Notes of a Native Son

Rogelio Orozco

Notes of a Native Son-James Baldwin

http://books.google.com/books?id=HDnxq1cyEq4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=notes+of+a+native+son&source=bl&ots=zJokBpzFPJ&sig=XKaN0ttz52zmN_qB_6EavsO6LZc&hl=en&ei=Ys6vTJeCEoOesQPdk9z8Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

I read his Autobiographical Notes, and what I was struck most with was how calm Baldwin seemed throughout this entire piece. He didn’t come off as being angry, biased, or malicious throughout the entire piece. Even though he used such powerful statements such as, “...I hated and feared white people. This does not mean that I loved black people,” (pg.7) in its context, it sounded like he wasn’t angry or bitter at all. It could be from his preacher background, but he has the ability to sound passionate but not angry or sound like he is attacking people.

Also, what I thought was fascinating was the reason why he didn’t like black people. According to Baldwin, the reason that he, “despised black people,” (pg. 7) was because they did not produce Rembrandt. I don’t know why this resonates with me so much, but it does. He doesn’t like that an artist that he respects and enjoys did not come from his lineage. One can assume that there must be other artists that he enjoys that aren’t black, that he must wish his culture would have produced.

Something that I really appreciated was his explanation of he sees himself as a black writer. He explains how he does not talk about being black at great lengths because he feels that being black is only a gate way to being able to write about other things. He accepts and understands that most other people will perceive him as being a black writer, but what he wants to do is just write. He is not trying to deny his culture or background, but he doesn’t want that to be the only thing focus on. As he says when he closes his autobiographical notes, “I want to be an honest man and a good writer.”