If Beale Street Could Talk Analysis

If Beale Street Could Talk, by James Baldwin, is a story about a man who has been falsely accused of a crime, simply because he does as doesn’t conform to the white society’s expectations of him. As Hans F. Hanson says, “It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.” By putting Fonny, one of the story’s main protagonists, in the position where he has to defy the expected standards of society, Baldwin is able to achieve his purpose of creating an honest but brutal story that displays his character’s courage to not accept life’s circumstances and “join the crowd,” and instead carve his own path for his life, which results in many troubles that Fonny is forced to endure as he gives everything he has

The idea of relating public and private events in Baldwin’s own experiences is instituted later in the essay in order to transition from narrative to analysis. Baldwin started telling a story about when he lived in New Jersey before the time of his father’s death. He talked about his personal treatment by white people in the south, a first hand account of the racism of that particular era. He learned of the hostility of the Jim Crow Laws inflicted on African Americans during that time period. His story was analogous to nearly all African Americans at that point. When Baldwin lived in New Jersey, he became exposed to the racism of the south that occurred in restaurants and diners. During one of those experiences he wrote, “I

James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” was a great tale of the struggles shared between two brothers in Harlem in 1957. This story is about two African American brothers who, unfortunately, grew apart as the aged. The plot shows the struggles the two brothers faced as they grew up in Harlem, and in return, the two drastically different paths they perused. James Baldwin was an African American who grew up in Harlem in the 1930s and 40s. Baldwin was the oldest of nine children, and grew up in a very poor family, having a very bad relationship with his stepfather. Baldwin followed in his stepfather’s footsteps in becoming a preacher, but as he was studying to do so, he realized that his true calling was to become a writer. Baldwin

Rewinding back to the 1950’s, I Love Lucy was one of the most popular sitcoms on television. There were two main characters and they happen to be married. The husband’s name was Ricky and the wife’s name is Lucy. Ricky is a talented singer and part of a band. On the other hand, his wife strives to be famous and share her talents with the world. Her husband claims that she has no talent and she would be better off staying at home to be a housewife. Throughout the show, Lucy finds herself getting into trouble as she often tries to perform at Tropicana, the place in which Ricky works.

The hatred many African Americans possessed during the 1950s caused multiple riots. Baldwin touches on this in his essay, by mentioning the Harlem riots that broke out during the same time of his father’s death. Baldwin states that “it would have been better to have left the plate glass as it had been and the goods lying in the stores, [but] it would have also been intolerable, for Harlem had needed something to smash” (82). The African American community, infuriated by improper police action, exploded into a fury. While Baldwin does not argue against the riots, he points out their uselessness throughout the essay. The riots, as Baldwin points out, did not cross the “ghetto lines.” Instead of wreaking havoc in white neighborhoods, the black mob simply destroyed its own area. The mob had surrendered to its

In the beginning chapters of the book, we get a glimpse of the typical home and community of an African American during segregation. Many Africans Americans were too adjusted to the way of living, that they felt

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

King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discusses the topic of segregation and just and unjust laws, whereas Baldwin in his “Notes of a Native Son” places an emphasis on relationships, particularly the relationship between his father and him. Additionally, Baldwin discusses the impact of racism on the lives of African Americans during that time. Although these essays are dated back over fifty years ago; the topics discussed in them are still very common today.

If Beale Street Could Talk Analysis Essay In the novel, If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin uses many rhetorical strategies to emphasize the unfair treatment that African Americans faced in early US history. Through the point of view, imagery, and time elements, the situations of which the characters find themselves in are more effective. Each device is place and used to allow readers to feel as if they are going through the difficulties and the happiest moments as another character in the book, and raises awareness to the trials that they faced.

Baldwin continues on and says that blacks were being oppressed everywhere. “…Negro girls who set upon a white girl in the subway because…she was stepping on their toes. Indeed she was, all over the nation” (73). Not only does this portray the ever growing tension felt among African Americans in a certain area, it expresses the tension felt across the nation. African Americans everywhere were still continuously looked down upon, causing agitation, which was the current social condition blacks and whites faced.

As segregation began to disappear, so did “black only” shopping centers and the beloved Beale Street. Unfortunately, in the 1930s the Great Depression inhibited Beale, and remained for thirty years, turning Beale into a ghost town. “Beale Street had become a wasteland of abandoned and boarded-up buildings where trash littered otherwise empty streets.” Locals became weary when rumors of the decline of Beale spread throughout the nation. However, in 1982, John Elkington took ownership of the new redeveloping of Beale Street. Renovations began to spark, allowing contractors to bulldoze the entire neighborhood. When Elkington accepted the long and difficult task of bringing Beale and the surrounding city of Memphis back to life in 1983, the city it’s self began to grow, once again. Beale Street gradually began

One place he stayed at the Beale’s. The Beales take care and love MM like an actual son even though MM is white and the Beales are black, as shown on p. 48 when the Beales took MM to the doctor when MM didn’t feel well. Push aside their racial differences and the Beales would be a normal, loving family. MM was helpful around the house, as shown on p. 46. when he does many of the daily chores. In turn, Maniac was a helpful & loving person to the Beale

Orange is The New Black provides insight as to how a prison sentence can affect the relationships had before entering the prison culture as well as the effect that can be had on your significant others. The following essay will discuss the process that women may experience when entering and adjusting to the prison life,

The hatred many African Americans possessed during the 1950s caused multiple riots. Baldwin touches on this in “Notes of a Native Son”, by mentioning the Harlem riots that broke out

After I watched the episode of The Beverly Hillbillies, I agree with Dean that people used the hillbilly stereotypes to apricate the Claimpetts’ family. The film begins with the image of the family on the old and fogy car that makes the film become humor. The memberships in the family show the happy faces when they move to the new house. They are the industrious farmers who live in the American’s countryside. Then, their land locates on the oil field so they have to move to the new house. When they come to the new house, they are surprised with the difference at here such as the cement pond, the pink bird (flamingo), and the luxurious stairs. After that, they recognized that the new house was not as convenient as the old house. They did not