Experiences of a Black Writer
What makes a good writer? Is it one’s creativity or the experiences one encounters? I am using the biographical criticism approach to tell you how the everyday experiences in the life of James Baldwin has influenced his writing and led to his success as a writer. James Baldwin incorporated a lot of his literary works based on his own life experiences, including growing up in Harlem, his involvement in the Church, his relationship with his stepfather, the civil rights movement and his passion for becoming a writer. I have examined the life of James Baldwin and his written works to illustrate these findings, which includes his stories, “Sonny’s Blues” (1965), “Go Tell it on the Mountain” (1953), and his essays …show more content…
Baldwin was very active in the civil rights movement. When Baldwin was only 10 years old, he had a horrible encounter with two white cops who pelted him with racial slurs and blunt force. Baldwin grew up in a society of Jim Crow laws “Separate but equal.” He was often rejected in restaurants and bars, which angered and frustrated him. He began feeling hatred toward whites because of this. (Notes of a Native Son, 1955) Baldwin came to the realization that both whites and blacks made society the way it was and that life and death matter but whether we are of black or white race doesn’t. We are still people. Quote it? (Notes of a Native Son, pg. 83-84). There was a white teacher in James Baldwin’s life that, for many years, helped him and his family in times of need; however, his stepfather still wouldn’t trust her because of her color. (Rosset, …show more content…
“Sonny’s Blues” illustrates the struggles of growing up and living poverty and demonstrates social and racial problems. Society was hard in Harlem, drugs were running rampant and it seemed like the children were getting addicted to drugs at such a young age. Sonny put his heart and soul into trying to become a jazz musician because, by playing the piano, he felt he had a purpose and that he could escape the harsh realities of his life; however, events brought him back to reality and he got “caught up” with drugs, specifically, heroin and ended up in jail. The narrator finds himself in denial that his brother is in the same state that he has seen others in (pg. 483). Sonny talked about going into the military and would willingly lie about his age in order to escape the hopelessness of Harlem. In the story, Sonny said this was because he was trying to stay alive; trying to stay away from the drugs on the streets. Children don’t have the innocence in Harlem like they do elsewhere. In “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator states: “It was not the joyous laughter which-God knows why-one associates with children. It was mocking and insular, its intent was to denigrate. It was disenchanted, and in this, also, lay the authority of their curses.” (pg. 484) The narrator gives insight on the less than desirable living
What makes a good writer? Is it one’s creativity or the experiences one encounters? I am using the biographical criticism approach to tell you how the everyday experiences in the life of James Baldwin has influenced his writing and led to his success as a writer. James Baldwin incorporated a lot of his literary works based on his own life experiences, including growing up in Harlem, his involvement in the Church, his relationship with his stepfather, the civil rights movement and his passion for becoming a writer. I have examined the life of James Baldwin and his written works to illustrate these findings, which includes his stories, “Sonny’s Blues” (1965), “Go Tell it on the Mountain” (1953), and his essays …show more content…
Baldwin was very active in the civil rights movement. When Baldwin was only 10 years old, he had a horrible encounter with two white cops who pelted him with racial slurs and blunt force. Baldwin grew up in a society of Jim Crow laws “Separate but equal.” He was often rejected in restaurants and bars, which angered and frustrated him. He began feeling hatred toward whites because of this. (Notes of a Native Son, 1955) Baldwin came to the realization that both whites and blacks made society the way it was and that life and death matter but whether we are of black or white race doesn’t. We are still people. Quote it? (Notes of a Native Son, pg. 83-84). There was a white teacher in James Baldwin’s life that, for many years, helped him and his family in times of need; however, his stepfather still wouldn’t trust her because of her color. (Rosset, …show more content…
“Sonny’s Blues” illustrates the struggles of growing up and living poverty and demonstrates social and racial problems. Society was hard in Harlem, drugs were running rampant and it seemed like the children were getting addicted to drugs at such a young age. Sonny put his heart and soul into trying to become a jazz musician because, by playing the piano, he felt he had a purpose and that he could escape the harsh realities of his life; however, events brought him back to reality and he got “caught up” with drugs, specifically, heroin and ended up in jail. The narrator finds himself in denial that his brother is in the same state that he has seen others in (pg. 483). Sonny talked about going into the military and would willingly lie about his age in order to escape the hopelessness of Harlem. In the story, Sonny said this was because he was trying to stay alive; trying to stay away from the drugs on the streets. Children don’t have the innocence in Harlem like they do elsewhere. In “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator states: “It was not the joyous laughter which-God knows why-one associates with children. It was mocking and insular, its intent was to denigrate. It was disenchanted, and in this, also, lay the authority of their curses.” (pg. 484) The narrator gives insight on the less than desirable living