Analysis Of The Fire Next Time By James Baldwin

Here Baldwin connected the death and violence of the civil rights riots and his father’s death, to the destruction of pride in his father and himself. Baldwin admitted throughout the essay that he had hatred for his father. The ideas of hatred and apocalypse are repeated in this paragraph. The repetition of these evil words showed the relationship between the end of two worlds that affected Baldwin. Baldwin felt that his father left him with the world around him crumbling and his own world as well. Baldwin used the central idea of death to tie together the two ideas of the riots and his father’s death.

James Tackach wrote that it should not come as a surprise that Baldwin would use stories or references from the Bible as a foundation for his literature (109). Baldwin was practically raised in the

Throughout his life, Baldwin befriends several whites in spite of his father’s warnings about white people being distrustful because they are “in league with the devil and intended to rob our family of everything we owned” (599). Baldwin continued to dismiss his father’s paranoia for his illness, however, not until he faces prejudicial experiences in his new hometown of New Jersey, does Baldwin begin to understand why his father acted the way he did. With the use of tone, Baldwin is able to show how in the beginning, he despised his father who constantly tried to torment his views upon whites, but eventually understood his father's true intentions that only meant to keep his

Baldwin determines that violence and racial separatism are not acceptable solutions for achieving “power”. Baldwin believes that black people will only be able to achieve lasting influence in America if they love and accept white people. In contrast, writing 52 years after Baldwin, Coats tells his own son to “struggle” but not

Throughout the entire essay, Baldwin uses his circumstances to make you feel sympathy towards him as an author. In one part of his works he tells the awful account of his father’s mental illness. When telling the audience what he had went through, at the age of 19, someone reading this, might say that brings them sympathy, while his tone in passages where he explains these sad expressions are unattached. He writes, “…In the morning the telegram came saying he was dead. Then the house was full of relatives, friends, hysteria, and confusion…” Here, he plainly states the facts of how his house was after his father’s death but does not describe how he feels about the people being in his house or the emotional toll his father’s death has taken on him. This is just one aspect of

The death had aroused feelings inside Baldwin that he felt he needed to get out. His contempt of his father (63) lasts through most of the essay. Soon after this, we find out that Mr. Baldwin is sick and has been

He was also a conserved man who secluded himself “like a prophet,” such as Tiresias, the prophet from Oedipus who lived isolated from society. He was marked with an inability to establish contact with others, except perhaps with his neighborhood which he left only hostility and “uncharitable asperity.” (67) However, his failure in social relationships also stretched, even though to one so close as to be called family, to his son James Baldwin. This led Baldwin to hate his father for what he was.

It takes him his whole life to grasp the fact that his father was connected to him in many ways. Baldwin’s closest connection to his father was the amount of rage both of them shared regarding many aspects of life.

James Baldwin argues that “such Frustrations, so long endured, is driving many strong, admirable men and women whose only crime is color

For the sake of letting children stay innocent from the harsh treatments of the world for as long as possible, adults don’t speak of theses realities in the presence of children. Baldwin constructs a

Asides from giving complete information to the brother, Baldwin chooses to write the story in the first person point of view because he wants the reader to feel exactly as how the brother is feeling. By having it told from the first person, the reader could build a stronger connection with the character in the story. Baldwin distinguishes to the reader the difference between of being told a story and of experiencing the story first hand. The reader sees the events through the brother’s eyes, which makes the story more realistic and believable. For example, when the brother first discovers about his uncle’s death, he is stupefied and shock at the unbelievable news. Baldwin demonstrates this by stating,” I guess I didn’t want to believe this.” He ends with, “Still, I couldn’t move.” (51) If the quotes were replaced by “he” instead of “I”, the story would lose its credibility. The reader will be less reluctant to believe the true emotion that the brother is experiencing. The first person point of view connects character to the reader, allowing for a more complete understanding of what is happening.

The turning point in the essay is when Baldwin states “Because if I am no what I’ve told I am, then it means that you’re not what you thought you were either! And that is the crisis.” By stating this it recognizes the faults in the education system, and leaves the audience intrigued wanting him to elaborate on his point. This statement also unfolds the truth about education which is “if you lie about one aspect of anybody’s history, you must lie about it all.”

Baldwin strategically uses the first, second, and third person to strengthen his message and instill a sense of responsibility in his audience. The first instance of this technique occurs when Baldwin uses the first person to recount “[his] first sight of New York” (Baldwin 125). About halfway through this description he transitions into the second person, substituting “you” for “I” and “me” to put his audience into his position of living in a society that “is rich” but in which “none of [it] is for you” (Baldwin 125). In the next two paragraphs he further transitions into the third person to show how this society instills in a person “an absolutely inarticulate and dangerous rage”, which causes them to become “a kind of criminal” because lawbreaking is a necessity in a society whose laws are not designed for your benefit or even your

Baldwin is known for his passionate and poetic style in 1963, which is based on his skillful use of rhetorical devices. In a detailed response, explain how the rhetoric language and its use of Aristotle's appeal are integral in aiding Baldwins purpose. In James Baldwin's letter to his nephew, written one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Baldwin emphasizes on the issue of In a detailed response, explain how the rhetoric  language  and its use of Aristotle's appeal are integral in aiding Baldwins purpose toward his intended audience.

Throughout the entire essay, Baldwin’s rage seems to keep building up, specifically in the paragraphs where Baldwin is shown extreme prejudice. This is especially obvious when he walks into a diner with a friend to grab a bite to eat. The man at the counter rudely asks them what they want. Baldwin replies stridently that they want a hamburger and coffee. With this the man simply states that they do not serve Negroes. After a few more mocking comments Baldwin and his friend leave the diner. Baldwin simply went into another restaurant and sat down until the waitress came over (70). He describes his rage towards whites as he describes the waitress. He states, “I hated her for her white face, and for her great astounded, frightened eyes. I felt that if she found a black man so frightening I would make her fright worth-while” (71). The waitress, almost sounding apologetic, told him that Negroes were not served at this restaurant. This statement made Baldwin feel “colder and more murderous than ever” (71). He wanted to wrap his hands around her neck, and choke her. After realizing that she would never come close enough to do this Baldwin throws a water mug towards her head. The shattering of the mug snaps Baldwin out of his trance, and he sprints for the door (71-2). All of his pent up anger exploded.