Analyzing Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

Analyzing â€Å"Notes of a Native Son† James Baldwin is a highly renowned African-American essay writer who is best known for his ability to interweave narrative and argument into concise well-written essays. He had his first book published at the early age of 19 and has published some astounding literature during the time of civil rights activism. He succeeded himself to rise out of his poverty to become an amazing writer through self-determination and courage. In his essay entitled, â€Å"Notes of a Native Son†, Baldwin does an excellent job making use of binaries and repetition of words and phrases as well as switching back and forth from narrative to analysis. He also cleverly connects his progressively raising maturity and understanding of the world to the unique style in which Baldwin writes throughout his work. We will now dissect this essay and see how Baldwin uses special writing techniques to make for a very powerful and meaningful composition. The essay starts strongly with Baldwin providing insightful narrative in order to set the stage of his writing. By the second page of his essay, Baldwin has already developed his first binary. He emphasizes the black/white relationship. He continually refers to the â€Å"blackness† of his father and how his father was a proud, beautiful and powerful black man in his day (Baldwin 64). He then tells of his discovery of how â€Å"white people† helped to kill his father (65). Soon after, Baldwin addresses another binary, this one being life and death. His mother realizes that it was James’ father who â€Å"kept the family alive† (66). All the while, Baldwin’s father is slowly dying. Another example of the life/death binary occurs when Baldwin acknowledges that his â€Å"father had spent too much of his ener... ...ather really is as a person and is ready to express his inner feelings to his father. At the end of the essay, a strong message is conveyed. Baldwin learns that love, which is synonymous to his constant use of the word hatred, must prevail and that with love, acceptance and equal power can finally be attained (84). He also says that bitterness is pointless and that life and death are far more important and significant than the black/white power struggle. The end of the essay closes gracefully because Baldwin has now revealed the use of his writing techniques of â€Å"Notes of the Native Son† and he has also fully matured and is now able to see his father in a positive light for the very first time in his life. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.