It would seem that in this article James Baldwin is only talking to his nephew, James, I however believe that James is talking to a broader audience. I found this article to be very interesting to me as the audience. While reading this, Baldwin was basically telling his nephew to not think of himself as what the whites would think of him, but to think of himself as more. He does not want his nephew to grow up feeling like he will never make it in life because he is seen to the public as a “nigger”. Baldwin does not want James to define himself behind the stereotypical characteristics the society puts against him, Rather, he wants him to change the view of blacks.

Baldwin is telling his nephew that he knows what he’s going through because he went through it himself. On page 8 Baldwin says, “I know the conditions under which you were born, for I was there.” Baldwin is really trying to get his nephew you to understand that just because the “white world” has their own view of the “negro” community, it does not have to be his view of himself and others.

I especially found this article very interesting because it relates strongly to the world we live in today. Everywhere you turn the black community is still being looked down on. “… that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are…” Nowadays, the black community is not typically known or seen for their success as it should be, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t successful. This article is to persuade not just his nephew, but also the negro community to help on another to realize that we do not have to live by the characteristics given to us from the “white world”.

Separation of different ethnic groups have cause controversy through out the world. Religion, being one of the main reasons and causes of discrimination, is not as obvious as any physical characteristic, such as skin color, face features, or even language. James Baldwin writes “Letter to my Nephew on the One hundredth anniversary of the emancipation” to warn his nephew of the unfairness him and his family have gone through for being of a different color, for being African American. Even after the emancipation proclamation, on its one hundredth year anniversary, inequality and racism still exists.

In “Letter to My Nephew”, Baldwin warns his nephew, Who’s name is also James, of the issues happening in the United states. The moral destruction of African Americans by the country men, such as white men, had been happening since Baldwin’s father was around. He was a witness of his terrible life. Baldwin mentions that there is no bigger destruction than one who believes in what others think of them. He argues that the color of their skin should not prevent them from becoming “tough and philosophical concerning destruction and death.” James Baldwin writes this letter because he wants the best for his nephew. With examples of Ethos Pathos and Logos, Baldwin makes a strong and powerful argument and persuades his nephew and many other people believe in themselves.

As mentioned previously, Baldwin seems to be a thoughtful person, filled with love and even if he should be resented by the reality he has lived, he only speaks with love towards his country men and most importantly, his family. Baldwin gives examples of his father having a terrible life. He mentions his father was defeated even before he passed. An example of ethos, Baldwin uses in his argument is: ” you can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger.” As an African American, Baldwin refused to believe the idea society had of them because he had seen his father deteriorate in the eyes of the country men. He mentions this was the mistake many Africans did, which lead them to self-destruction. His voice is strong and determined, as well as worried for his people.

Baldwin uses pathos rhetoric by describing emotions such as love and affection towards his nephew. He says: “I tell you this because I love you, and please don’t ever forget it.” Baldwin is aiming for sympathy, for humanity, he wants and is asking for fairness and equality. He not only wants the best for his nephew, but he wishes the best for his own people, those who suffer from discrimination.

The exigence of Baldwin’s piece is the one hundredth anniversary of emancipation.  One can imagine that upon the one hundredth anniversary of emancipation there was, at least in the African American community, a good amount of commemorating and nostalgia.  It must have seemed to most young people that a great victory had been won and the struggle has been consummated a century earlier.  While emancipation was a great victory, however, it was followed by a century more of slavery in everything but name, ruining the lives and defeating the souls of millions of African Americans.  While people were celebrating the one hundredth anniversary, Baldwin wanted to make clear the current state of African Americans in the United States.  He wanted to provide a sober description of reality for most African Americans, and chose this occasion as the right time to do it.

The audience appears at first to be Baldwin’s nephew.  Upon further inspection, however, it becomes clear that Baldwin is speaking to the entire African American community, particularly the youth.  He’s speaks to the youth and tries to explain how the world will break them down and hurt them.  Baldwin does not want them to have any illusions as to what life will be like and how people will treat them.  Towards the end of the piece, however, Baldwin seems to begin speaking to a larger audience about bitterness and forgiveness.  He urges the African American community not to be bitter towards the whites who treat them unfairly, but instead to try to see the basic humanity inside everyone.

The constraints Baldwin has to deal with are the audience’s valid reasons to resent America and white people.  The African American community has been treated horribly, and one can understand the temptation towards bitterness and resentment.  Surely Baldwin everyone else understood this.  He seeks, however, to overcome this resentment and instead look for the basic humanity in everyone, white and black.

