Notes of a Native Son Discussion Question #2
Life is not always easy when growing up. Everyone you talk to would say that they remember at least one bad thing about their childhood or regret one thing in their childhood that they would wish they would change. In the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, Baldwin talks about two different relationships. He talks about the relationship between himself and his father and the relationship between blacks and white Americans. Baldwin relates the relationship with his father with the relationship of black and white Americans by both accepting and judging.
Baldwin’s relationship with his father relates to the relationship with black and white Americans because they are both judging each other and have hatred towards one another. Baldwin judges his father and will not accept the fact that his father is a human being just like everyone else. Baldwin did not accept the fact that his father was ill and did not want to change how he felt about him. Both relationships mention hatred. “I told my mother that I did not want to see him because I hated him. But this was not true. It was only that I had hated him and I wanted to hold on to that hatred. “ this quote shows how stubborn Baldwin was in accepting the fact that his father was ill and shows how he still hates his father because he wants to hold on to that hatred. Just like with blacks and white Americans who have hatred amongst themselves and cannot deal with the fact that they need to accept people for who they are. Blacks and white Americans are judging each other and treating each other based on their skin color. In the end of both relationships they finally realize that their hatred is not worth it and that they need to accept each other for who they are. “I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now.” This quote shows how the time you spent hating a person can lose valuable time of actually getting to know that individual.
Overall the relationships Baldwin described related to each other in both accepting and judging each other. I enjoyed reading Baldwin’s essay because he describes his true emotions. I also liked reading about how the relationships related to each other. I hope that we could all learn to accept each other and not build hatred amongst each other.
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3 comments:
I liked what you wrote about someone could lose time by hating a loved one. I also liked how you put the two relationships together to get your main point across to your audience.
I enjoyed reading your blog on “Notes of a Native Son,” by James Baldwin. I didn’t understand why he still hated his father after I read the essay. After I read your blog you clearly explained why he still hated his father. He hated his father because he couldn’t accept the fact that his father was ill. He wanted to hold on to this hatred. I like how you said that Baldwin relates the relationship with his father to the relationship of black and white Americans by both accepting and judging.
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