James Baldwin is an Epic Poet Essay

From King Arthur, to Beowulf, to even Achilles, characters that embody the traits of epic heroes represent an integral part of ancient literature. In fact, what would literature be without epic heroes? How different would The Odyssey be if Odysseus never went on his epic journey? Would the epic poem Beowulf still be read today if the character Beowulf never challenged Grendel and Grendel’s mother? In the story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, characters, both men and women, exhibit characteristics that could be considered heroic, but do they represent epic heroes? Applying a character analysis to The Epic of Gilgamesh will not only help define their status as epic heroes, but will also reveal the purpose of the character, what the character

The white world had shut the door on him and he finally conceded the burden of being black. Baldwin affirms, "I had discovered the weight of the white people in the world" (222). Baldwin realized that his father was not trying to pass along his racist beliefs. He was simply trying to save them from the agonizing conduct of the whites towards them. He found the reason behind the bitterness in his father. Baldwin also became aware that the bitterness, which he had once hated in his father, was now a part of him "The bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me" (222). Baldwin did not want live a lonely life; the fear of becoming, what his father once was, dwelled in Baldwin. He realized that he had to free himself of the bitterness, before the bitterness distanced him from his family (like it had, for his father).

James Baldwin and Ta-Nehisi Coates are both passionate writers writing to their family members about racism going on the United States. James Baldwin’s Fire Next Time is a letter to his nephew about how bad America is during that time period, how being black affects his life, and how the white people do not understand their wrong doing. Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me is a letter to his son about racial injustices in America, how the white people are not aware that they are doing wrong, and his personal dream. These two letters are similar in the message that they are trying to give to their relatives. However the letters are different because of their tones. Baldwin’s letter is sincere and calm while Ta-Nehisi Coates’s letter is more upfront and aggressive. I personally agree with Baldwin about how America can change for the better and in the right way. Baldwin’s and Coates’s letters are similar in the message they are trying to convey to their family members, different in their tones, and I agree with some of Baldwin’s statements.

Baldwin uses the experiences he faced in New Jersey and the personal relationship with his father to show ethos throughout his essay. At one point in his essay, Baldwin finds himself in New Jersey where segregation still exist. “I learned in New Jersey…one was never looked at but was simply at the mercy of the reflexes the color of one’s skin caused in other people” (68). Here Baldwin expresses how circumstances in New Jersey were like at the time, but also portrays the way people were viewed based on the color of their skin. Baldwin later goes on to mention the year he spent in New Jersey, was the year in which “[he] first contracted some dread, chronic disease” (70). This “disease” Baldwin contracted is not an actual disease, but more of a way in which he begins to feel and see the world around him differently. The disease Baldwin is referring to throughout his entire essay is bitterness. Living in New Jersey caused Baldwin to gain the sense of bitterness that his father had lived with during his life. Baldwin’s bitterness comes from the way he was specifically treated in New Jersey and how he allowed that feeling to affect his behaviors. Baldwin specifically mentions the moment in New Jersey where the white waitress approaches him at the restaurant stating, “We don’t serve Negroes here” (71). At this point we begin to see Baldwin as he acts out in violence by stating, “I wanted her to come close enough for me to get her neck

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

James Baldwin in “Notes of a Native Son” writes about the death of his father and his struggle in America during segregation. He also reveals that he didn’t have a very good relationship with his ill father. Throughout the essay there is a repetition of bitterness. Also, Baldwin’s experiences reveal his purpose for writing the essay. One passage that is especially revealing is on page 222 which says, “When he died I had been away from home for a little over a year. In that year I had had time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warnings, had discovered the secret of his proudly pursed lips and rigid carriage: I had discovered the weight of white people in the world. I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be for me an awful thing to live with and that the bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me.” This passage reveals how Baldwin’s relationship with his father, and his father’s warnings help demonstrate how hatred can cause negative effects on African Americans.

