Essay about Baldwin's Writing Style in Notes to a Native Son

The struggles of being an African American is not very well understood by the majority of the population. For hundreds of years, there every day challenges – that privilege people would not bad – have become their own normal. Many authors have taken it upon themselves to write about their experiences and to educate the public. They use different types of literary devices to reflect their true intentions. In James Baldwin‘s “Notes of a Native Son” and Brent Staples’ “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Spaces,” the authors use language and punctuation to show their true emotion behind their words. The combination of syntax and diction allows Baldwin to develop his angry and bitter tone, in addition to Staples’ contrasting light-hearted tone.

In James Baldwin’s “Autobiographical Notes” you can tell that in his life he has experienced many things whether it be good or bad. Being born in Harlem, New York in 1924 you’d expect him to go through a lot from the time he was brought into the world; especially being black in those times. He is often found to be rather pessimistic at times and would go on to talk about the things he doesn’t like in the world. James Baldwin, in his notes goes on to list a number of things he doesn’t like, “I do not like bohemia, or bohemians, I do not like people whose principal aim is pleasure, and I do not like people who are earnest about anything. I don't like people who like me because I'm a Negro; neither do I like people who find in the same accident grounds for contempt.” As a pessimist it’s

Other than Baldwin’s honesty, his ability to create emotion is also a part of his style. Zinsser advised, “Writers are obviously at their most natural when they write in the first person … Therefore I urge people to write in the first person: to use ‘I’ and ‘me’ and ‘us’...” (20). Zinsser believes that the use of first person allows the readers to relate and connect to the writing more. The words ”I”, “me”, and “us” signal that the book is written by an actual human and adds to the unique style of the writing. Baldwin is able to actively create a connection to the readers due to the story like manner of the book, yet, he is also able to get his point across by showing the differences in the experiences of a black man. Take for example, when

In this quote Baldwin presents the main idea of this chapter. The purpose of presenting this main idea is to give readers insight into what they are about to read. He begins this chapter by stating that he wrote novels as a child. Baldwin then goes on to talk about his childhood, and how his father was not always proud of him, while his mother was often delighted with his writings. He also writes about the hardships that he faced as a negro writer. One of his problems was that many

This self-description of the narrator says it all. He gives a brutal, yet inflated description of himself and his friends that gives the reader a very round main character.

In these times of despair Baldwin had to take any work he could find. One of these jobs was laying down railroad tracts for the US army in New Jersey. At this time in his life Baldwin had been facing racial prejudice. He was not being served at bars, and restaurants. So one day Baldwin decided to walk into a restaurant where he knew he wouldn’t be served. When a waitress explained that Blacks were not served at the restaurant he threw a glass of water shattering a mirror in the establishment luckily he was not hurt or

2. James Baldwin talks about his dad’s life story before his father passed away. He also talks about his childhood and how he does in school. He also talked about how he grew up during segregation and for him not being able to eat at the diners. In his story, he spoke about growing up

As I was reading the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, I was filled with mixed emotion. Baldwin, explains that his father was a preacher who had a lot of anger in his heart; he states that his father had two personalities, the one at church and the one at home. He declares that his relationship with his father was not the ideal relationship a son should have with his father; they rarely spoke with one another, even though; Baldwin was the oldest.

“The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated”(James Baldwin). James Baldwin lived from August 2, 1924 to December 1, 1987. He was an essayist, playwright, and novelist regarded as a highly insightful, iconic writer with works throughout his career in literature. As an African American male, James Baldwin fought through many struggles, for one having a poverty-stricken family and living in a neighborhood full of drugs, alcohol, violence, and crime. Even with temptation he found his way out through writing, important figures like Richard Wright. He also got into the civil rights movement which provided him the keys for James to compose stories

The essay “Notes of a Native Son” takes place at a very volatile time in history. The story was written during a time of hate and discrimination toward African Americans in the United States. James Baldwin, the author of this work is African American himself. His writing, along with his thoughts and ideas were greatly influenced by the events happening at the time. At the beginning of the essay, Baldwin makes a point to mention that it was the summer of 1943 and that race riots were occurring in Detroit. The story itself takes place in Harlem, a predominantly black area experiencing much of the hatred and inequalities that many African-Americans were facing throughout the country. This marks the beginning of a

Narrative is a form of writing used by writers to convey their experiences to an audience. James Baldwin is a renowned author for bringing his experience to literature. He grew up Harlem in the 1940’s and 1950’s, a crucial point in history for America due to the escalading conflict between people of different races marked by the race riots of Harlem and Detroit. This environment that Baldwin grew up in inspires and influences him to write the narrative “Notes of a Native Son,” which is based on his experience with racism and the Jim-Crow Laws. The narrative is about his father and his influence on Baldwin’s life, which he analyzes and compares to his own experiences. When Baldwin comes into

James Baldwin noticed that French intellectual life was not generally the concern of American blacks and also noticed that Paris attracted artists, several black writers and jazz musicians. On the first day James Baldwin ever set foot in Paris, Themistocles Hoetis, the founding editor of Zero magazine was sitting next to Richard Wright.  They later became friends and Baldwin called him “ the best African American writer in the world.” James Baldwin wrote the book “ Notes of a Native Son” which rooted from Richard Wright’s book “ Native Son.” In the third section “ A Severe Cross,” James Baldwin said he will always consider himself as greatly privileged. Baldwin was present at the first attempt to desegregate Southern schools, but he was only there to do his job, an honest job of reporting. As Baldwin reflected on the 9 years he spent in Europe he noticed that the America he left behind had changed. Baldwin’s first stop was Charlotte, NC, where he gathered up material for his essay “  Fly in the Buttermilk.” When he flew from Charlotte, NC to Atlanta he met Martin Luther King Jr. From then on he went to Birmingham then Montgomery, where he decided to investigate a town his first night there.

African Americans have consistently been marginalized and oppressed for so many centuries now. Wanting to become equal to whites and to simply be proud of their race has been an ongoing battle for them. No one realizes how extreme it is until it leads to an individual's death, which is exactly what happened to James Baldwin’s father. Baldwin further delves into the struggles of African Americans seeking for equality and how it impacts the society in which they live, in “Notes of a Native Son.” Whites have never experiences what it’s like to be discriminated and persecuted, thus they will never understand the hardship and pain African Americans have went through. However, although whites are seen as superior, Baldwin believes and knows there

Racial and sexual issues have always been apart of our history. The journey through slavery and equality. The acceptance of gays. Everyone has different opinions and views but not only has James Baldwin experienced theses things first hand and explored these issues by expressing them through his pieces of writing, during a time when these things were not as known and accepted as they are now, he also is in favor and supports these issues. In some of his writings these are the main points about him that seem to stand out and show who he really is.(1) harsh step-father which created a feeling of loneliness. He grew up in a strict household being lead by his step-father. There wasn’t much room for creativity and experimentation. Even though when

In “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin we can see the struggles which African Americans faced during 1943. Most people were was afraid of them and considered them dangerous, and they were not served at public places. Can you imagine going to a restaurant and being told that they would not serve you because of who you were and also seeing that the person was afraid of you? Would you also feel angry and want to give them a real reason to be afraid of you? After reading this I can definitely understand the narrators reaction to the waiter, I think that I would have also been tired of being treated the way in which he was treated, he had not done anything to the waiter so that she would be afraid of him. Something that is also presented in