William Forrester Book Report

Jamal spent hours writing stories in Williams apartment and William helped him write better. William only had one condition, and that was to never let any writing out of the apartment. William taught Jamal how to start writing a story and when Jamal used his tip and took a piece of writing to hand in to a school contest, he was called into the the office for plagiarism. Jamal could’ve gotten expelled for plagiarism but William helped Jamal get out of trouble. William did a really nice thing for Jamal which really cemented their friendship. Jamal learned a lesson about rules and plagiarism and William built up the courage to go outside alone and help

Professor Crawford is a assertive human. He does not like to be corrected. The first time Jamal turned in an essay Professor Crawford doubted that he wrote it by himself. Crawford doubted Jamal because he was African American. Jamal is an extremely talented writer and Crawford knows, but he refuses to accept the fact and continues to bring Jamal down. Crawford wanted to see if Jamal can come up with his own words so he made Jamal write an essay with his supervision.

Douglass’ ability to read and write makes it so he is able to discover his self-pride. While Douglass is living with Mr. Auld again he

11. Forrest warns Jamal about bitterly disappointed teachers, like Robert Crawford, because some people like these teachers only see and believe what they think is right, and since Jamal came from where he did with a background like he has, there will be criticism and disbelief over his work, but Jamal is to stand by what he writes and feel proud over it.

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

On one hand James Baldwin is addressing his letter to his nephew, but on the other hand the text is also applicable to the entire black community who is oppressed by society; and to the whites who need to recognize the need for equality. Baldwin addresses the letter to the teenager, James, and additionally descriptively clarifies how this deadly situation applies to many dark-skinned men. Contrastingly, the novelist realizes how the privileged population will hear this message as well, which Baldwin makes clear when he metaphorically states, “I hear the chorus of the innocents screaming, ‘No! This is not true! How bitter you are!’”(Baldwin

While on one end slave-owners did their best to deprive slaves of education, on the other side, Douglass constantly stresses the importance of slaves acquiring knowledge and education in any way possible. While in Baltimore, Douglass comes to the realization of just how important education is. His master, Mr. Auld, becomes angry with his wife when he discovers she is trying to teach Douglass how to write. This is a life changing moment for Douglass and from then on, he understood that education was linked with freedom. He would go to extremes to educated himself. Douglass would walk the streets of Baltimore with a book, and a piece of bread. He describes how he would meet up with young white boys and trade his loaf of bread for tips on how to read (Douglass

On the other hand, Jamal is a sixteen-year old African American male who went to a private school on a scholarship and lives with his mother and brother. Unlike Forrester, he enjoys going outside, interacting with his friends from school and going to basketball games. Another difference between the Jamal and Forrester is his confrontational attitude. When harassed by another student from school on the basketball court, he handled the problem in his own way, proving his ability to do as well as the next person, which gained the respect from the coach and the other students.

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

Williams demonstrates his cognizance, and skills as a writer, as this book is a well-written piece of literature, touching upon historical

In “Finding Forrester”, there were two main characters named Jamal Wallace and William Forrester. Jamal was an inner city teenager from Bronx, New York who had the gifted talents of being a basketball player and a good writer. While always a C student, Jamal received attention from a New York college prep school for his high standardized test scores. Even though Jamal wanted to partake this request, he was afraid of his 4 friends opinions. Unlike Jamal, his friends did not care about academics and thought of Jamal as being a nerd.

The setting of this story is placed in the mid-20th century in Harlem, New York. This is where James Baldwin is originally from. The format of the text allows the reader to see what life was like living in Harlem back then. During this time the United States was deep in the segregation of race. Harlem was a mostly an African American Project. A vast amount of its residents were either poor, homeless, or had drug related problems. At the beginning of the story, the Narrator’s brother Sonny, is arrested for both the use and distribution of heroin. The narrator whom is never named, is a public high school algebra teacher. He cannot help, but wonder what is in store for his students. He states, “These boys, now were living as we’d been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities.” (dfa) From the beginning of James

As I said in my first paragraph, Douglass was an exception, not many people of color could read, nonetheless, write. So when an african american, or author of a minority was published, it was unheard of and almost given a “cold shoulder”. It was hard for white men and women to become

He tells the story of a young African girl in order to make the audience feel sympathy. He writes, "She can no longer attend the all-Negro school in her neighborhood because her mother died only recently after a car crash. Neighbors say if the ambulance hadn't come so late to take her to the all Negro hospital the mother might still be alive." This story is told so the audience will understand the blatant disregard for African American lives. It is told to make people realize that a change needs to be made and

Narrative is a form of writing used by writers to convey their experiences to an audience. James Baldwin is a renowned author for bringing his experience to literature. He grew up Harlem in the 1940’s and 1950’s, a crucial point in history for America due to the escalading conflict between people of different races marked by the race riots of Harlem and Detroit. This environment that Baldwin grew up in inspires and influences him to write the narrative “Notes of a Native Son,” which is based on his experience with racism and the Jim-Crow Laws. The narrative is about his father and his influence on Baldwin’s life, which he analyzes and compares to his own experiences. When Baldwin comes into