Knowing that Baldwin was a black man from Harlem, one can assume he had put up with discrimination. He describes his relationship with his father saying, “I had not known my father very well” and this explains why he never learned to deal with hatred, and let it eat him up like it did to his father. His father was also very religious, and consequently, Baldwin saw Christianity, in which he grew up, as a mechanism by which African Americans channeled their desire for revenge against white oppressors. By describing his background in this fashion, he is able to gain empathy, credibility, and a large sense of ethos from his readers. Baldwin’s pathos is seen in his pure unadulterated hatred of white people.
Then, Baldwin goes on to describe how spending time around white southerners changed how he perceived himself. This time caused Baldwin to become conscious of how white people viewed him, resulting in restlessness and paranoia. Liu became aware of how white people looked at him during his childhood. While recalling moments from his youth as a Chinese American, Liu noted that “ceremony, protocol, etiquette—all these made [him] feel like an awkward stranger. Things that came as second nature to many white kids were utterly exotic to [him].”
Within the first page Baldwin writes, "It had something to do with his blackness, I think he was very black, with his blackness and his beauty, and with the fact that he knew that he was black but did not know that he was beautiful"(588). He understands what his father doesn't, he knows that despite being black there is still a beauty within
In turn, it was clearly an insult toward Wright’s style and intentions in literature. Baldwin was certainly aware of Wright’s intentions as he was familiar with his work. Afterall, Wright was idol for many years. In Wright’s essay, “Blueprint for Negro Writing” it is evident that the essay is intended for a black audience. Wright is critiquing black writers for being too artistic.
In the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he expresses feelings of hate and despair towards his father. His father died when James was 19 years old from tuberculosis; it just so happens that his funeral was on the day of the Harlem Riot of 1943. Baldwin explains that his father isn’t fond of white people due to the racist past. He recalls a time when a white teacher brought him to a theater and that caused nothing but upset with his father, even though it was a kind act. Many events happened to Baldwin as a result of segregation, including a time where a waitress refused to serve him due to his skin color and Baldwin threw a pitcher of water at her.
In the “Notes of a Native Son” Baldwin talks about three different stories that all relate to each other. The first story is about the death of his father. Baldwin explains the death of his father by explain what his father’s life was all about and what it included. He states that his father was cruel towards all white people. Also it talks about that his father’s last child was just born and that this child will not grow up like Baldwin he will not face the bitterness of Baldwin’s father's wrath.
Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations, believed that “Defeating racism [...] and all forms of discrimination will liberate us all, victim and perpetrator alike.” Like Ki-moon, James Baldwin’s personal narrative Notes of a Native Son also concludes that the average black person strives to conquer racism, but has an inherent hatred against whites that when manipulated wrongly, may prevent him or her from fighting racism effectively. Baldwin suggests that for black people, hatred can be used as a vehicle for opposing injustice, but is ultimately self-destructive. Hatred can be fostered as a means of opposing injustice when it isolates and causes people to see the maltreatment involved.
“James Baldwin Wrote About Race and Identity In America”). Throughout his books and commentary pieces, Baldwin repeatedly points out that Christianity is responsible for supporting slavery and calls out black Christians who use it as an excuse to live comfortably with oppression. However, he does not fail to give credit where it is due: Baldwin expresses his gratitude toward Christianity for helping the African-American community come together in order to protect themselves from racism (VOA. “James Baldwin Wrote About Race and Identity In
A common theme throughout James Baldwin’s work was race and sexuality. In a time period where African Americans were treated unethically, it was challenging to show an optimistic attitude within their writings. James Baldwin had many challenges against him while publishing
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
“In an increasingly competitive, cautious and accelerated world, those who are willing to take risks, step out of their comfort zone and into the discomfort of uncertainty will be those who will reap the biggest rewards” (Laura Benedict). In James Baldwin’s “The Discovery of what it Means to be an American”, he reminisces on a period of six years which he then refers to as his “first youth” ending. As an American born writer, Baldwin, illustrates many of the crippling effects of staying in America including the racial stigmas that exist to an African American writer and how these attributes take away from becoming a successful writer. Although America was his birthplace, Baldwin always felt as though he was left unfulfilled and as though “…the color of [his]skin had stood between [himself] and [him]” (1).
James Baldwin questioned that was Christianity created racial aggression with from a stand a point of white (18). On Page 21…. Discusses that Blacks begged to clean their sins as to becoming whitened and
Baldwin concludes that in order to move toward solving “the Negro Problem” in America, we must be willing to expand our ways of thinking about and experiencing the
James Baldwin was and continues to be a pillar of the black queer community. His words have acted as a source of wisdom and solidarity incitement that is unmatched. In Notes of a Native Son, Baldwin wrote, “I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that.” Baldwin’s life was not only his work, but his work did reflect his hardships and joys. His work told his own story of living in America and identifying as a justice-seeking black queer man.
Why do we read this? Connie Willis touches on this thought in her novel Passage. Willis states, "That's what literature is. " It’s the people who go before us, tapping out messages from the past, from beyond the grave, trying to tell us about life and death! Listen to them.
