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James BaldwinA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
James Baldwin authored the essays for this collection over six years, beginning in 1956. In the Introduction, Baldwin explains his decision to end his time in Europe. The writer compares his experiences in America to Paris. Although he felt trapped by the color of his skin in the United States, Europe brought freedom. Living in Paris allowed him to escape the racial identity forced upon him by his fellow Americans. Instead, he could focus his attention on becoming a writer.
As he began to examine his own identity, he realized that he could not fully separate it from the color of his skin or his status as an American: He must confront the identity that others have constructed for him. Baldwin asserts that the only life worth living is one of marked self-reflection and the willingness to examine and confront the world. He feels he must return to the United States to achieve this.
Baldwin also begins to see that the racial problems that pervade the United States are no less prominent in Europe: “Havens are high-priced. The price exacted of the haven-dweller is that he contrive to delude himself into believing that he has found a haven” (xii).
By James Baldwin
Another Country
Another Country
James Baldwin
A Talk to Teachers
A Talk to Teachers
James Baldwin
Blues for Mister Charlie
Blues for Mister Charlie
James Baldwin
Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room
James Baldwin
Going To Meet The Man
Going To Meet The Man
James Baldwin
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Go Tell It on the Mountain
James Baldwin
I Am Not Your Negro
I Am Not Your Negro
James Baldwin
If Beale Street Could Talk
If Beale Street Could Talk
James Baldwin
If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?
If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?
James Baldwin
No Name in the Street
No Name in the Street
James Baldwin
Notes of a Native Son
Notes of a Native Son
James Baldwin
Sonny's Blues
Sonny's Blues
James Baldwin
Stranger in the Village
Stranger in the Village
James Baldwin
The Amen Corner
The Amen Corner
James Baldwin
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next Time
James Baldwin
The Rockpile
The Rockpile
James Baldwin
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