Notes of a Native Son
Encyclopedia
Notes of a Native Son is a non-fiction
book by James Baldwin
. It was Baldwin's first non-fiction book, and was published in 1955. The volume collects ten of Baldwin's essays, which had previously appeared in such magazines as Harper's Magazine
, Partisan Review
, and The New Leader
. The essays mostly tackle issues of race in America and Europe.
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
for being too sentimental, and for limning black slaves as praying to white God so as to be cleansed/whitened. Equally, he repudiates Richard Wright
's Native Son
for portraying Bigger Thomas as an angry black man - he views that as an example of stigmatising categorisation.
's Native Son
as ensconced in its zeitgeist. To his mind the good/bad guy virgule when it comes to Negroes must be turned into good Negroes.
, a film adaptation of Carmen
using an all African-American cast. Baldwin is unhappy that the characters display no connection to the condition of African-Americans, and sees it as no coincidence that the main characters have lighter complexions.
. Moreover, although there are black politicians, the President is white. On to the black press, Baldwin notes that it emulates the white press, with its scandalous spreads and so forth. However the black Church seem to him to be a unique forum for the spelling out of black injustice. Finally, he ponders on antisemitism amongst blacks and comes to the conclusion that the hatred boils down to Jews being white and more powerful than Negroes.
to sing in Southern Churches. However, once in Atlanta, Georgia
, they were used for canvassing
until they refused to sing at all and were returned to their hometown. They now enjoy success in New York City
.
and angered father died of tuberculosis
when he himself was 19 years old. Prior to that Baldwin had been taken to the theatre by a white teacher of his, and his parents had let him go because she was a teacher. Later he worked in New Jersey
and was often turned down in segregated
places - once he hurled something at a waitress in a diner. He goes on to say that blacks doing the military service in the South often got abused. Finally, he recounts his father's death which occurred just before his mother gave birth to one of his sisters; his father's funeral was on his 19th birthday. This essay is an attempt to do away with the hatred and despair he feels towards his father.
There are always three underlying factors in James Baldwin's writing: the story, the white supremacy during the 1940-1950, and the question Baldwin is always trying to answer.... What is really the blacks' role in America?
. Whilst Africans in France have a history and a country to hold on to, Black Americans don't - their history lies in the United States and it is in the making.
cannot be true Parisians; they are either homeward-bound or 'too' well-adjusted.
- how he was the first black man most of the other villagers had ever seen. He goes on to reflect that blacks from European colonies are still mostly located in Africa, whilst the United States has been fully informed by African Americans.
autobiographical genre, and has been called Baldwin's finest work. The Modern Library
placed it at number nineteen on its list of the 100 best 20th century nonfiction books
.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book by James Baldwin
James Baldwin (writer)
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
. It was Baldwin's first non-fiction book, and was published in 1955. The volume collects ten of Baldwin's essays, which had previously appeared in such magazines as Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, Partisan Review
Partisan Review
Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
, and The New Leader
The New Leader
The New Leader was a political and cultural magazine begun in 1924 by a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, including Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas, and published in New York by the American Labor Conference on International Affairs. Its orientation is liberal and...
. The essays mostly tackle issues of race in America and Europe.
Autobiographical Note
In spite of his father willing him to be a preacher, Baldwin says he has always been a writer at heart. He is trying to find his path as a Negro writer; although he is not European, American culture is informed by that culture too - moreover he has to grapple with other black writers.Everybody's Protest Novel
Baldwin castigates Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
for being too sentimental, and for limning black slaves as praying to white God so as to be cleansed/whitened. Equally, he repudiates Richard Wright
Richard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
's Native Son
Native Son
Native Son is a novel by American author Richard Wright. The novel tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, an African American living in utter poverty. Bigger lived in Chicago's South Side ghetto in the 1930s...
for portraying Bigger Thomas as an angry black man - he views that as an example of stigmatising categorisation.
