ipl-logo

The Fire Next Time Analysis

716 Words3 Pages

“We can make America what America must become, (Baldwin 10) ” James Baldwin said in the novel The Fire Next Time written in the early 1960s.. The Fire Next Time is composed of two personal letters speaking of Baldwin’s experience with racism in his everyday life and the oppression and mindset that comes through in culture he was raised into. Baldwin speaks of many issues surrounding racism like, the preconception of what an African-American person is suppose to act like, the ideals of religion in relation to racism and loss of it’s meaning to him and the movement towards a liberated America. Baldwin speaks of how we can make America what America must become through acceptance, understanding and a love for our own cultures as well of the love …show more content…

The same issues that Baldwin wrote about affecting his life in the 1960s are still occurring nearly 50 years later. “Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.” (BlackLIvesMatter.com) It speaks volumes in the fact alone that we still need to have organizations to stand up and protect nearly 13% of the population (Census.gov) from being a target in politics and stereotypes and currently the huge issue with Black lives and law enforcement. This was also a topic in Baldwin’s life when he mentioned that he has also noticed many Black Americans being mistreated. Baldwin wrote how the police were“...totally unprepared, as is the way with American hemen, for anything that could not be settled with a club or a fist or a gun. I might have pitied them if I had not found myself in their hands so often and discovered, through ugly experience, what they were like when they held the power,” (Baldwin 48,49) It is more the evident that we must stand up for our brothers and sister, no matter what are race is. As children, we were all taught right from wrong and as a nation we know that these acts of discrimination and social injustices are wrong. We must rise together as one, loving ourselves and others, speaking up when we know something is not just and educating ourselves of cultures that are not ours. Only then can we make America what America must become. Only then can we honestly say that America is

Show More
Related

How Is Fahrenheit 451 Relevant Today

694 Words | 3 Pages

Normally when a police officer arrives at your house, or pulls you over it means dreadful things, like an expensive ticket. But following the George Floyd incident, and the Black Lives Matter Movement, our law enforcement is now starting to be feared by the African American community. An encounter with an officer could now mean a beating, or death. These feelings are all too similar to the feelings of the citizens of Fahrenheit 451 where when Firemen come to your house, it means you are now homeless, and perhaps

Read More

'Sonny And Sonny's Life In Harlem' By James Baldwin

1858 Words | 8 Pages

James Baldwin was born, August 2, 1924 in Harlem, and happened to be the grandson of slaves. Richard Wright, who Baldwin describes as, “The greatest black writer in the world for me,” would be the motivation that help turn Baldwin’s writing aspiration into reality. Baldwin soon became, “One of the most important African-American writers of the mid twentieth century,” (New World Encyclopedia). Though Baldwin died on December 1, 1987 his works still, today have a powerful meaning and representation of black Harlem in the early 1900’s. “Harlem, a large neighborhood within the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is known as one of the worst areas for poverty and crime in New York City and the United States” (Finnegan 55).

Read More

Discrimination Exposed In James Baldwin's Notes Of Native Son

687 Words | 3 Pages

Baldwin uses his father as an example of effect discrimination can have. He wishes he could discuss his own problems with his father He says, “When he was dead I realized that I hardly ever spoken to him. When he was dead a long time I began to wish I had.” He uses this theme as a way to discuss racial issues.

Read More

Oppression In James Baldwin's Notes Of A Native Son

266 Words | 2 Pages

“It began to seem that one would have to hold in the mind forever two ideas which seemed to be in opposition. The first idea was acceptance… the second idea was of equal power… [one] must fight them with all one’s heart”- James Baldwin. For years, the Harlem community had been facing oppression and discrimination, they dealt with these matters in one of two ways, fighting back violently or becoming complacent. However, this is not the resolution that Baldwin presents in “Notes of a Native Son”. He comments that in order to begin change one must approach the problem with an opposing solution, which consists of acknowledging the injustices in society and fighting against the oppression in a non-violent way.

