Living in a Frightening Society

“Notes of a Native Son,” by James Baldwin describes the relationship between him and his father. The author also relates their relationship with the relationship between black and white America. Baldwin felt his relationship with his father was frightening. He also felt that being around a society that hates African Americans was also frightening. After reading parts 1 and 2 of the essay I can see how these two relationships were similar.

Baldwin was frightened of his dad’s bitterness. “I had discovered the weight of white people in the world. I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be an awful thing to live with, and that bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me.” Baldwin’s relationship with his dad was very frightening because his dad was always bitter. This bitterness came from hating white people all his life. Before the father dies he tells Baldwin to never trust a white person because they would do anything to bring a Negro down. This relates to the relationship between black and white America because later on in the story Baldwin faces this experience. When Baldwin moves to New Jersey he experiences segregation. Baldwin felt that he was living in a nightmare when a mob of white people were chasing after him. He explains in the story that it was a frightening experience to face segregation. Baldwin starts to become very bitter towards white people and starts to have an internal disease just like his father.

The author relates the relationship between what was going on inside his household to what was going on outside his household because they were both frightening. Overall I enjoyed reading parts 1 and 2 of the essay. I am going to continue to read part 3 because I want to know if Baldwin overcomes these challenges that he is facing.

Understanding

Awareness, communication, and knowledge are the traits that are described in the essay called “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris. The essay was about how Sedaris was struggling to learn how to speak French. His French teacher was giving him a hard time because she expected her students to already be at a advanced level. Sedaris was more at a beginner level and this is why he wasn’t understanding her lectures. I enjoyed reading the essay because it teaches you a lesson on how to handle situations that you are trapped in.

Awareness and communication was used in the story because Sedaris was aware that he needed to learn how to speak French as soon as possible. He was forbidden to speak any other language but French. This was a learning experience for Sedaris. I remember I was in that same situation when I had to take a Spanish class. My instructor told the class that she wanted everyone to try their best and communicate in Spanish. She wanted everyone to do this because she said you would learn how to speak the language faster.

Knowledge was used in the story because Sedaris had to spend four hours each day to practice French. I had to do the same with Spanish. I remember how I use to struggle pronouncing the Spanish alphabet. I had to make sure I knew the alphabet by heart and knew how to read in Spanish. Overall I enjoyed reading the story because I can relate to the same experiences that Sedaris was having. This story taught me how to be more prepared if I decide to move to a country where the language is different.

Change

Change is what people accomplish to better themselves. In the book called “Coffee Will Make You Black” by April Sinclair, the character Stevie has made a dynamic change. At the beginning of the story Stevie starts off by having less confidence in herself. She tends to listen and be around people who are a bad influence like Carla for example. Throughout the story Stevie starts to realize that she is changing when she starts high school. She starts to appreciate her race more when she joins the Afro- American Club. She also engages an interest for Nurse Horn who is white. Towards the end of the story Carla does not want to be her friend anymore because she has an interest for Nurse Horn. Stevie realizes that if people can’t accept the fact that she is changing then she does not need to be around them. In conclusion, I learned that it is okay to change and change is what makes you better as a person.