Summary Of The Discovery Of What It Means To Be An American
In the essay “The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American” (36-38), James Baldwin recounts the difficulties of being a black American writer in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Baldwin talks about his constant search and battle in coming to terms with his role or place in the racial hot pot that was a white dominated society. He states how difficult it was for him and many other black American writers to find a sense of identity amongst the racial feud that had engulfed the majority of their homeland. To escape the racial entrapment of his country and many of his countrymen, he went on a search of self-discovery in Europe, spending many of his years travelling from city to city in France. Baldwin discovers that once he has moved to Paris, he is able to establish friendships and relationships with Americans that was not possible in America. Understanding this fact, Baldwin explains that in America, race issues still block people. But, in France, Baldwin is able to communicate with Americans of all races, origins, and class because
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He only returned to the U.S. for lecturing or teaching engagements. All of his writings addressed racism and homosexuality, which caused a lot of controversy, even among the black community. Himself who was black and homosexual, he felt cutoff from the world for being openly gay and black. His essay has examples of both theories being used throughout it such as the Looking-Glass Theory, which is “the imagination of our appearance to the other person: the imagination of his judgment of that appearance, and some sort of self-feeling” (Cooley 10). He also uses the Interactionism Theory which is may actively decide upon a sense of self, rebelling against (or accepting) the expectations of
He only returned to the U.S. for lecturing or teaching engagements. All of his writings addressed racism and homosexuality, which caused a lot of controversy, even among the black community. Himself who was black and homosexual, he felt cutoff from the world for being openly gay and black. His essay has examples of both theories being used throughout it such as the Looking-Glass Theory, which is “the imagination of our appearance to the other person: the imagination of his judgment of that appearance, and some sort of self-feeling” (Cooley 10). He also uses the Interactionism Theory which is may actively decide upon a sense of self, rebelling against (or accepting) the expectations of