All within the first paragraph of the essay Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin sets the tone for the rest of the essay. The essay is an idea of both opposition and similarity in his relationship with his father. This essay explores the complications of race relationships and family relationships happening at that time in his life. From the beginning of the passage Baldwin had mentioned how bitter his father was towards people. When Baldwin was younger he never really got why his dad was so bitter towards people until he had dealt with racism first-hand. It wasn’t until he got older and dealt with being treated poorly and less than that he got why his father was so bitter.
It wasn’t a secret that race riots and things in relations to race were going on back in that time. Baldwin and his family lived in Harlem which was a predominately black neighborhood. There were probably a few riots that had broke out during his time. “A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem.” (Baldwin 1) One of which was the
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Baldwin and his family lived in Harlem which was a predominately black neighborhood. For the most part there was no trouble there for the black community. There were a few white families living there at the time too some of which Baldwin and his siblings befriended easily at school. For Baldwin before Jersey he never experienced injustice or was treated differently because of the tone of his skin, but when he went and lived out in New Jersey all of that changed. When he was in New York he was the majority but when he lived in New Jersey he was the minority. “I knew about jim crow bit never experienced it.” (Baldwin 6) He was off by himself experiencing racism towards him and the color of his skin. He began to understand why his dad was no bitter and had built up hate for white people. Baldwin