Many Thousands Gone
When considering the Negro as a social problem, Baldwin suggests harking back to the past. He goes on to criticise Richard WrightRichard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
's Native Son
Native Son
Native Son is a novel by American author Richard Wright. The novel tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, an African American living in utter poverty. Bigger lived in Chicago's South Side ghetto in the 1930s...
as ensconced in its zeitgeist. To his mind the good/bad guy virgule when it comes to Negroes must be turned into good Negroes.
Carmen Jones: The Dark is Light Enough
Baldwin criticises Carmen JonesCarmen Jones (film)
Carmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Harry Kleiner is based on the libretto for the 1943 stage production of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was inspired by an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen by...
, a film adaptation of Carmen
Carmen (novella)
"Carmen" is a novella by Prosper Mérimée, written and first published in 1845. It has been adapted into a number of dramatic works, including the famous opera by Georges Bizet.-Sources:...
using an all African-American cast. Baldwin is unhappy that the characters display no connection to the condition of African-Americans, and sees it as no coincidence that the main characters have lighter complexions.
The Harlem Ghetto
Baldwin points out that the rent is very expensive in HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. Moreover, although there are black politicians, the President is white. On to the black press, Baldwin notes that it emulates the white press, with its scandalous spreads and so forth. However the black Church seem to him to be a unique forum for the spelling out of black injustice. Finally, he ponders on antisemitism amongst blacks and comes to the conclusion that the hatred boils down to Jews being white and more powerful than Negroes.
Journey to Atlanta
Baldwin tells the story that happened to the Melodeers, a group of jazz singers employed by the Progressive PartyProgressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...
to sing in Southern Churches. However, once in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, they were used for canvassing
Canvassing
Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during political campaigns. A campaign team will knock on doors of private residences within a particular geographic area, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters...
until they refused to sing at all and were returned to their hometown. They now enjoy success in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Notes of a Native Son
Baldwin explains how his paranoidParanoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
and angered father died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
when he himself was 19 years old. Prior to that Baldwin had been taken to the theatre by a white teacher of his, and his parents had let him go because she was a teacher. Later he worked in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and was often turned down in segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
places - once he hurled something at a waitress in a diner. He goes on to say that blacks doing the military service in the South often got abused. Finally, he recounts his father's death which occurred just before his mother gave birth to one of his sisters; his father's funeral was on his 19th birthday. This essay is an attempt to do away with the hatred and despair he feels towards his father.
There are always three underlying factors in James Baldwin's writing: the story, the white supremacy during the 1940-1950, and the question Baldwin is always trying to answer.... What is really the blacks' role in America?
Encounter on the Seine: Blacks Meets Brown
Baldwin compares Black Americans to Blacks in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Whilst Africans in France have a history and a country to hold on to, Black Americans don't - their history lies in the United States and it is in the making.
A Question of Identity
Baldwin explains how Americans living in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
cannot be true Parisians; they are either homeward-bound or 'too' well-adjusted.
Equal in Paris
Baldwin recounts getting arrested in Paris over the Christmas period in 1949, after an acquaintance of his had stolen a bedsheet from a hotel, which he had used. The essay stresses his cultural inability to know how to behave with the police.Stranger in the Village
Baldwin looks back to his time in a village in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- how he was the first black man most of the other villagers had ever seen. He goes on to reflect that blacks from European colonies are still mostly located in Africa, whilst the United States has been fully informed by African Americans.
Literary significance and criticism
Notes of a Native Son is widely regarded as a classic of the African AmericanAfrican American literature
African-American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reaching early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem...
autobiographical genre, and has been called Baldwin's finest work. The Modern Library
Modern Library
The Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer...
placed it at number nineteen on its list of the 100 best 20th century nonfiction books
Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Nonfiction
The Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction was created in 1998 by the Modern Library. The list is what it considers to be the 100 best non-fiction books published since 1900....
.