Black By Baldwin

This week as I was reading I noticed on several occasions that Baldwin’s use of the word “black,” was to insult, denigrate, or negatively describe them. Baldwin uses the word “black” when describing negative characteristics of a character, and in dialogue when the characters are insulting each other. The use of the word black with such a negative connotation comes from multiple characters; my first quote is a description of Ruth, described by John, the second is said by Aunt Florence, and Roy states the third. If this had occurred once or twice throughout the reading by John alone, it might not have been so significant, but the use of “black” and “nigger” in the context of an insult or dehumanizing manner was used multiple times from multiple …show more content…
You slap her again, you black bastard, and I swear to God I’ll Kill you” (45, 46). I want to focus more on Aunt Florence’s response because her common use of the words “black”, “bad nigger,” and “nigger” is what drew my attention to the words in the first place. On page 45, Aunt Florence is addressing Gabriel, and refers to him as a “big, black, and hardheaded ”. I do not think it is ironic that “black” is one of the terms used to describe him. In this context, and in Roy’s situation, I think the word black transform from just a description, but takes on the connotation of stupidity and foolish. In fact, in the lines that proceed and follow her statement she calls him foolish and fool a couple of times. In addition, replacing “black” with “stupid” almost sounds interchangeable. While Aunt Florence claims that he is “big, black, and hardheaded”, Roy calls him a “black bastard,” after Gabriel slaps his mother. My first thought was, “why did he have to call him a “black bastard” instead of just calling him a bastard?” This is also what led me to believe that Baldwin is subtly addressing the self-hatred that the black community is spewing on each other. Baldwin added the word black as an insult with the connotation of stupid and bad to demonstrate how the denigration of the black race may have been started and perpetuated by whites, but black have become apart of the problem as well. As displayed in a preacher’s family, “black” is not associate with beauty and strength, as those may be some words I believe Baldwin would associate with the word black, black is associated with the connotation of bad, stupid, and demonic. This is why I believe Baldwin added those words, to me, this is what he was subtly addressing, the meaning and use of the word black and the black