James Baldwin uses personal experience in The Fire Next Time to support the thesis that African Americans in his generation were damaged physically and psychologically as victims of racism. The girls of Baldwin’s generation “[turned] into matrons before they had become women” (Baldwin 17). There are plenty of risk factors concerning the girls’ premature age while pregnant. The girls became destined to become like their mothers instead of pursuing the American Dream: to have freedom. A mother’s responsibilities are to care for the child and work in the household, stereotypically speaking. With these responsibilities of a mother, the girls would have to sacrifice their time, which means that they are more likely to drop out of school to fulfill