The title of the piece” Letter to My Nephew” should imply that the audience is James’s uncle, James. But, in fact, I think that the audience is in fact much more broad then just his nephew. He is speaking to the entire younger generation, as an older person with the thoughts and experiences and opinions that no one in this new generation would have. He is speaking as a voice from his generation, trying to impart a message into his nephew, and the people of his generation.

The exigence of this piece falls in with it’s kairos, the timing of when it was written and published. It’s the year 1963, exactly one hundred years since the emancipation proclamation. And as Baldwin points out, although that should imply 100 years of freedom, it unfortunately does not.

Baldwin speaks (writes) with passion as he tries to make many arguments to his nephew. One such argument is that he should not fall to being a victim, and he should not allow stereotypes and society to get to him. The only way he can, and will be defeated, is if he lets society’s insults actually insult him. But if he is strong enough, he can allow himself not to be taken down by that.

Baldwin also tries displaying the message that his nephew, and his generation, should find room in their hearts in order to forgive, and accept the White people with compassion. Because while the lack of compassion that they have for the Black community may have been the start of the tension and problems, the lack of compassion and forgiveness that the Black community has back is preventing that tension and problems from ever being solved.

Baldwin made very good use of metaphors in this piece, one which I found very strong, was when his nephew was born and he said the world looked Black to him. This could be interpreted as a world with problems, a world with darkness, but it could also be interpreted as a world of only Black people, and no integration and acceptance.

As this is a very emotional subject, Baldwin definitely uses Pathos to play to the emotions of the readers, and he also uses his own emotions greatly. Ethos also comes into play, because the writer actually lived through the times which he is talking about, and has more experience than the generation which he is addressing, he is showing his credibility.

James Baldwin’s “Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation” is clearly written for his nephew, however one can argue that this letter was a statement written by Baldwin in order to shed light on the issue of race not only to his nephew but to the entire world. The 1960s were a significant time period for civil rights movements as many prominent African American figures were leading the fight for equal rights. Baldwin, a gay African-American, happened to be one of those prominent African-American figures who fought for the equality and by writing this letter Baldwin was trying to convey the message that all individuals, no matter what race they are, deserve equal treatment. Baldwin’s argument comes from the one hundredth anniversary of emancipation which resulted in the abolishment of slavery and the aftermath of the Civil War which intensified the racism and segregation towards African-Americans. While writing this letter, Baldwin could have been influenced by the audience of this letter (his nephew and the rest of America), if he had been more aggressive about his opinions on the way African-Americans were treated.

As previously mentioned the letter written by Baldwin is profound as he discusses the struggles that African-Americans had to go through in order to win freedom. Although Baldwin focuses on the treatment that African-Americans suffered through by the hands of white Americans, the message he is trying to convey is that we must learn from history and make sure that this does not happen. This letter, was written by Baldwin for his nephew and the American people to ensure that history does not repeat itself and this does not happen to any other group of people in the future. This lesson is becoming more and more prevalent in our modern day as more and more race issues are becoming a big issue in America.

In order to fully understand James Baldwin’s argument in the “My Dungeon Shook: A Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation”, you have to understand his past as well as the amount of prejudice he has encountered throughout his life. Baldwin has been exposed to violence from a young age; at ten he was beaten up by the police as well as abused by his stepfather. His childhood alone consisted of struggling to survive and attempting to ignore the racial slurs thrown at him in school. In order to cope with his demons, Baldwin turned to religion. He even became a junior Minister but at age 17 he began to view Christianity differently. He accused it of “reinforcing the system of American slavery” by “delaying salvation until a promised afterlife.” He believed that it gave people false hope in the future when they should be taking steps to better their lives in the present. As he entered his teenage years he realized he was gay and could no longer see himself in the United States. He moved to Paris where he believed he would no longer be seen as “merely a Negro writer”. Baldwin then wrote many progressive essays, some the size of books, dealing with racial as well as social issues.

Baldwin’s letter is an attempt at conveying his pain to not just his nephew James, but to everyone. I only call it an “attempt” because not everyone will be able to fully grasp Baldwin’s point. Although he believes that not all hope in mankind is lost, he is well aware of the pain that has been inflicted on Blacks. He makes his point through a letter to his nephew because he is aware of the sentiment people possess for their close ones. While reading the letter, it is hard not to be reminded of the people you love. He talks about the tears that he sees his brother “shed invisibly today.” Baldwin justifies the cruel world he has encountered by claiming that it is the world that has been forced to believe false premises about Blacks; for whites to see the world differently would be a loss of identity. His experience has shaped who he is and has been passed down through his writing over decades.

