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The Life and Influence of James Baldwin

"Many reviewers in the mainstream press described Baldwin's new novel as sexually deviant" (671). Baldwin has exposed the racial and sexual polarization of American society. Baldwin was nervous before the publication of this novel because he knows that he would no longer be able to hide the fact of his own homosexuality from his family, and he feared their rejection. .
             In addition, the article "Balwin's Sissy Heroics," Marlon B Ross explores the themes of sexual orientation and black queer identity in the nonfiction of author James Baldwin. The author reflects on racial gendering and the sexually violent consequences of white supremacy as depicted in the memoir "No Name in the Street" (637).The idea of the sissy is a symbol of homosexual subversion. Ross states that "Baldwin found in homosexuality a clear path of desire" (634).
             In the article "Introduction: James Baldwin And Influence " by Brooke Horvath. Brooke discusses various articles published within the issue including one on James Baldwin's queer utility, one on the influence of Carson McCullers to James Baldwin. "Eileen Barrett examines a different source of influence on Baldwin, arguing that McCullers possessed an ability to convey intersections of gender and race" (206). Otherwise, Baldwin was influenced by poet T. S. Eliot. He admitted that "the difficulty of escaping Eliot's influence" (207). According to Brooke Horvath, Baldwin "desires to succeed on the basis of literary style and the humanity of his characters rather than in terms of successful polemic" (207).
             The short story "Sonny's Blues" is considered one of Baldwin's amazing works. This story takes place in Harlem in the 1950's, during a time in which the black man struggled to make a living in a society. This is a story of how two African Americans brothers take their own path through life as they struggle to find meaning in their lives.


Essays Related to The Life and Influence of James Baldwin

1. Life and Works of James Baldwin

James Arthur Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York where he lived for the next twenty-four years. ... Baldwin imbues the story with many aspects of his own experiences, such as the discrimination, poverty and the tragic events such a life will inevitably include. ... A city where racism was not only common place, for much of his life it was legal. ... "Go back to where you started," James Baldwin wrote, "or as far back as you can, examine all of it, travel your road again and tell the truth about it. ... Baldwin was long wary of such a response to the success of black men and...

  • Word Count: 2134
  • Approx Pages: 9

2. Biography of James Arthur Baldwin

James Arthur Baldwin was an American poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and social critic. ... He became a mentor to Baldwin, and Beauford's influence brought him to his first realization that a black person could be an artist. ... He would live in France most of his life. ... Literary Works James Arthur Baldwin had a lots of published essays and novels. ... Notable Achievements Throughout James Baldwin's life he received numerous awards for his literary works, leadership qualities, and being a preacher. ...

  • Word Count: 925
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. James Baldwin

Known as one of the most controversial American writers, James Baldwin has been known to speak out on racism and civil rights throughout the 1950s. ... James grew up as the first of nine children. ... James Baldwin grew up with his mother, Berdis Jones, and his stepfather, David Baldwin. ... Baldwin's fiction during the late 1960s and early 1970s was influenced mainly by his participation in the civil rights movement. ... Life for Baldwin was a never-ending struggle between good and evil Critics hailed Giovanni's Room as a novel which Baldwin used to express his homosexuality...

  • Word Count: 2515
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Respose to Baldwin

-James Baldwin- Baldwin makes the above statement in his essay, "The Fire Next Time." By saying this he implies that unless you allow yourself to be influenced by your surroundings, you will never improve who you are. ... This lack of personal growth is what Baldwin is referring to when he states that they can "never grow up." ... We need to realize that the way that we look at our surroundings can influence the decisions we make. ... Then this knowledge can be used to influence future decision, turning negative situations into a future good. ...

  • Word Count: 805
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. James Baldwin - Notes of a Native Son

Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son" is a very powerful essay where the author progressively outlines, with a few "flashbacks", the influence society and his father's actions had on his own beliefs and morals. ... This transition is exposed to readers through the use of three main themes: life, death and prejudice. ... Initially, Baldwin cannot understand his father's bitterness and hatred towards white people and life, but as the essay progresses, you can see he no longer judges his father because he starts to understand him. ... World War II is another issue which influence...

  • Word Count: 943
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography

6. The Concept of Tone in Literature

In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", both authors incorporate vivid language and numerous sensory details to appeal to the reader's emotions and therefore reel them in. James Baldwin, having lived as a gay, black man in the time that he did, fully understands the meaning of discrimination and oppression. ... "Sonny's Blues" is a sad story that is narrated by Sonny's brother who witnesses the negative changes that Sonny has undergone over his life. ... It looks like a parody of the ...

  • Word Count: 920
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. A Controversial Commentator

The influence of the African-American arts and writing gave James Baldwin the confidence to become an African-American writer. ... James Baldwin's influences varied. ... Moreover, James Baldwin's struggles as an African-American "living in a white society" influenced his writings more often than any other conflict or event in his life. ... James Baldwin used all of the experiences in his life as inspiration in his writings. ... Throughout his life, James Baldwin wrote dozens of pieces of writing. ...

  • Word Count: 2437
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Baldwin & Walker

James Baldwin and Alice Walker, both wrote about and lived through problems concerning African Americans in the 1900's. ... Baldwin uses a personal account of his life and well-known history he lived through to tell his story. ... The majority of his evidence is personal inside his family life. ... She uses evidence that relates directly back to her personal life. ... This man has experienced and learned a lot in his life. ...

  • Word Count: 1418
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. racism

(Marian Anderson, "My Life in a White World"). ... Did the people you grow up around influence you to be racist? ... (James Earl Jones, American Actor). ... (James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son). ... It was another fear, a fear that the child, in challenging the white world's assumptions, was putting himself in the path of destruction"( James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time). ...

  • Word Count: 1892
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

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