Notes Of A Native Son By James Baldwin

People around the world question where they belong as they begin to gain a clear perspective on how society treats them. In "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin, Baldwin demonstrates a distinctive and complex relationship between him and his father. In the beginning, Baldwin did not quite understand the reason behind his father's bitterness, but as the essay progresses, he discovers his father deep within himself. After his first encounter of racial discrimination, he became aware of what his father warned him about and started to view himself, his father, and the white liberal society in a different way. Through several encounters of racism, he grew tremendous hate and detestation towards white liberals and could not stand what black people

After hearing the constant phrase, "We don't serve Negroes here," it triggered him to release all the anger he had bottled up inside of him. He felt like murdering any white person that comes in his way as Baldwin states, "I wanted to do something to crush these white faces, which were crushing me" (742). In the scene where he threw a pitcher filled with water at a white waitress, it highlights Baldwin's conflicting emotions caused by living as a black person in a racist society. He experienced a sense of raging temper so powerful that he did not care about his overall safety. It was only after when he was alone and safe was he able to realize that the situation would have turned out to be worse if it was not for the help of his white friend. The scene also illustrates how racism can cause one to feel displaced from oneself because he felt like he betrayed his friend in some way. As a result, his conflicting emotions led him to lose control of his actions and become alienated from himself. Because he felt as if he did not know who he is or where he belongs anymore, he resents white society for racially discriminating him and causing him to feel anger towards