James Baldwin has become one of the most famous black writers of all time. His novels and short stories have been a wake up call for people. The reader can see the trials and tribulations that the black man went through in his generation. Although he wrote fictional stories, most of them were based on his own life. One of his best works was a short story entitled, Notes of a Native Son. This story may not be long in page numbers, but its power is limitless. The author goes into depth when discussing the racism that the main character had to go through. His work as an author and his life experiences can be considered a prequel to the Civil Rights Movement. The story revolves around Baldwin and his life before and after the death of his father.
Baldwin respected his father even though he did not really understand him. His father was the violently abusive type who would beat the respect out of his children. Baldwin was never too fond of his father but was fearful of him regardless. His father's main problem was that he could not communicate well with others. He lived a harsh life and never had anything handed to him. Before Baldwin ever knew what racism was, his father was in the trenches fighting the war for equal rights for himself and his family. With Baldwin's father being a part of the first non-slave generation, it put an enormous burden on him to do great things with his life. It was extremely difficult to keep up with the dream that his family had for him. .
It has always been a well-known fact that stress can kill a human being. This man was no exception to that rule as he tried his hardest to support his family and to keep his children away from what they are not prepared to face. But apparently his best wasn't enough to stop the resentment that his children had toward him. As he got older, he developed the disease known as Tuberculosis and became very ill.