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Notes Of A Native Son By James Baldwin

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The excerpt “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, explores the experiences of Black people in America during the mid-twentieth century. He starts off by mentioning his father's death who passed away on 29th of July in 1943. One the same day , a few hours after, his sister was born.Baldwin turns 19 on the day of his burial, and as they go to the cemetery, he is unable to help but see "the spoils of injustice, anarchy, dissatisfaction, and hatred" around them. He is forced to rethink the circumstances of his father's life and views as well as come to terms with his own. He didn't get along with his father very well due to their shared, obstinate pride, and they never had a close relationship. Baldwin discovers after his passing how little …show more content…

So the only white people that were to visit their home would be welfare workers and bill collectors. As a child Baldwin created a play, which was directed by a young white schoolteacher who, against his father's resistance, provided him books and brought him to see plays. When Baldwin's father was fired , the schoolteacher came to their home for assistance.Baldwin's father warned his son that white people are not his friends or allies. However Baldwin thought otherwise.The year before his father's death, when he began working in New Jersey among Black Americans and white southerners, he realized for the first time how differently he is expected to act because of the color of his skin. Baldwin is first horrified and makes a point of going to places where he is aware that African people wouldn't be welcomed. After losing his job, he still believes that his time in New Jersey left him with a "disease" that stopped him from ever living a carefree life since the treatment may come back at any time. There isn't one African alive who doesn't harbor this …show more content…

Baldwin is denied service when they go to the diner and as he exits, all he can see is a sea of white people on the streets. This infuriates him, so he enters a restaurant that is much finer but he knows won't serve him. When the waitress informs him of this, he throws a water mug at her, which hits the mirror and breaks. As a man tries to stop Baldwin as he races for the door, his friend deflects his attention so that Baldwin may continue running. Baldwin later comes to the realization that he might have been killed and that he was also prepared to do

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