As personal and as emotional as James Baldwin’s “A Letter To My Nephew” is, I have been led to believe that this publication was not written solely for his young nephew but for an audience much greater. From the way he speaks to what he actually says, Baldwin makes a grand statement in this piece on the extent to which present-day America (at the time) suffered under the “black and white” divisional mindset and conditions that haunted both sides of society, whether or not the individuals were specifically conscious of it (whites). Made with both heartfelt hope for the future and contempt for the poor fate that seems to loom over the entirety of his race, James Baldwin includes feelings and thoughts pleasing and understood by anyone so as to be read by as large an audience as possible: a plea for effort from all, one less matter of segregation.

At the start of the essay, Baldwin humanizes himself. Though he defines himself as an educated writer he has also made clear his role as the everyday man; a man with a brother, a man with a mother, a man with past experience, a man that virtually all others could connect to. Through his own stories and memories and position to give advice as an uncle writing to his nephew, Baldwin demonstrates his credibility as a black writer and on his ability to speak on such a level, thus proving his ethos. In a world, as he has witnessed, of such shallow hatred towards the whole of the black community, Baldwin preaches the idea that love will suffice for growth and unification of a world meant to work together, not against itself. He brings such confidence in and longing for better days for his young nephew, for the black population, and for humanity as a whole, for “great men have done great things here and will again and we can make America what America must become.” Logos is built within the entirety of the piece, in its message, as each claim Baldwin makes is sensible, reasonable, and has potential in the hands of the right people. To one, to all, take his words and take them strongly, for such a credible and mighty soul, hurt by society, still had the drive to fix it.

Emily Weiss

02.23.2016

James Baldwin’s ‘Letter to my nephew” was written at a time when race tension was at an all time high. It is an encouragement for his nephew and other young black men to be brave; to understand that their world is plotting against them, to not believe what white people say about them. He persuades us to see life his way by using certain kinds of rhetoric.
Baldwin’s persuasion does not gently carry you into the space that he would like you to be, rather he violently shakes you. His evident passion is jarring. Baldwin’s choice to pose his literature as a letter to his nephew makes it very personal. You feel as if you are a part of the family, like you are let in on some sort of secret. When he talks to his nephew you cannot help but listen. While the letter is addressed to his nephew, I would not say his primary audience is his kin. If this letter was solely or primarily for his nephew I would think he would not have published it. This letter is to other young black men. It is to all black men. It is to black women. It is to white men, white women. It is the black men in the sense to inspire them, educate them, and give them courage. It is to white men to show them that Baldwin knows exactly what they are up to, exactly what they think, what they are afraid of. The audience in this case, would be the peoples of the United States of America. While certain parts of the piece are directed at different audiences, every citizen could get something out of this. This was 1963, the one hundredth anniversary of ‘freedom’. It is the peak of the civil rights movement. This letter is appropriate and it is important.
Baldwin’s exigence in this piece is the struggle of the black person in 1960’s America. This is the problem, this is the issue, and he addresses it fearlessly. His constraints would be the black person’s fear. Fear of society, fear of the white man; fear that they might believe what white people say about them. His constraint is white people’s ignorance. It is white people’s anger; it is white people’s resistance. Baldwin knew this. Baldwin knew this is how people felt, this is how they might react, and he writes with this in mind. Baldwin’s ethos as an American novelist, playwright, essayist and poet show enough credibility to get people to listen. He has that platform and he uses it. His choice to word and format this piece of literature in a letter to his nephew appeals to one’s emotions. Baldwin makes very logical points throughout this essay, in regards to how white men feel, how his nephew will be raised, how they want to keep him in the ghetto. The kairos here would be the civil rights movement. If there ever was the perfect time for a piece like this, it was 1963.

James Baldwin’s “Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation”, immediately manifests a sense of distress and somewhat of a sense of urgency, a sort of plea to his nephew. He begins by stating that he has “begun this letter five times and torn it up five times” (7), clearly showing how uneasy it is for him to get his emotions in order and to write this letter. By writing this piece in the format of a letter, Baldwin allows himself a lot of breadth to be expressive, without having to abide by the structures of a formal doctrine or statement for example. The fact that Baldwin wrote this piece to his nephew makes it all the more personal, sentimental, and poignant (familial relationships are weighted much more strongly than relationships between two strangers). However, I do believe that this format was a disguise/tool for a much larger goal, as I’ll explain shortly.

