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Baldwin was successful in telling readers of The New York Times about the disrespect of African American culture by using pathos, ethos, and logos. In Baldwin 's article If Black English Isn 't A Language Then Tell Me What Is? starting off by telling the readers about French speaking people. He is explaining how different dialects doesn 't mean people aren 't speaking the same language. Going deeper about language saying that it ties into the culture. Give an example of Black Culture and how their expression of English is different. Talking about the phrases like jazz me, baby, sock it to me, and funky; being used that way they weren 't meant to. Finally introducing how the African American culture has been disrespected or ignored. Telling …show more content…
Before he talked about African-American culture he first talked about French speaking people. Saying, “A Frenchman living in Paris speaks a subtly and crucially different language from that of the man living in Marseilles; neither sounds very much like a man living in Quebec; and they would all have great difficulty in apprehending what the man from Guadeloupe, or Martinique, is saying, to say nothing of the man from Senegal--although the"common" language of all these areas is French.”(Baldwin, paragraph 2). Explaining to readers that even though those people in each place speak French they are separated by their dialect. Making the point that speaking a certain dialect of a language ties you with that culture. Pointing the reader to accept or listen to African American expression of English. By giving this example about dialect, Baldwin wants to express that dialect is a way to separate cultures among people. He then talks about the African American “slang” and how it ties to the …show more content…
His article was towards the reader of the The New York Times which would imply most of the American population. He would have had to write his article differently if his target audience was just African American because of the way he says, “St. Paul de Vence, France--The argument concerning the use, or the status, or the reality, of black English is rooted in American history and has absolutely nothing to do with the question the argument supposes itself to be posing.”(Baldwin paragraph 1). He mentions St. Paul de Vence which ties into trying to connect to people that speak French and then mention it in his article. Making his argument toward almost everyone that reads The New York Times because if it was just towards African American or even people that discriminate against African-American, his tone would reflect it. The language he uses is casual like when he says, “Now, no one can eat his cake, and have it, too, and it is late in the day to attempt to penalize black people for having created a language that..” (Baldwin paragraph 6) This type of language can connect to any reader, because of how he incorporates his message, also conveying his message in a light-hearted way. The words seem light-hearted based on the way he transitions from dialect being related to culture to talking about African American culture and how it is being overshadowed by American culture. When speaking directly
Reilly, John M. " 'Sonny's Blues': James Baldwin's Image of Black Community." James Baldwin: A Critical Evaluation. Ed.Therman B. O'Daniel. Howard University Press. Washington, D.C. 1977. 163-169.
Even today, African American authors write about the prejudice that still happens, like Ta-Nehisi Coates. In his essay Acting French, Coates recalls when he studied the French language at Middlebury College. Despite all his efforts to integrate with his fellow students into French culture, yet another barrier reveals itself. “And so a white family born into the lower middle class can expect to live around a critical mass of people who are more affluent or worldly and thus see other things, be exposed to other practices and other cultures. A black family with a middle class salary can expect to live around a critical mass of poor people, and mostly see the same things they (and the poor people around them) are working hard to escape. This too compounds.” Because of the lack of black people available to look up to in scholastics, it makes it hard for black students to find the motivation to pursue interests in English or other
Baldwin makes people see the flaws in our society by comparing it to Europe. Whether we decide to take it as an example to change to, or follow our American mindset and take this as the biased piece that it is and still claim that we are the best country in the world, disregard his words and continue with our strive for
In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? by James Baldwin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan both shows idea of uses of slang and language in different context. In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? Baldwin states that how language has changed and evolved overtime, Baldwin describes how black English were used as white English, in civil rights movement where blacks were treated as slaves and the used slang language to communicate so that the whites won’t understand. This slang was taken from black language and now everyone uses to make the communication short. In the essay Mother Tongue Tan explains that how language could affect people from different culture. Tan states that how Asian students in America struggle in English. Tan also states that her mother is smart but she couldn’t communicate in English. Tan thinks that’s a big disadvantage for her mother and people coming from different countries cannot show their talent because of their weakness in communication.
Baldwin’s essays are well written in formal English where he discusses the real problem of socially constructed idea of the Negro’s. According to Baldwin, language is an important to group identity, further connected to the power of the black’s identity. According to the James Baldwin essay If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?, demonstrate that the language is something through which you convey your message to others. The native language can also be called as a
Baldwin’s father died a broken and ruined man on July 29th, 1943. This only paralleled the chaos occurring around him at the time, such as the race riots of Detroit and Harlem which Baldwin describes to be as “spoils of injustice, anarchy, discontent, and hatred.” (63) His father was born in New Orleans, the first generation of “free men” in a land where “opportunities, real and fancied, are thicker than anywhere else.” (63) Although free from slavery, African-Americans still faced the hardships of racism and were still oppressed from any opportunities, which is a factor that led Baldwin’s father to going mad and eventually being committed. Baldwin would also later learn how “…white people would do anything to keep a Negro down.” (68) For a preacher, there was little trust and faith his father ...
