James Baldwin My Dungeon Shook Analysis

Each individual person has their own dungeon, a compartment in the mind where an individual’s perspective, morals, attitude and character is stored. In order to keep one’s dungeon unmarked and unchanged, negativity must be blocked. However such a thing is impossible and the only thing a person can do is reduce the amount of change and negativity they let in. In “My Dungeon Shook” by James Baldwin, Baldwin warns his nephew and black youth in general to not let poisonous words or ideas seep into their dungeons and destroy who they are and the potential they have. Young minds are the most malleable and vulnerable to the world around them. While warning his nephew and other black youth, Baldwin addresses the innocents, people who ignore the racial tension and hate crimes. Through unapologetic candor and various rhetorical devices Baldwin warns his nephew and other black …show more content…
The audience that Baldwin is addressing is James, his nephew. The letter is a warning for James and a guide to help him endure the life he is being thrown into. However the warning is not just for James, but also black youths in general growing up in the same time period. The letter sets up an idea of what life will be like for James living in a world where the odds will forever be against him. James will be confined into ghettos and buried with limits to what he can do with his life. Baldwin clearly announces his purpose for the letter when he states “I am writing this letter to you, to try to tell you something about how to handle them”(Baldwin ?). He