Both Notes of a Narrative Son by James Baldwin and Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine address issues of racial discrimination in the United States through writing. James Baldwin’s essay uses literary strategy termed framed narrative, which the narrative begins and ends with his father’s death. This technique leads the reader from a story into another that provide different perspective and meanings. Unlike Baldwin, Claudia Rankine not only writes in the second person but also displays images in each chapter to represent different poems. Her methods of writing make readers comprehend the struggle of Black individuals. Baldwin and Rankin published their books about sixty years apart, yet, they both present cathartic experiences for
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I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be for me an awful thing to live with and that the bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me” (Baldwin, 88-89). This quote highlights the story that Baldwin tries to address to the readers. Due to unfair, or separate but equal, treatments against people of color, the unpleasantness that his father gains from the world has caused him to die, or to lose faith in living this world. Then, Baldwin realizes the values of white people lead him to have irrational thoughts. For example, the last day in New Jersey, he and his friend go into a restaurant that does not serve African Americans. He continues, “I felt I had to do something with my hands. I wanted her to come close enough for me to get her neck between my hands” (Baldwin, 96). This discriminatory and unreasonable, or macro-aggression, behaviors, toward people of color have made him obsessed with killing, which it connects to how he indicates the bitterness would kill him. In his essay, Baldwin has repeatedly used the term bitterness illustrating cathartic expression. The bitterness from the start that causes his father’s death to the end of the story where he suggests the “bitterness was folly” (Baldwin, 113). In the beginning, he thinks this bitterness …show more content…
At the end, he wants the readers to acknowledge it does not matter if you are white or black, you must be comfortable with yourself. Acceptance of yourself, however, does not mean accepting injustices; it is about fighting for rights and justice. The Black population has been treated as second class citizens and they will never stop fighting until they have their equality. This quote also shows Baldwin’s resistance to racism. It shows that he accepts who he is but he would never let the bitterness take over his judgements and actions. Claudia Rankin’s book combines her friends’ and her experiences to detail with micro-aggressions in the second person that contains various of inequitable treatments, whether intentional or unintentional, regarding African Americans in which it creates cathartic experiments for readers. For instance, sheThe last poem in chapter one contains both micro and macro aggressions. This poem indicates a black female visit her therapist’s house, who specializes in trauma counseling. She rings the bell at the front door, and when the door
I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be for me an awful thing to live with and that the bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me” (Baldwin, 88-89). This quote highlights the story that Baldwin tries to address to the readers. Due to unfair, or separate but equal, treatments against people of color, the unpleasantness that his father gains from the world has caused him to die, or to lose faith in living this world. Then, Baldwin realizes the values of white people lead him to have irrational thoughts. For example, the last day in New Jersey, he and his friend go into a restaurant that does not serve African Americans. He continues, “I felt I had to do something with my hands. I wanted her to come close enough for me to get her neck between my hands” (Baldwin, 96). This discriminatory and unreasonable, or macro-aggression, behaviors, toward people of color have made him obsessed with killing, which it connects to how he indicates the bitterness would kill him. In his essay, Baldwin has repeatedly used the term bitterness illustrating cathartic expression. The bitterness from the start that causes his father’s death to the end of the story where he suggests the “bitterness was folly” (Baldwin, 113). In the beginning, he thinks this bitterness …show more content…
At the end, he wants the readers to acknowledge it does not matter if you are white or black, you must be comfortable with yourself. Acceptance of yourself, however, does not mean accepting injustices; it is about fighting for rights and justice. The Black population has been treated as second class citizens and they will never stop fighting until they have their equality. This quote also shows Baldwin’s resistance to racism. It shows that he accepts who he is but he would never let the bitterness take over his judgements and actions. Claudia Rankin’s book combines her friends’ and her experiences to detail with micro-aggressions in the second person that contains various of inequitable treatments, whether intentional or unintentional, regarding African Americans in which it creates cathartic experiments for readers. For instance, sheThe last poem in chapter one contains both micro and macro aggressions. This poem indicates a black female visit her therapist’s house, who specializes in trauma counseling. She rings the bell at the front door, and when the door