James Baldwin (1924–1987) - “Notes of a Native Son” (1955)
(about 1.5 pages)
James Baldwin, renowned as one of the finest essayists and fiction writers in the twentieth century U.S., started as a preacher in his youth and went on to write now-classic essays, books, and fiction. His essays break the mold of a streamlined or unified narrative to raise a range of issues, both personal and political.
- The first sentence announces the death of Baldwin’s father: “On the twenty-ninth of July, in 1943, my father died.” Why does he begin the essay in this way? Do you, as a reader, anticipate a eulogy? What are the “genre expectations” of a eulogy? In what ways does Baldwin conform to and break from those expectations?
- In his introduction, Baldwin uses juxtaposition of events as a strategy to connect with the reader. The elder Baldwin’s death occurs on the same day his youngest child is born; a few hours after the funeral, also James’s birthday, “a race riot broke out in Harlem.” Why does Baldwin include all this information in his first paragraph? What is the effect of learning this information?
- Baldwin writes, “It seems to be typical of life in America, where opportunities, real and fancied, are thicker than anywhere else on the globe, that the second generation has no time to talk to the first.” Comment on this observation. How well does this statement hold up in the contemporary era?
- Baldwin describes his image of his father: “In my mind’s eye I could see him, sitting at the window, locked up in his terrors; hating and fearing every living soul including his children who had betrayed him, too, by reaching toward the world which had despised him.” How does his portrait of his father enable him to transition into a discussion of his own life in New Jersey?
- In what ways does Baldwin personify Harlem (“All of Harlem, indeed, seemed to be infected by waiting.”)? How does the image/metaphor of illness infuse this piece?
- In what ways is this piece a meditation on the nature of grief and particularly, the nature of grief in a racially unequal and segregated society? What’s the central message that Baldwin is conveying in his conclusion? How does this relate to the introduction?
Attribution of Quotes:
Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son.” In The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present © by Phillip Lopate. Vintage Books, 1995, pp. 587–604. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/.
