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My Dungeon Shook James Baldwin Analysis

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In My Dungeon Shook, a short story within Vintage Baldwin, written by James Baldwin in 1963, reveals many dilemmas that the story conveys in which the characters and elements reinforce throughout the story. In the story, Baldwin is conducting a letter to his future nephew on the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation revealing how society was at the time and how life was lived for an African American. Religion was a factor in Baldwin’s life. Many African American and Baldwin relied on God and figured that God will help the white society realize their wrongs. The African American society relied on patience for hundreds of years and is discussed their patience and restraint throughout the letter. Throughout the letter, Baldwin discusses how to …show more content…

Throughout My Dungeon Shook, the African American community and James Baldwin faces many problems and segregation in their everyday life. He tells his nephew how difficult life is being segregated and how not much has changed since the Emancipation. He begins to talk about it not being fair just because of the color of their skin. Throughout the letter, he discusses how his nephew should deal with everyday life and what he should he expect. He tells his nephew how he should accept what the white society is doing and how he should deal with it in his future. He says rebelling will not change anything and all his nephew will need is patience. Throughout the letter, Baldwin states important information and many situations such as how African Americans were treated and how many of situations and elements were approached throughout that time period. Religion was a big part of Baldwin life and incorporated it through his hardships. The title of the letter written to his nephew also tied into how he felt during that time period. Through this short story, Baldwin and all the elements in the story identify a dilemma that the story conveys, and helps to illustrate and reinforce the issue that is going on during this

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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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Though many changes have transpired in America since the days of slavery, adversity, absence of chances and issues such unfairness and prejudice, which proceeds to gradually develop and encounter by a few, regularly thwarts one from prevailing. The topics of injustice and racism were greatly discussed in all the three letters from James Baldwin, Dr. Martin Luther King and Ta-Nehisi Coates. I thought all three letters were very powerful pieces, as they were beautifully written, reflective and moving. “My Dungeon Shook” by James Baldwin is a captivating read, it entails the social struggles faced in the US by African Americans and white stereotypes of black identity.

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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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"I have begun this letter five times and torn it up five times. I keep seeing your face, which is also the face of your father and my brother" (1) indicates that Baldwin put time and effort into making this work as heartfelt as possible to make his message clear. The writing style he used in this message is one that shows that he is familiar with his audience, his nephew. At the same time, this language style is familiar because this letter can be used to address African-American teens other than his nephew James. Baldwin 's language in A Letter to My Nephew shows that he is pacifying his nephew for being born into the environment that he is in, but at the same time passing the blame onto the United States for creating such an environment.

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