Narrative and Opinion in Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

Choices jam Baldwin is considered to be unmatched of the great writers of modern time. There are legion(predicate) characteristics of his writing that could be used to show his talent but the one that is most often cited is his ability to interweave narrative and opinion seamlessly into his essays. angiotensin converting enzyme example of this ability is in his Notes of a Native Son essay. He interweaves narrative of his father and his death with his opinions about(predicate) the relationship between blacks and whites at that time. James Baldwin uses contrasting ideas such as creation vs. hole-and-corner(a), father vs. son, and a trend vs. present to switch back and forth between the narrative and his opinions. The study contrasting idea that Baldwin uses in the essay is the contrasting idea of public life vs. his own personal private life. The first paragraph starts by giving the date of his fathers death, then moves to telling about the Detroit riot s and then brings them together in the end of the paragraph by stating that they brood my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed main office glass (63). This shows how some(prenominal) their personal life had been shattered and to a fault the townsfolk around them. But this is only a hint of how Baldwin switches between his personal, private life and his public life in society. However, he always manages to overcharge what seems like two completely opposite ideas together into one combine thought. By drawing similarities between his public life and his private life, Baldwin is suitable to create the sense that the problems facing society were very similar compared to those that he faced on a personal level. Because of this Baldwin is able to put one over his opinions agree to the reader on a more personal level. The best example of Baldwin usi... ...art when taking a stance on an issue. That way you are sincere in your decision and you stand behind it. Bu t he is also saying in the rest of the essay that when you are deciding if you should take for a side or when you decide what side you are red ink to take, you must not rely on merely the past or the present. You must not merely on the word of society or the word of your private family. And you must not rely on the spoken communication your father says because you are his son. You must look at the entire picture, both past and present, both public and private, and both your thoughts and your fathers when you make a decision on a subject. Only in this way will the world ever be fair and just, and without racial tensions. kit and caboodle CitedBaldwin, James. Notes of a Native Son. 1955. James Baldwin Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York Library of America, 1998. 63-84.