In the opening of notes of a native son, I was drawn into the authors malaise. I immediately reflected on the idea that as a nation we just came to supporting equality across the board 60 years ago. The reality is those reforms only began to be respected 20 years ago but there are still many sociological race problems. I saw how James Baldwin lost his innocence in his tale, he tried to keep his cool but he soon lashed out. This quote ” She was stepping on their toes, indeed she was, all over the nation.” links directly to what was happening with African Americans at the time, this quote likes to the metamorphosis that occurred within Baldwin.