Comparison Of Citizen By Claudia Rankine And Note Of A Native Son By James Baldwin

In the books Citizen by Claudia Rankine and Note of a native son by James Baldwin, they not only memorializes key eruptions of racial violence in recent American life, they also document the ongoing, ordinary, subtle experiences that characterize the racism of everyday life; Rankine suggests that the racialized violence of daily life is also what happened before it (the moment of social crisis) happened. The significance of their correlation of works is that regardless of time period, race, gender, sexuality and style of writing, somewhat similar concepts can be expressed through various methods and carry the same level of effectiveness despite their contextual differences. One main effect these two books is to reveal the United States to

It is neither a rant, nor a confession, nor lesson; nor does it offer a catharsis. At one point Rankine quotes James Baldwin's statement that "The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions hidden by the answers"(p 115). Citizen is a book interested in questions; it is open-ended and innovative in form. It includes numerous images, quotations from other writers, as well as several scripts for experimental videos, and what she calls a script for a "public fiction." Rankine often documents incidents without much commentary leaving a great deal of space for the reader to make meaning. The images are not explained. At one point the narrator overhears a man speaking about Claire Denis' film Beau Travail. The reference to this film about the bodies of legionnaires, men from the former French colonies is rich with associations, but Rankine does not follow up on any of them. Instead she later notes that Claire Denis had wanted to be a nurse when she was a child, but "she is no longer a child. Years have passed and so soon we love this world, so soon we are willing to coexist with dust in our eyes"(p. 155). This statement is rich in its own terms and like much in Rankine's book does not provide instruction or answers, but prods us to ask further

Written at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, Baldwin chronicles his views on white oppression, as well as the violence and political attacks on black citizens. Baldwin argues the lack of black identity, and the things that hold black citizens back from achieving their full potential. Baldwin explores the complexities of both race relationships and familial relationships. Concerning his relationship with his father, Baldwin admits toward the beginning of the story "We had got on badly, partly because we shared, in our different fashions, the vice of stubborn pride" (p.587). With this statement, Baldwin clearly sees the link between himself and his father. However, there are other moments when Baldwin’s rage and even a kind of paranoid madness descend upon him, possibly blinding him to the personal characteristics that he and his father share. He moves back and forth, throughout most of the essay, at times freely drawing parallels, at other times trying desperately to gain distance. The strength of the piece, however, is in his final resolution in which he comes to grips with his father’s emotions as well as his own. In the end, he is able to separate himself from his father and yet still cherish in a place in his heart the fact that he and his father will be forever