In the essay, “Notes of a Native Son,” by James Baldwin starts off as a puzzled story and in the end it all makes sense. Baldwin relates the story between black and white America with his relationship with his father. There are many ways they relate. James making his father out as a negative person in this essay and how in the society he lived in made Black people understood as "bad" people.
Baldwin’s relationship with his father and the relationship between White and Black America had plenty of things in common. James tried making his readers believe that his father was some type of cruel person which he is not. The way this relates to a relationship between a White and Black person is because in his days people were inclined to perceive a person by what they heard in the streets. For example there’s a part in the essay where the media was influencing the way they looked at White people and how poorly they saw Black people. For instance, when Baldwin notice a black soldier fighting a white policeman, but later on the media said, “The soldier had been shot in the back, and instantaneous and revealing invention, and that the soldier had died protecting a Negro woman.” He’s clearly saying that the media change the whole story around and tried making the white policeman be some type of hero. This is why I believe that he had a lot of similarities with his relationship between his father and the relationship between White and Black America.
This essay should teach people not to judge others by their cover. How people get the misconception of what the media says and not everything is what it appears to be. It’s a life lesson and people should take in what Baldwin wrote.
2 comments:
I enjoyed reading your blog about the different relationships in the essay "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin. I really liked how you described and related the characters to the different time frame and era of the essay. I really enjoyed reading how you gave examples from the essay that related to the different relationships. I also agreed with you when you said that people should not be judged by their cover.
I love how you interpreted this "Notes of a Native Son." You really thought into this and were able to answer the question that was asked. It kept me interested and wanting more. I believe that majority of us have conformed to society. We do what they have told us is right and wrong, but when you are able to understand this story the way you did, then that means you are a strong individual who can fully understand the concept of accepting people for who they are.
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