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James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time

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James Baldwin 's, The Fire Next Time, is an extended, autobiographical essay that expresses his view on race relations within the ever so divided United States. Beginning with a straight forward, heart-felt letter to his nephew, Baldwin outlines the unfortunate, discriminatory situation in which all black citizens are cast into from birth and makes James aware that he is the one who is tasked with the responsibility of accepting this fellow white countrymen. Following this personalized letter, Baldwin dives into his life story by explaining his fear of succumbing to his doomed fate, his eventual rejection of religion, and his ultimate conclusion regarding the proper way for black Americans to rise above suppression and to abolish the rigged …show more content…

As a young boy, Baldwin sought a gimmick in order to fill the void and fear of possibly living his life on the streets. The Christian church was an authority figure that offered a sense of fulfillment and comfort, providing him with an escape from reality. Although effective, Baldwin eventually grew skeptical and wary of the teachings that he once found meaningful as he realized the imperialistic nature of the church 's past and its limiting impact on the country. For years, religion was used by whites to justify their superiority and oppress blacks. Christianity represents a rigid way of thinking that discourages questioning the status quo and forces its disciples to continue with past tradition. In order to affect positive change in the country, the people need to rebel against the past and develop a new way of thinking. Baldwin argues that race relations cannot improve if one is consumed in a religion centered around the subjugation of others. Instead, the past needs to be accepted and moved on from and the future has to be centered around a new way of thinking which embraces change, support, and love from both black and white

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From the characteristics of an author’s writing, the reader can tell whether the author’s piece is effective. Despite how long ago they were made, Martin Luther King Jr.’s response to criticism from some clergymen in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and James Baldwin's “If Black English Isn't A Language, Then Tell Me What Is” on the role of language, remain important pieces of writing today because they still relate to the ongoing internal separation between races in America. Their long time recognition has their writing being compared to give readers with insight on how to develop their own argument successfully. King’s essay is more effective than Baldwin’s because of their different style, character, and vocabulary.

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The struggle of man versus nature long has dwelt on the consciousness of humanity. Is man an equal to his environment? Can the elements be conquered, or only endured? We constantly find ourselves facing these questions along with a myriad of others that cause us to think, where do we fit? These questions, crying for a response, are debated, studied, and portrayed in both Jack London’s “

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Instead, he implores them to be more political. His goal in writing is to make people aware of the social injustices occurring. The Negro writer who seeks to function within his race as a purposeful aren has a serious responsibility. In order to do justice to his subject matter, in order to depict Negro life in all of its manifold and intricate relationships, a deep, informed, and complex consciousness is necessary; a consciousness which draws for its strength upon the fluid lore of a great people, and more this lore with concepts that move and direct the forces of history today (Wright,

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409 Words | 2 Pages

The debate of James Baldwin and William F. Buckley had a significant impact on the concept of race and the system that has been built on race, which has affected people of color, within America. It was significant due to it discussing whether or not the American dream has been achieved at the expense of the American Negro. A major component during this debate was the fact that the American Negro has been denied the opportunity and chance to take part in the thing that many dream and hope for, the American Dream. The American Negro has been denied this opportunity due to being used for cheap labor, while not getting a fair chance to make a good and stable life, as well as, being taught that they have no history and were saved by those that took

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2399 Words | 10 Pages

Racism and racial inequality was extremely prevalent in America during the 1950’s and 1960’s. James Baldwin shows how racism can poison and make a person bitter in his essay “Notes of a Native Son”. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” also exposes the negative effects of racism, but he also writes about how to combat racism. Both texts show that the violence and hatred caused from racism form a cycle that never ends because hatred and violence keeps being fed into it. The actions of the characters in “Notes of a Native Son” can be explain by “A Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and when the two texts are paired together the racism that is shown in James Baldwin’s essay can be solved by the plan Dr. King proposes in his

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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

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77 Words | 1 Pages

In James Baldwin’s essay, “A Talk to Teachers”, he addresses the teachers around the world. He argues that the purpose of education is to equip students with the ability to look at the world for themselves. Clearly, Baldwin’s most significant rhetorical move to persuade the reader is his use of ethos, pathos, and repetition. Throughout Baldwin’s essay, he encourages changes in education for blacks, but he does so using ethos and pathos.

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812 Words | 4 Pages

In this passage from Why We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King Jr. argues that equality for black must come immediately, not in 15 years, but right now and blacks need to stand up and fight for it. His tone on this subject is passionate and righteous. Rather than just stating facts, Martin Luther King Jr. makes the choice to make his argument based around the lives of a black girl and a black boy. He uses anecdote, appeals to logos, and repetition to make his point. Martin Luther King Jr. opens with two anecdotes, one about a young black girl's life in Birmingham and another about a young black boy’s life in Harlem.

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970 Words | 4 Pages

The book begins with anecdotes about the defamation of black bodies by white people and by Christianity itself. When speaking about his adolescence, Baldwin writes that “Owing to the way I had been raised, the abrupt discomfort that all this aroused in me and the fact that I had no idea what my voice or my mind or my body was likely to do next caused me to consider myself one of the most depraved people on earth” (Baldwin 17). The platonized Christian tradition that Baldwin was a part of saw the body, and especially the black body, as a symbol of sin, and so the onset of puberty became a source of guilt because of its association with sexuality (Brown Douglas

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758 Words | 4 Pages

For James Baldwin’s many devotees, Jimmy’s Blues and Other Poems is representative of the American novelist and essayist we all know: the narrative voice in Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) and the unabashed writer-activist of The Fire Next Time (1963). As we look back

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642 Words | 3 Pages

Righteous Religion James Baldwin, a writer from Harlem, New York, is particularly studied because of how he addresses race in the United States. Though he saw himself as a “witness to the truth,” Baldwin becomes a leader in black freedom particularly in his collection of essays, The Fire Next Time (The Chicago Tribune). In the essays explored in class, “My Dungeon Shook” and “ Letter from a Region in My Mind,” religion is a reoccurring theme that played an integral part in Baldwin’s life. Although the streets would usually be seen as a more dangerous and deteriorating lifestyle than the church; chapters from The Fire Next Time demonstrate that the institution of the black church created an equally negative and lasting impression that mirrored the impact of street life. Though “My Dungeon Shook” focuses less on religion and more on identity, the first paragraph introduces religion with a negative implication attached.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.” (King). King calms the African Americans who are being oppressed by using the words, “this situation can and will be changed.” and “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.” which gives them hope that there will be a new day when a change will take place.

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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

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622 Words | 3 Pages

His father had so much hatred towards white people that he just was an angry person. The hatred continued until the day his father died. After the death of his father, Baldwin was looking at the religious texts that his father had written. Previously, Baldwin had no emotional connection to the texts, but now, suddenly, they had meaing to Baldwin. While walking to burry his father, he began to notice the broken down streets and the mess that was made by both the whites and blacks.

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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.

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