John Baldwin’s Life and His Work, Research Paper Example

John Baldwin is one of the most renowned literary artists and civil rights movement’s activist in the history of the United States. Baldwin was an evocative and engaging writer who pushed the boundaries of society to forge a unique identity at a time when his home nation was experiencing considerable social transformation and revolution. His works mainly highlighted the plight of African Americans and the gay community within the United States. A considerable portion of John Baldwin’s literature was largely influenced by his life. Numerous aspects of Baldwin’s life are evident in his works. This paper will analyze how these aspects are evident and depicted in his literary works “Sonny’s Blues” and “Notes of a Native Son”.

Sonny’s Blues

In the book Sonny’s Blues James Baldwin tells of some of the stories of Harlem through the eyes of the narrator who tries to find out the true personality and essence of his brother Sonny. In the book an unnamed narrator, discovers that Sony, his younger brother, is a drug dealer and has been arrested. This news comes to him through a newspaper.

There are numerous aspects of Ballwin’s life that are evident in this short story. Firstly, during a moment of flashback, the narrator reminisces of his mother’s request to him to take care of his little brother, Sonny. This incident happened before the narrator’s mother died. The narrator’s mother recounts of her husband’s (the narrator’s and Sonny’s father) loss (Field, 2009). Their father had lost his little brother to a hit and run committed by a group of white men. These men, who had filled the car, never stopped to check on the status of their victim, never getting punished for their crime. This highlights the theme of racism.

This incident highlights the problem of racism that was evident at the time Baldwin wrote this novel. During the 1950s, the civil rights movement was up in arms over the situation of racism within the United States. There are a number of incidents that involved racial aggression against the black community were being committed by members of the white community within most neighborhoods (Henderson & Thomas, 2014). The most traumatizing aspect of these events was the lack of accountability on the part of the aggressors. While many incidences were reported, a number went unchallenged, leaving the aggressors free of any moral or legal obligation on the destruction, pain and murder they caused.

In the story, when sonny is in high school he makes a habit of skipping school to spend time in Greenwich village (Field, 2009). Greenwich Village was a renowned New York City neighborhood that provided the environment and atmosphere for individuals to pursue their art. Here he practiced his art amongst musicians who shared a passion for the art. This aspect of the story has heavily been influenced by the author’s own life experiences. At the age of seventeen, John Baldwin left his family to follow his passion for writing. He went to Greenwich Village, where he met other revolutionary African American writers such as Richard Wright. The writer’s life and experiences at Greenwich Village evidently impose themselves in this story.

Notes of a Native Son

The collection of books, Notes of a Native Son, is an autobiographical collection of his perceptions on different aspects of his being, identity, culture and society. These essays highlight his own views on different issues and as such are heavily influenced by the events in his life time as at the collection’s publication in 1955. This collection mainly featured essay he write between 1948 and 1955.

Within the first three essay that make up the first section of the book, he tackles issues relating to perceptions and representations of African Americans in the different fields of art. He highlights how Harriet Stowe’s and Richard Wright’s works fail to realize their supercilious claims (Baldwin & Jones, 2014). He goes further to question how the mystification and depersonalization of the black community is depicted in Richard Wright’s Native Son.

In the second section, three essays tackle the sociopolitical environment within his hometown, Harlem. He highlights how the civic improvements such as housing projects and playground can turn out to be at the detriment of society if not superficial in their effect and implication on society (Baldwin & Jones, 2014). His general disparaging outlook towards the black community in the United States highlights his disillusionment in life at the time. He had experienced a number of personal problems in his relationships and was still curving out his identity as a black gay individual in society, especially within the society of writers.

John Baldwin was a unique and outspoken writer for his time. Living at a time when the gay movement had not been launched in the United States, and when the fight against racism was led by civil rights movements, he found numerous aspects of his life influencing his work. In his novel Sony Blues his own struggles as a teenager are depicted in the character Sonny. He also highlights the effects of racism in the streets of Harlem. In Notes of a Native Son he highlights the perceptions of blacks within the writing community. John Baldwin’s life evidently influences all his literary works.

References

Baldwin, J., & Jones, E. P. (2014). Notes of A Native Son. Boston: Beacon Press.

Field, D. (2009). A historical guide to James Baldwin. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Henderson, S. A., & Thomas, P. L. (2014). James Baldwin : challenging authors. Rotterdarm: Sense Publishers. Retrieved July 16, 2015, from https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/1913-james-baldwin.pdf