Although Baldwin’s letter was addressed to his nephew, he intended for society as a whole to be affected by it. “This innocent country set you down in a getto in which, in fact, it intended that you should parish”(Baldwin 244). This is an innocent country, innocent only because they know not what they do. They discriminate the African American by expecting them to be worthless, by not giving them a chance to prove their credibility. Today African Americans are considered to be disesteemed in society. They are placed in this class before they are even born just like Royalty obtains their class before they are even conceived. We may think that this is a paradox but when d...
Baldwin makes certain readers understand the states of the issue at once; his essay starts by describing his father’s funeral in the aftermath of the Harlem riots of 1943. Baldwin states, “As we drove him to the graveyard, the spoils of injustice, anarchy, discountent, and hatred were all around us. It seemed to me that God himself had devised, to mark my father’s end, the most sustained and brutally dissonant of codas” (63). Yet as Baldwin mourned the death of his father, he celebrated the birth of his yo...
Baldwin explain how America functioned as a county and also as an ideal, so that would make it “extremely unlikely that Negroes will ever rise to power in the United States” (Baldwin, pg.83) Baldwin uses the example of how American Negros were kidnapped brought here and sold like animals and treated like ones. So there is no way there will ever be change in their situation without the most radical changes. With this statement Baldwin is showing his mix of ideals, here he is more aligned with Malcom X. Baldwin continues to explain how freedom in political terms is hard to obtain. The only way one will obtain it is they have to be “capable of bearing the burden” (Baldwin, pg. 91). Therefore, without the acceptance of that burden he principles of transformation into one nation will not let us recognize ourselves as we are. Baldwin directs this message mostly toward whites in America but also to the blacks. Baldwin very much like Dr. Martin Luther King was very hopeful that black and white could integrate and become one nation he states “black and the white, deeply need each other here if we are really to become a nation- if we really, that is, to achieve out identity, our maturity, as men and women” (Baldwin, pg. 97) Although deep down in his heart he knew the only way for America and the people living here to become one was to let go of the past
... to compare himself with his father. He made the riots in Harlem and Detroit versus the police share similar qualities to his relationship with his father. Baldwin’s word choosing is also very effective in Notes of a Native Son. He italicizes certain words in order to portray his emotions towards a situation without even having to go into an in-depth explanation. Lastly, Baldwin’s most obvious trait in weaving both narrative and analytical writing is the use of word repetition. He continually used the strongest word that he could think of (hate) and just repeat it over and over again. The main thing to notice is that Baldwin uses the same word not only through his narrative but also within his analysis.
Baldwin being visits an unfamiliar place that was mostly populated by white people; they were very interested in the color of his skin. The villagers had never seen a black person before, which makes the villager
...as a reader I must understand that his opinions are supported by his true, raw emotions. These negative feelings shared by all of his ancestors were too strong to just pass by as meaningless emotions. Baldwin created an outlook simply from his honest views on racial issues of his time, and ours. Baldwin?s essay puts the white American to shame simply by stating what he perceived as truth. Baldwin isn?t searching for sympathy by discussing his emotions, nor is he looking for an apology. I feel that he is pointing out the errors in Americans? thinking and probably saying, ?Look at what you people have to live with, if and when you come back to the reality of ?our? world.?
America Baldwin explain how America functioned as a county and also as an ideal, so that would make it “extremely unlikely that Negroes will ever rise to power in the United States” (Baldwin, pg.83) Baldwin uses example of how American Negros were kidnapped brought here and sold like animals and treated like one. So there is no way there will ever be changes in their situation without the most radical changes. Baldwin continues to explain how freedom in political terms is hard to obtain. The only way one will obtain it is they have to be “capable of bearing the burden” (Baldwin, pg. 91). Therefore, without the acceptance of that burden he principles of transformation into one nation will not let us recognize ourselves as we are. Baldwin directs this message mostly toward whites in America but also to the blacks. Baldwin realized the self-image that blacks had of themselves had to improve if they were ever going to progress in America. As Baldwin wrote to his nephew: You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. . . . Know whence you came. If you know whence you came, there is
Have you ever taken offense when you saw someone dressed in traditional garments from your culture? In America, this happens quite often. Some people may not recognize it and some refuse to acknowledge that it even exists. Cultural appropriation is a situation in which a dominant culture steals aspects of a minority culture’s, such as hair, clothing styles, and music.
“A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey,” Black English came into existence during slavery time. African American needed a language so they all can communicate since they came from different tribes. They took English and made it their own language and Black English was formed PG 133. Differences in Black English and white American English created a division and separated African Americans from the society because it is not ‘standard’ that the society goes by. American did not wanted to accept Black English as a language because during those times blacks were inferior and so were their language. It’s ironic that white Americans don’t want to accept their own language. Black English defined the black community and Americans wanted them to be trash so “white people in America never had any interest in educating black people…” (PG