Analysis Of James Baldwin 'If Black English IsnT A Language, Then Tell Me What Is'

Baldwin and Coates are both teaching their kin that growing up in America is hard. In Baldwin’s letter, Baldwin talks to his nephew about how being born black can hurt you in the world. Baldwin states “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason” (Baldwin 18). At this time in America, being born black will make your life hard and will place certain restrictions

Since 1955 James Baldwin’s essay “Stranger in the Village” has become a legendary work which raises questions about racism, its history and nature. It is usually understood as a classic model which maps the obstacles that African Americans have encountered in white society; also the essay can be interpreted as a lens through which American blacks could perceive the world around them as a result of American slavery. Yet, these speculations fail to take into account the groundlessness of “white supremacy” which is evident from the author’s description of a godforsaken village where people are ignorant and literally entrapped. Moreover, it is unjustified for the protagonist to feel villagers’ dominance since it is inconsistent with circumstances that he presents to readers as well as the apparent advantages that he has over the villagers. And so, if we continue to see the story as simply discriminatory against blacks, we miss an important message of that there is something (values) beyond racial advantages, what the nature of genuine supremacy is (which could be based on other values rather than on color of the skin), (what are the things that are more important than the race) and we fail to make objective judgments of one’s unfeigned domination. In his essay “Stranger in the Village” Baldwin forces readers to confront their cultural assumptions about racial superiority and come to a new understanding of genuine supremacy through extoling contemporary American society over

Baldwin determines that violence and racial separatism are not acceptable solutions for achieving “power”. Baldwin believes that black people will only be able to achieve lasting influence in America if they love and accept white people. In contrast, writing 52 years after Baldwin, Coats tells his own son to “struggle” but not

Throughout Baldwin’s essay, he encourages changes in education for blacks, but he does so using ethos and pathos. For example, he starts off by notifying teachers that they will meet the most determined resistance from society, as he has in his writings. This shows his credibility by informing the teachers that they do not struggle alone in this issue. The use of ethos leads him to the use of pathos by providing an example of an African American child growing up, drawing conclusions about the world, but not having an explanation for it. This really makes the audience contemplate about their childhoods.

Richard Wright uses language in his novel, Black Boy, as a source to convey his opinions and ideas. His novel both challenges and defends the claim that language can represent a person and become a peephole into their life and surroundings. Richard Wright uses several rhetorical techniques to convey his own ideas about the uses of language.

He tries to get the audience to feel anger towards the American education by stating, “...black men were brought here as a source of cheap labor.” Henceforth, by telling the people that a race was only brought to the U.S. for an economic boost, it makes the reader feel shocked and anger. Baldwin states, “ It’s astounding to me, for example, that so many people really appear to believe that the country was by founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free.” This quote implies that our so called ‘great heroes’, are not really the heroes we perceive them to be. That America the great lives in a huge shadow of false heroes.

In James Baldwin's essay "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What is?" (1979) he focuses on language and the history behind it. Baldwin wants you to recognize not only the relationship between language and identity, but also the language between language and power. One important detail to remember when reading this essay is the time era it was written in. During this era, he faced obstacles not only for being black but because he was smart. Other text written by Baldwin include: "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "Giovanni's Room," and "I Am Not Your Negro." As if being black and intelligent was not enough, Baldwin was also bisexual. He never failed to voice his pain and struggle though out his works. " The argument has nothing to do with language itself, but with the role of language. Language, incontestably, reveals the speaker." The intended audience of this essay is white people who deny Black English as a language.

James Baldwin states in the essay, If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? that a lot of people speak differently, even though they may speak the same language. He further continues to say, people who speak differently, but have the same language speaks in such way because of they have different experiences, and they orientated from different geographical settings, as well as, social, and economic standings. For example, if you originate southern United States, you will most likely speak with more of a “country accent.” If you originate from an upper class, wealthy family, you will most likely speak with a proper tone; successfully following all grammatical and phonetical rules. Baldwin’s main point was that “Black English”

Beau Fly Jones summarizes Baldwin’s knowledge discussing race relations in America. The intent of this article is to arrange Baldwin’s concepts to show the relation to sociology. The article is divided into multiple sections, “The Problem,” “Negro Opportunity—Structures,” “The Myth,” “Types of Response,” “Negro-White Relations,” and “Evaluation.” Each argues a different matter and that build off each other. Jones’ points out the weaknesses in Baldwin’s writings in a matter to improve the understanding of

Growing up in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s and 30’s, James Baldwin was a young Black man desperate for a place of acceptance. Surrounded by drugs and prostitution Baldwin saw a change in his neighborhood and his friends as they got older. With his friends beginning to drink and smoke Baldwin knew times were changing. He became very aware of the bodily development of the girls and the boys around him, to his surprise, he was even more enticed by the changes in the boys (Baldwin 17). During this time, Baldwin and his friends would begin to experience the racism that White America had to offer. No longer shielded by their age or naivety they had to face the fact that they were not accepted because of their skin color. With this

Baldwin suggests that the way to overcome the Negro problem is for both Negro and white America to transcend what they think they know, believe, understand and fear. He suggests that America, as both a country and an ideal, is handicapped by a narrowness of thinking.

In the essay of Baldwin, he tried to show readers the inequality he felt being “Black English”. His argument is based on the role of language in the society. To support his argument he gave an example

The history of America was followed by awful times involving slavery, racial segregation and inequality of African Americans living in the United States. During this atrocious time period, many African Americans had hope in their lives of America being entitled as one united nation ignoring the color of skin. James Baldwin was one of many important figures during the Black Arts Movement (1960s -1970s). He wrote many influential essays and poems that impacted many people’s views on the history and hardships African Americans went through living in America. James Baldwin explains in his essay that black people in America have to accept the way of white people in their own views. Baldwin shows the reader what it is like to be a “negro” and what they have to go through everyday life in his essay. Through his own views he describes the negative history of blacks in a way of acceptance, hope and a vision for equality.

     Richard Wright's novel Black Boy is not only a story about one man's struggle to find freedom and intellectual happiness, it is a story about his discovery of language's inherent strengths and weaknesses. And the ways in which its power can separate one soul from another and one class from another. Throughout the novel, he moves from fear to respect, to abuse, to fear of language in a cycle of education which might be likened to a tumultuous love affair.

To begin with, Baldwin introduces his literary piece of writing in arguing that black English should be considered a language. He goes on to say that black English has heavily influenced the American culture and possibly would be different if black English never existed. A language is an extension of one’s