“Notes of a Native Son” is a narrative of Baldwin’s life. It is mainly about his relationship with his father and how after his father passed away he realized how his anger and rage, which was depicted as a disease, was

Another Country and Go Tell it on the Mountain are two of James Baldwin's most analyzed novels. Some see both novels as great additions to American literature, while others criticize Baldwin's unique writing style used in both works.

It takes him his whole life to grasp the fact that his father was connected to him in many ways. Baldwin’s closest connection to his father was the amount of rage both of them shared regarding many aspects of life.

Classical literature has withstood the tests of time. Through the Anglo-Saxon era in history, long narrative poems, known as epics become all the rage. These poems were written in elevated styles that presented the adventures of a hero with superhuman qualities who embodied the national ideals. These ideals and adventures were presented through elements such as dreams, courage allowing the hero to overcome great trials, and a major battle scene. These elements, known as epic conventions, created epics that to this day continue to be read and taught throughout all the world.

While Baldwin’s story of his father explains the traits Baldwin will reiterate, Baldwin’s story of his experiences in Jersey shows Baldwin actually reiterating said traits. Baldwin’s father, as mentioned beforehand, had always told his family to be weary of white people and their institutionalized racism. It wasn’t until Baldwin moved to Jersey when he attained the same bitterness towards white people like his

In ancient times, the Epic is developing. It is a long prose poem that carries major national values and that narrates the exploits and virtues of a male, a hero. The oldest epic develops in antiquity, it is entitled "The Epic of Gilgamesh". The Epic is a story narrating a great general action to symbolize and fix it in time. It also serves to highlight the interest of the people: religion, unity, patriotism, its territory, its culture. The action is major and central, despite many side events, its purpose is to narrate a main frame such as The Trojan War in the Iliad or the return of Ulysses in the Odyssey. The epic must tell of the exploits. They are called epic feats, they are extraordinary, they allow the belief, the pretext miracles and divine interventions. In Greek epics, the main virtue of man, or should I say function, is to be a hero.

This was one of Baldwin's first real experiences with racism and segregation. The shock of this experience didn't end up hitting Baldwin for a little bit, but that is where his madness originated. Baldwin ended up contracting his father's hatred towards whites: "I wanted to do something to crush these white faces, which were crushing me"(58). Baldwin felt like white were bringing him down, the exact thing his father had said whites did. During Baldwin's childhood he had never actually had a real conversation with is father: "When he was dead I realized that I had hardly ever spoken to him. When he had been dead a long time I began to wish that I had" (52). Baldwin had always heard his father talking about his ideas but he never really listened or took into account what those ideas where and what they meant. Baldwin's personal experience is what made him finally hear his father's word. Baldwin represents his father in the beginning of the essay as a stubborn and old fashioned man but towards the end of the essay Baldwin represents his father as a persistent and wise man.

The most familiar structure to mythological stories such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey is that of a “tragic plot”. A tragic plot is a perfect plot that is connected by causes and effects, and is built upon (lecture, Ancient Greek Tragedy). Tragic plots are usually associated with heroic stories due to their set structure on how the hero’s journey should go in order to be considered tragic; this kind of plot is also known in literature as an epic. An epic always meets three important criteria: celebrates the deeds of legendary heroes, plot depicts the struggles of a protagonist in

An Epic poem is a long narrative poem or story that is formally written and is about a nonfictional or fictional adventure or heroic deed. Most epics have a heroic character that acts on the behalf of another individual or a community. The hero or heroes normally go on an exciting adventure versus an opponent that has some sort of power in society. The opponents are often supernatural characters, such demons, dragons or monsters. These characters normally cause some type of trouble in society and/or abuse their power within their environment. At the end of an epic, it is not uncommon for the hero to die. The hero normally defeats the antagonist at the same time of his or her death. Some stories that embody the elements of an epic poem are Babylonian Gilagimesh, the Sanskrit Mahabharata, Antigone, Iliad and Virgil’s. In this paper I will focus on the Epic of Gilagimesh and the epic of Antigone as well as identify the symbolism and themes that are present in both genres.