Read More

Identity Differences Between Baldwin And Gwendolyn Brooks

328 Words | 2 Pages

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

Read More

Journey To America By James Baldwin Sparknotes

2204 Words | 9 Pages

Baldwin recounts his father’s death as it was the birthdate of his father’s youngest child and his birthday; however his father and him hardly had any relationship to which he now regrets, he shares how he now understands his father: “I had had the time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warning, had discovered the secret if his proudly pursed lips and rigid carriage: I had discovered the weight if white people in the world” (Baldwin 90). Baldwin develops this idea by describing his estranged relationship with his father and contributing his conflicting attitude to his growing paranoia using an instance where he warned him about his kind white teacher and friends: “Some of them could be nice, he admitted, but none of them were to be trusted and most of them were not even nice” (Baldwin 94). He implies his fathers death to be a result of the restrictions and limitations African Americans faced and how stereotypes dictated the way they were perceived which made Baldwin’s father paranoid;

Read More

Symbolism In The Birthmark And Sonny's Blues Essay

1517 Words | 7 Pages

Yet it had happened and here I was, talking about algebra to a lot of boys who might, every one of them for all I knew, be popping off needles every time they went to the head. Maybe it did more for them than algebra could” (Baldwin, 96). This supports the fact that Baldwin uses darkness within the story to symbolize the tragedy and suffering experienced by African Americans in the 1900s. Often, the darkness of Harlem consumed African Americans by means of physical, political and social

Read More

The Fire This Time Analysis

377 Words | 2 Pages

The selection I am choosing to analyze from The Fire This Time is the introduction. The introduction is Jesmyn Ward explaining her motives for creating this astonishing book. Ward wants her readers to know how not only herself, but others feel about racial issues that are still very prominent in today’s society. Ward begins by talking about the death of Trayvon Martin.

Read More

Build A Fire Analysis

950 Words | 4 Pages

People should be accountable for their action because of their careless mistakes. For example, this person was to excited to go hike at the wilderness and have a good time. When he arrived he felt that he had everything he need for his hike. Later he got injured during his hike. He went through his bag to go check if he has anything to take care of it.

Read More

This Morning So Soon Sparknotes

939 Words | 4 Pages

American author James Baldwin was integral to the civil rights movement. Through his journalism, he published articles that reported on major activist marches. His novels and short stories covered many sensitive topics such as race tensions and sexuality. Baldwin’s boldness was necessary for the United States of America to change in the midcentury. In several of his short stories, Baldwin shows nuanced portrayals of white women, showcasing their roles in shaping the lives of his protagonists.

Read More

James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time

1111 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More

If Language Doesn T A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? By James Baldwin

632 Words | 3 Pages

The first part is “...language is also a political instruments.” Baldwin, one of the influential African-American writer of his time, this essay written in 1979, the beginning of the Past Civil Right movement, a powerful time for African-American. It was the decades best known as a new era for African-Americans with several federal acts of legislation established to protect the rights of all minority Americans. During this decade, African-Americans made great strides in politics, academic as well as business. It was the years when African-American people had a political voice.

Read More

The Fire Next Time Analysis

920 Words | 4 Pages

With the African Americans joining together to fight for the ideal world of freedom, they would be able to change the world. Baldwin wasn’t writing for a black audience, “Baldwin wrote for a black audience in a white world” (Heidelberger 2). Throughout The Fire Next Time, it gave a lesson pointed towards the African Americans about how one should never stoop down to the level of the whites. Blacks not only saw hands on the way in which the whites had treated them, but the physically were placed through the actions given. With African Americans holding up a great wall of strength,“black has become a beautiful color-not because it is loved but because it is feared” (Baldwin 77).

Read More

Stranger In The Village By James Baldwin

594 Words | 3 Pages

There are still small pockets on each continent that believe black people are mythical creatures, or that they fake their skin. Some have never seen a black person in their life, such as my friend’s roommate in private school who thought her “people” were “only in movies”. Growing up as a minority of a population forces one to assimilate so they do not feel left out, however, Baldwin knows himself well enough to not fall into those tricks, such as “buying African natives for the purpose of converting them to Christianity”. He states that the “white man ceases to regard him as an exotic rarity and recognize him as a human being.” which reflects the wants that the black man wants, but is never given.

Read More

Los Angeles Riots

1509 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout history, the legitimacy of police violence has long been associated with its effectiveness and credibility towards the public eye. While most may configure that crime must be dealt accordingly, the vast number of those affected have expressed otherwise. Known for its discrimination and excessive use of force, the LAPD has always developed a sense of backlash within its social barriers. African Americans, in particular, have often opposed its methods of convention through signifying their own lack of protection and safety. Moreover, the officer’s lack of judgment of when to react in certain scenarios often poses a risk to those who have not experienced such brutality.

Read More

More about The Fire Next Time Analysis

Open Document