely scared of his dad. He and siblings thought of him as a bitter individual. Baldwin’s dad was extremely pleased about being black. He didn't have any white companions, and did not want his children to become friends with whites either. He disclosed to them that they couldn't be trusted; but on the other hand, Baldwin did not concur with him. Baldwin trusted that the color of your skin had no part in whether one could be trusted. However his dad's black pride remained with him.

When Baldwin became older and experienced about life, he reflected back to his childhood and to his father’s beliefs. Baldwin gained a better understanding on his father’s beliefs. The essay examines a truly complicated father-son relationship because Baldwin was too young and naive to completely understand the reason why his father acted the way he did. With Baldwin’s lack of understanding of his father, it made him grow up to dislike him, but blind to what his dad’s reasoning to why he acted the way he did towards

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