Though it is directed to his nephew, I feel that Baldwin is making a statement for a much larger audience, whites and blacks included. He hopes to shed light and awareness about the racial discrimination that not only his nephew faces, but also the discrimination faced by the black people of that time. His nephew is just an instrument (or writing method) of showing this larger image: not only is his nephew affected by this racial discrimination, but so is the larger black race as a whole. Though he makes many nephew-specific statements, meaning that a lot of what he says is directed to his nephew, most of them can be applied to all blacks of that time in general. We see this, for example, when he underlines and delineates the “qualifications” of who may be affected by this discrimination. He says “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason” (9). Anyone who is black (at that time) may be subject to the same kind of limited future that Baldwin speaks of.

I believe that Baldwin had a much larger goal in writing this piece. Though it may seem like Baldwin spoke specifically about his nephew’s case of racial discrimination, the reality is is that he wants to see change for everyone. He accomplishes this strategically by formatting it in a way (letter format) that would really tap into the emotive sides of any reader.

James Baldwin’s piece, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation” he points out many important topics and arguments. Baldwin focused on the elements of Bitzers “rhetorical situation” to make his point across. The main argument of this letter was the struggles of African Americans created by the white society. When Baldwin wrote these essays and letters it was during 1963, at the time when the African-American Civil Rights Movement was taking place. The goal of the movement was to end discrimination and segregation. Baldwin made sure to write about this movement in his letter. He let his nephew know that there was discrimination still happening even before his time. For example, Baldwin explained that because he was black, he was already given limits as to how far he would go, not only that but where he lived was an important key to his limits. He was placed by the white people to live in the ghetto, Harlem. Living in Harlem it meant little success. Till this day there are still some stereotypes about Harlem being “ghetto,” which means not a lot of great things happen in that area including the people. Baldwin explains that in the white people’s view, they are inferior and worthless human beings. Baldwin himself had experienced this discrimination. He seen discrimination not only in his neighborhood but he describes to us that his past family members and other African Americans lived through even a harder time. In the time where they were ignored and just put to work. But since then they have tried to succeed.

The audience to this piece of writing is not only African-Americans but the white community. He does speak to the African Americans through this letter that yes, they are experiencing a harsh time for who they are, being black but he points out that sooner or later they have to rise above it, until then they have to fight for their freedom. Although the title of this writing piece has the words, “One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” African-Americans still have to fight for their freedom, they are still being discriminated till now. His second audience is the white community. He wants to teach them about what its like being African-American and the problems they endure simply because of their identity.

The constraint in his letter is the time African Americans have to reach their goal, to not be discriminated or be seen less than a human being. The audience are skeptical that these group of people won’t be treated equal just as a white person. To relate this letter to the modern time that constraint was reached slowly. Barack Obama is the first African American to become president of the United States. When he was elected to represent the United States, he represented the Black community. He was shown that they are equal as any white person. Of course, there issues that still need to be resolved, those issues go back to the 1960’s that this century still needs to work on.

Baldwin’s piece is gives us an insider’s perspective of a dark time during our nation’s history.  From the get-go, his intentions for writing the letter were clearly stated.  He made sure his nephew knew that him being tough, him being dark makes him vulnerable to what society is capable of doing to him.  He claims that there is another world, the white world, that looks to make sure his people stay defeated, but that is only half of it.   Defeat can only come once you have begun to believe what the opposition wants you to believe.  The grounds for these claims were because of the time he lived in, and those who came before him lived through.  This leads to what he has to say being warranted because of segregation.  Literally a world where whites and blacks were not to be seen as equals, and one where the slightest signs of weakness can be the downfall of even the strongest, it can be said that Baldwin wants to make sure that his Nephew knew of all the trials and tribulations his people had to face.

Baldwin knows that his audience for the piece is his nephew, so he knows that him being young might cause him to not fully understand what is going on around him.  He might not know that “this innocent country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact, it intended that you should perish” because everyone around him puts on a smile.  Kairos seemed to play an important role in the piece since it seemed intentional that this letter be written on the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.  Not only was it the anniversary, but the Civil Rights Movement was taking place. From stating the many struggles his people had to face, to ultimately formulate something resembling a motivational speech, it can be said that Baldwin wants to make sure that his nephew, at the young age of fifteen, knows that his future is within his control.

