James Baldwin's Notes Of A Native Son

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“Notes of a Native Son” goes into the discussion of race. James Baldwin uses his past experiences with his father to get the reader's attention. This catches our attention because we feel as though the author is sharing with us his personal experiences. This gives Baldwin an opportunity to go into a picturesque scene of his life experiences. James Baldwin tells us about times he was discriminated against in his life. Here is an example of a time he was discriminated against, “I remember the name of the dinner we walked into when the movie ended: it was the “American Diner.” When we walked in the counterman asked what we wanted and I remember answering with the casual sharpness which had become my habit: “We want a hamburger and a cup of coffee, …show more content…
Baldwins father also was angry all of the time, which could be the cause of always being told no everywhere you go. An example that James baldwin gave us was when he walked into a restaurant and all of his built up anger snapped all of the sudden. In this study Hudson, Eaton, Lewis, Grant, Sewell, and Gilbert tell us how racial matters affect the mental state of African Americans, “Although there is abundant evidence available from previous studies that indicates negative health effects associated with the experience of racial discrimination, African Americans may discount incidents of racism because of the subjective nature of interpreting a stressful event as racist (Clark et al., 2002). For instance, African Americans who live and work in environments where voicing concerns about racism may be intimidating or potentially damaging to their careers might feel forced to internalize feelings derived from their experiences of discrimination (Mabry & Kiecolt, 2005)” (Hudson, 3). James Baldwin talks about how angry he felt after being put into a situation where he was the minority. This made Baldwin build up hate and resentment, which he later realized, was turning him into his
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