ipl-logo

Underlying Themes In James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk

615 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: James baldwin notes of a native son racism jstor

In James Baldwin’s, If Beale Street Could Talk, there are underlying themes of racism, justice, and prejudice. However, the main point of the book is to show humans’ capacity to love. Although the main character, Tish, is struggling with getting her fiance out of jail and working to raise money for her future family, she is also learning how to love herself, her baby, and the people in her life to the full capacity. Baldwin shows throughout the whole story that love can be very difficult, but that it is important to love as many people as possible. Tish wasn’t like other girls in that, she met her husband when she was very young and never had other boyfriends. This shows that people don’t necessarily have to go through several heartbreaks in order to find their soul mate. Source C says, “I love my man, I’m a liar if I say I don’t, But I’ll quit my man, I’m a liar if I say I won’t.” This shows that even though she loves someone right now, she doesn’t believe she’ll end up marrying him. Everybody is different, and some people have to go through many relationships in order to find the right one while others find them right away. …show more content…

“...People love different people in different ways,”(46). Baldwin shows that love applies to everyone in a person’s life. Tish, for example, loves her family, Fonny, Fonny’s dad, and her baby. She loves all of these people in different ways, however, “But these men are your brothers- your lost, younger brothers. And if the word interrogation means anything, this is what it means: that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease fleeing from reality and begin to change it,” Source A shows that people must take care of the ones they love, but care care of themselves too. There are many different people and ways to love, and Baldwin does an excellent job showing the reader

Show More
Related
668 Words | 3 Pages

In James Baldwin’s essay, Notes of A Native Son, he clearly makes the point that hate destroys. Over the course of the essay, James Baldwin uses inductive reasoning by stating examples of how terrible it was growing up as a black man in the 1950’s, including how he almost got beat up when he was with a friend, how he was refused service at a restaurant, and eventually, the violent mob that he encountered. He states during his essay, “hatred itself became an exhaustive and self-destructive force” to tell his audience about his relationship with hatred. This organizational pattern of providing evidence and then making a conclusion is the most effective method for Baldwin because his audience should be surprised about what Baldwin learned. The knowledge that

Read More
338 Words | 2 Pages

In James Baldwin’s essay titled “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?” Baldwin highlights his major argument by capitalizing the words in the title so that it can stand out to the readers. His main idea is that all languages are equal, and there is an inequality in society where one is judged by the way they speak. Baldwin wanted the readers to understand that all languages do serve a purpose no matter how a person articulates it. Baldwin also wanted to convey that there is racism that is placed upon a black person just because of the way they speak.

Read More
283 Words | 2 Pages

If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? By James Baldwin explains to the reader what black English is and where black English comes from. Baldwin writes about how humans use language as a means of controlling the world around them. Baldwin explains that people may speak the same language in one area of the world, but then people who speak the same language elsewhere are no longer speaking the same language. Baldwin using French as an exampling, Baldwin compares french-speaking people from Quebec to people who live in Paris.

Read More
1417 Words | 6 Pages

So this makes his real- life experience connect so closely to the story he had written. He experienced loss in real life along with in his story. In the story, the narrator had also lost his daughter to polo, although he didn’t exactly explain his feelings, he showed that it did affect him. Which makes me think that maybe Baldwin was the type of person to hide his feelings and act tough even though things affected him. He tried not to dwell on things, but realize that he can feel

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

I chose to write my Response Essay on the story "Sonny's Blues" written by James Baldwin. In Sonny's Blues, the storyteller recounts the tale of his association with his sibling, Sonny. Sonny is a performer not able to get away from the ghetto. Disheartened by his sibling's suffering , the storyteller connects with him, yet discovers that Sonny's hurt powers his music. The narrator is a teacher in Harlem that has changed his life and got out of the ghetto where he grew up.

Read More
1315 Words | 6 Pages

James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” tells the story of two brothers living in 1950s Harlem. The story depicts the relationship of the brothers as the younger brother, Sonny, battles to overcome a heroin addiction and find a career in jazz. In “Sonny’s Blues”, Baldwin’s shifting portrayal of Harlem mirrors the changing relationship of the two brothers: while both the city and the relationship were originally with dark uncertainty, by the end of the story, the narrator has begun to find peace both within his surroundings and his relationship with his brother. At the beginning of the story, before Sonny returns to Harlem, the narrator never describes his surroundings, only the people in them.

Read More
428 Words | 2 Pages

. The first quote by James Baldwin, I believe is talking about how the concept of racism fills many books and is constantly being debated or reflected on by different people everywhere. What Baldwin is trying to point out to the reader, is that this questioning of color is used to cover up who people really are deep down. I think he’s hinting at the idea that racism is used to cover up certain insecurities or fears people may have hidden inside of them. The second quote by Trey Ellis, goes down the list and displays all the different degrading names dark-skinned people have been called throughout history.

Read More
1215 Words | 5 Pages

In the story, "Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin portrays Harlem as a place where people are no longer happy and have become trapped. Set after the depression and most likely during and/or after the second world war, Harlem was a time for African Americans to thrive in creative arts; but, it also gave way for poverty and a plethora of drug use. In "Sonny's Blues," the two brothers find their own ways to escape the despair of Harlem; but, through their liberation, they both ultimately complicate their relationship as brothers. Baldwin begins the story with the narrator going to work, as a school teacher, and reading news in the paper that thoroughly upsets him. The narrator at this time believes that he has escaped the entrapment of Harlem through

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

One will constantly face temporary conflict throughout life, but ultimately they can overcome through a will to on and pursue what makes oneself happy. Baldwin was able to create a picture in the reader's mind due to his personal relation to his characters, he was able to understand the harsh times for an African-American male. It also reflects on the care that siblings have for one another and how even though they have good intentions, they can't always help their loved one follow a positive

Read More
1396 Words | 6 Pages

He is very detailed and descriptive in his writing. His writing style takes the readers imagination exactly where he wants it to go. It is as if I am right there with the narrator, Sonny, or the people at the bar or the subway. His writing is not only descriptive but poetic in a way. His poetic writing is quite fitting for the title of the story “Sonny’s Blues” For instance; Baldwin writes “Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did.”

Read More
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.

Read More
1231 Words | 5 Pages

How to Live According to Irving Singer Throughout Irving Singer acclaimed trilogy, The Nature of Love, the viewer can observe how he unveils rich insight into fundamental aspects of human relationships through literature, the complexities of our being, and the history of ideas. In his sequel, The Pursuit of Love, Singer approaches love from a distinct standpoint; he reveals his collection of extended essays where he presents psychological and philosophical theories of his own. The audience can examine how he displays love as he systematically maps the facets of religion, sexual desire, love from a parent, family member, child or friend. Irving explores the distinction between wanting to be loved and wanting to love another, which ultimately originates from the moment an individual is born.

Read More
388 Words | 2 Pages

Racism, a very horrible thing, still exists in the world we live in and those who are black will find it very hard to succeed in life due to the constant discrimination and the bad influence near them. A very good example for this is a short story called “Sonny’s Blue.” A short story about a 2 African Americans and how one leads a successful life while the other falls to bad influence and ends up in jail Black people had to face lot of problems before the segregation was ended. . Many people think the past remains in the past and doesn't matter today; the terrible acts of segregation, exploitation, and discrimination that were once upheld by the government are irrelevant now just because the present day isn't like that anymore. But the truth is that racism still exists

Read More
2048 Words | 9 Pages

Baldwin’s creative style in both stories effectively gives his audience perspective and insight into these themes, permitting a deeper comprehension of how they relate to the world outside of his stories.

Read More

More about Underlying Themes In James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk

Related Topics

Open Document