In Baldwins’ letter, he urgently cautions his nephew that there is no basis for the whites to accept him, but that he must accept the white people. This, I believe is Baldwin’s focal argument, although I struggle with the understanding. But the wording of his phrase and use of “accept” brought me to the idea of alienation, which I learned in sociology. Alienation is being isolated from an entity. When you look at the time period this was written, and the location(ghettoes), you immediately register that prejudice and discrimination against blacks was the norm. Baldwin’s tone is not rather aggressive, but he is forceful with his words. He is not attacking the whites but blaming them. He blames them, accusing them that they are at the root of alienation of blacks. There are various types of alienation but they all ultimately lead to estranged emotions and low self-esteem. Baldwin lists these as a grievance the whites have inflicted.

You can note that this letter was originally intended for his nephew, because of the intimate words associated such as “love” and “baby”. There are also multiple familial references which outsiders would not be able to comprehend. However Baldwin writes in an emotional-spurring way as if to convince his nephew to take action. His credibility is established by mentioning his living in the ghettoes, a firsthand experience. In addition, the letter comes across as a heartfelt piece written genuinely out of care for the nephew. The words are sincere and honest and profound. The restriction would be one for the audience. Especially for his nephew, who has grown up living in the ghettos, expecting to settle with being inferior. Baldwin can effectively his desires for James, but it will be the difficult task of James to triumph against society.

James Baldwin seemed to be a strong activist of the civil rights movement during the time of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Although he lived during their time, it seemed that he had his own outlook on tackling civil rights. In my eyes, it seemed as if he was more of a pacifistic and patient figure like MLK Jr.

The main point of Baldwin’s letter to his nephew was to express that it was a little premature for African Americans to be celebrating a 100 years of freedom. As Baldwin cleverly stated, “The county is celebrating 100 years of freedom 100 years too soon.” He believed patience was the key to success; it was going to take more time for White Americans to acknowledge their wrongdoings. Baldwin didn’t want this “historical event” to overshadow all the hardships he, his ancestors, and his people had to endure. The points Baldwin brought up and the respectful language he used to make them has led me to believe that his Nephew wasn’t the only audience he intended to reach with this letter. It was almost obvious that Baldwin was speaking to not only to his Nephew, but all African Americans as a whole. The advice given to James was easily applicable to anyone trapped in the ghettos. He wanted everyone to understand that most White Americans were truly innocent, just too afraid of upsetting the norm of “turning a blind eye” to all the injustices suffered by African Americans.

The utilization of pathos in this letter was vital to its potency. The fact that the letter was written to his Nephew made it even more relatable. How could someone not feel saddened, touched by reading a letter from an uncle to nephew stating that there’s still hope left in this world, to endure the crimes committed against them. The initial heart-wrenching story of James’s father by Baldwin created a connection with the readers, strengthening his points.

The time when James Baldwin wrote The Fire Next Time was when the Civil Rights movement was happening when African Americans were hoping to obtain racial equality. Baldwin’s letter to his nephew is heart wrenching,  one full of emotion as well as nostalgia. He remembers what it was like to be thought of as inferior to whites, he remembers all that his family has been through and everything that they have struggled to get through. Even through all of that his message to his nephew is for him to keep his head up and keep going, to reach for his dreams and try as hard as he can to be the best that he can be. He tells him not to be held back because of what others say and explains all of the hardships his family had to go through because of the limits that were put on their growth by others. The exigence in this letter seems to be the continued racism, internalized as well as industrialized, that had been plaguing the African American community for 100 years and still, unfortunately, continues to plague them as well as others. The constraints in this piece as well as in general at the time were a prejudiced society which influenced Baldwin’s writing and this piece in particular.

The title of the letter is ironic, My Dungeon Shook-Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation, it’s been one hundred years since the emancipation and still blacks did not have basic rights that should be available to everyone, these are human rights. Baldwin has a sort of optimistic outlook but also a bleak one at the same time. He tells his nephew to not let others dictate what he does in life but then believes that blacks will never hold the same positions as white people do. Baldwin argues in his piece that people of color should stand up for themselves and speak up. When he wrote this piece, his audience was mainly African-Americans, at a time when they were fighting for their rights and making themselves heard rather than following along with what they were led for so long to believe was the way things were meant to be.

