Baldwin does not use a lot of big, complex words in his language, but his words are still quite powerful. Baldwin is also known for being irreverent and even almost insulting in the his rhetoric. Considering these points, what struck you most about pp. 15-27 of “The Fire Next Time”? Try to pinpoint exactly what it is about his writing that resonates with you the most. If you do not feel it, discuss what is off-putting about his rhetoric.
11 thoughts on “Blog Post #7: Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” (pp. 15-27)”
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What resonates with me most about his writing is the fact that he seems to be a divergent thinker. He seems to question everything instead of just following the masses. His writing also seems very honest. He seems to say exactly what he believes even if it does not conform or many people would disagree. He also says things that I believe other people are afraid to say.
When Baldwin talked about how if the race in this world was reversed, the situation would be handled differently. This part stood out to me because it shows how Baldwin has gone through a lot where he took a lot of time to think about this topic and his life. Another part that really stood out to me is how white people stand behind guns, judges, and all as well as how they would harass someone if they would not have to deal with any consequences. There are people out there who are willing to do things (whether it may or may not be who they are) if they do not get in trouble. My favorite part of this piece was the end where he says that fear should be conquered. I agree, because I believe that fear only gets in one’s way to their full potential.
The part of “The Fire Next Time” that resonated with me was when Baldwin speaks about the single-mindedness of the children in the church. These children believed that everything in life had to happen in one particular way. The role of the girls was to protect the souls of the boys, and then later get married to them. Boys “would rise no higher than their fathers”. Many of them started their lives at an early age because they chose not to further their education and go to work. They began to care less about most things in general. It resonated with me because I feel like most people still believe that there is only one way they can achieve their goals and live the life they want. Meanwhile there are many paths they could take, and they are just being single minded.
What struck me the most were two main points. The first was when James Baldwin spoke of having to find a “Gimmick” in order to escape the perils of the streets. The “Gimmick” is a form of salvation or way out that rescues black men and women from the burden of limitations white society has placed on their shoulders. The second point that stood out for me was his description of the fear his father experienced because Baldwin believed he could do anything a white boy could do, and he had every intention to challenge the white world’s assumption of him as a black person. Baldwin’s writings are articulate provocative and audacious. He makes people uncomfortable with bold truths, he writes in a way to help the audience understand and feel the plight of a black person, with the hope of provoking change.
What struck me most about the text is that Baldwin is able to make me understand what he’s trying to say quite easily. He’s very fluid and straightforward when describing the horrifics and bad times throughout the text. I liked his use of imagery because it really opened my eyes to the text in a new type of way. He used fire as kind of a symbolism for hell or a bad time as well. When he said something about being exposed sexually or during his sexual awakening was like a fire in hell that made a lot of sense to me. I could almost picture and feel what he felt.
What resonates me the most about the text is his description of what white people are. When he talked about how the white man was created through experiments from the devil and how the black man came first. This put off a sense of eeriness for me and stuck with me the most. Additionally, he utilizes ethos to help portray his message and bring awareness towards the hostility that is occurring to black people. In the beginning of the text he mentions how riots are broken up by the use of force and how violent actions aren’t being brought to light.
I live in Baruch’s dorm, which is located on the border of Upper East Side and Harlem (according to Google Maps, Upper East Side is up to 96th street and I am on the 97th). What strikes me very often is the differences of the neighborhood just across a few blocks. Walk from the 95th to the 100th, just 5 blocks, but you feel a complete change in atmosphere and wealth levels, in such a short distance, without any physical barriers or anything.
There has been a lot of discussion in the Chinese internet about the issue of inequality as well, and the consensus can be summed up into one sentence, ‘Being poor is the original sin’. A lot of options are not available to people lacking the financial means, and their financial situation largely dictates their life.
What resonates with me is his description of how someone lacking financial means would feel. Although I am privileged in this regard, I have friends who are less privileged than I am. You can hear pain from his words, the same pain I heard from my friends, and his straight forward way of talking about it resonates with me through his authenticity.
What struck me most about his words were his passion in them. He seems very confident in his work and passionate about the topic, saying he’d rather “die and go to hell before I would let any white man spit on me.” His words have so much power and aren’t confusing. You could clearly see his view of white people at that time and how he and others were affected by racial segregation.
The point in the reading that really stuck out to me is the part when he talks about white people needing to love and accept themselves and others. In a situation in where people can love and accept other people no one will feel that they are more superior that someone based off of skin. “The negro problem will no longer exist” because no one would be judge off of the color of their skin. By people accepting and understanding each other this would reduce the amount of single-minded people out there. Through out his life it seems that he was surrounded by single-minded people. These people are just a product of their environment.
What resonates to me most about Baldwin’s writings is his storytelling and honesty. A person from any race or background would be able to gain perspective from Baldwin’s writing. The language he uses is easily understandable. Since his writing style is inclusive to a wide audience, he is able to convey his feelings about oppression powerfully. One thing I love about his writing’s the most is the love and unity he portrays for the families in his story. He was able to portray his characters in a way that humanizes them in a time where African Americans were thought of as second class citizens. His characters are intelligent, show growth and have a lot of depth within them. To this day he is still considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time
James Baldwin’s writings are very influential to me because rather than reading a piece of paper, I get to imagine what he has been through and what kind of environment was surrounding Baldwin. However, I can’t help but notice he seems to rant a couple of times. He wrote, “In order to achieve the life I wanted, I had dealt, it seemed to me the worst possible hand…so I did not yet dare take the idea of becoming a writer seriously.” at the end of page#24. In his writing, he often talks about how it is almost impossible for his community to make it out of the lives they have been living for so long, there were many other examples of people who made a career from out the same neighborhoods. So, if Baldwin wanted to look outside the box he could have done but it seems to show how he was unable to achieve his goals due to the fear he had stored in his mind and not in the actual environment.