James Baldwin (1924-1987) was born in Harlem, New York and originally should follow his stepfather’s steps and become a priest. However, he left the church few years later and became a full time writer. His most famous books are “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “The Fire Next Time” as well as several essays. He drew his inspiration mainly from his own life experiences as a black man in the segregated American society. He became one of the most influential African-American writers of the 20th century.
The book “Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son” is a collection of essays that were originally published in different magazines. The essays were all written around 1960 and Baldwin mainly deals with the problem of segregation in American society.
In the essay "The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American" he writes about discovering his identity. He was fed up with the constant discrimination that he faced in the United States and decided to move …show more content…
He says that status replaced identity in the American society. Money and wealth became the universally accepted symbol of status and American society is often categorized as materialist. Money are the tool how to change your status, how to become part of the majority. Baldwin offers an explanation of why the Blacks were treated so horribly throughout the American history. He says that apart from the political and economic reasons, the social ones are the most important. Americans are absurdly afraid of losing their status. He says that Blacks were always at the bottom of the social ladder and showed that white Americans can lose their status and fall down but they will never fall beneath the Blacks. Baldwin reminds that whether they want to or not, the lives of Blacks and whites are interconnected and whatever happens to the Black minority influences the majority and the whole
The book “Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son” is a collection of essays that were originally published in different magazines. The essays were all written around 1960 and Baldwin mainly deals with the problem of segregation in American society.
In the essay "The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American" he writes about discovering his identity. He was fed up with the constant discrimination that he faced in the United States and decided to move …show more content…
He says that status replaced identity in the American society. Money and wealth became the universally accepted symbol of status and American society is often categorized as materialist. Money are the tool how to change your status, how to become part of the majority. Baldwin offers an explanation of why the Blacks were treated so horribly throughout the American history. He says that apart from the political and economic reasons, the social ones are the most important. Americans are absurdly afraid of losing their status. He says that Blacks were always at the bottom of the social ladder and showed that white Americans can lose their status and fall down but they will never fall beneath the Blacks. Baldwin reminds that whether they want to or not, the lives of Blacks and whites are interconnected and whatever happens to the Black minority influences the majority and the whole