He delivers this all in an emotional letter written to his nephew meant to teach him of where he came from and what he will most likely go through because of his skin color. Even though the letter is written to his nephew its not meant to be just for him, it’s for everyone else that will be going through similar struggles in their life. Throughout the letter when he speaks of others he does not use any harsh words or sound angry, he seems to use logic and reasoning and wants people to rise up and not turn to violence or anything of that sort.  The letter is meant to use his past as well as his family’s past as a way to guide his nephew and others in the future to do the best that they can and be the best in a society full of prejudice and racism.

The argument of Baldwin’s piece Letter to My Nephew is that any colored person should stand up and speak for themselves. Do not let what others say about you become true. Do not let anyone judge you by your cover. Baldwin emphasizes James to share it to, to share their history with his future children and grandchildren. Let your countrymen accept you for who you are. James must stand up for himself and for his fellow brothers. Baldwin goes about making this argument by describing what he had been through. His uncle struggled and is still struggling. Then he goes on about the sacrifices that their family made and tells James to not be afraid. Indeed, Uncle James wrote this letter to James; however, Uncle James only use his nephew as a pawn/ example.

Baldwin’s main intention is to get out the message to the people in the world. I know this because I feel like if he is writing it to his nephew only, then he would sound maybe angrier or show a side of him that can be only seen by family members? This can be one of its constraints. The letter that he wrote is like a motivational speech and less of a letter. Baldwin states, “This crime of which I accuse my country and my countrymen and for which I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it” (8). Baldwin handles the situation by stating the fact that they did actually destroy many innocent lives. He later states, “I know your countrymen do not agree with me about this, and I hear them saying, ‘You exaggerate.’ They do not know Harlem, and I do.” (10). Baldwin is basically speaking from the perspective of the whites and also adding them into the conversation. He does not say any harsh words; Baldwin uses logic and reasoning to argue and persuade people to rise up.

During the time that Baldwin produced this piece of literature, it was a time of struggle for African-Americans hoping to obtain racial equality. African-Americans were confused as to which path to go to obtain racial equality: violence or peacefulness. Many of the older generations of African-Americans prefer to go the peaceful route while the younger generations of African-Americans prefer to use force to obtain equality, leading to Baldwin’s argument in his letter to his nephew. In his writing, Baldwin hopes to persuade his nephew to not use force to obtain equality, citing various references from socialization to common sense. Through this, he hopes to illustrate the point to his nephew that it is pointless to force the white people to accept them. Baldwin understands that equality cannot be obtained so easily after generations of suffering through the form of slavery.

In his letter, Baldwin is primarily speaking to his nephew, but to others with the same thoughts as his nephew as well. When written, he doesn’t address the “you” in the familiarity of a relative. Rather, it’s as if the “you” he’s speaking of is to the people trying to use force to enact equality. That is more explicitly felt in the phrase: “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason” (9). He’s speaking to every Black person that feels the unjust.

The constraint in Baldwin’s piece is the fact that he cannot see the future. Due to this fact, he wouldn’t be able to believe the fact that Barack Obama, a black person would be able to become President. In a sense, Baldwin sees no hope for a future in which a Black person can hold the same possessions as a White person. Baldwin hopes to make the reader to let go of the thoughts of equality and to simply accept the facts as facts.

The importance of James Baldwin’s letter to his nephew, James, can be viewed as a brutal reality about the state of Black Civil Rights in 1963, the year he wrote this letter. The exigence that spurs this speech is the continuous racism that plagues Black society for the last 100 years, creating the negative blockade for young Black Americans that struggle with these issues. Baldwin seems to direct his lecture, specifically to his nephew, and he addresses him many times personally, giving references of immediate family members to give grounds to his claim. It seems as if in the beginning that his nephew is the primary audience, however, the author intends this piece to be a reminder, as well as a source of inspiration for him and the future generations. Baldwin gives this letter an appropriate title, My Dungeon Shook-Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation, in remembrance of how America was built on freedoms and how ironically, the freedoms did not apply to all. I think Baldwin tries to give an explanation as to why racism continued in the United States. Even though there is no justification for the horrific acts, it seems as if he comes to terms with the past, even to the point of accepting the reality of it, but yet does not want racism to hold permanence. Baldwin faced the constraints of a prejudice society, which certainly influenced his writings as a poet and an author. In this personal testimony, he is particularly nostalgic and emotional, as he remembers the past to give guidance for the future. The restrictions he experienced are a constant reminder of how society can force a complex of inferiorities and Baldwin realizes this is a dangerous hole for his nephew to fall right into. In theory, equality for all is the belief that many of has have, but Baldwin is certain that this celebration of freedom has not yet been a reality.