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Jana Evans Braziel, Assistant Professor
229B Mc Micken Hall
Department of English and Comparative Literature
University of Cincinnati
ML 210069
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0069
Office # (513) 556-0834
Fax # (513) 556-5960
jana.braziel@uc.edu
evans_braziel@hotmail.com

 James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son

 Questions for "Autobiographical Notes":

• What is the relationship between the artist and the social activist, according to Baldwin's essay?
• What does Baldwin define as the "only real concern of the artist" (7)? How does this concern relate to Baldwin's vision of social justice?
• What is the hybrid perspective of the African-American artist? According to Baldwin, how can s/he find a place within history and literary traditions? Refer to pages 6-7.
• Why does Baldwin state that he has written at such length "about being a Negro" (8)? How does his autobiographical/literary problematic relate to what Baldwin refers to as the "Negro problem in America" (8)? What does Baldwin mean by the "general social fabric" (8)?

Questions for "Notes of a Native Son":

• How does Baldwin connect his father's death to the race riots in Harlem (85-88, 110-11)? his father's mental illness to the disease of racism (89-90, 106, 112)?
• What parallels exist between Baldwin's bitterness and his father's bitterness (88, 93-97)? Baldwin's hatred for his father and for white people (98, 101, 105-6)?
• How does Baldwin trace the geopolitical shifts of race in America to the first and second World Wars (86, 100-01)? How does each war affect the African American communities in the United States?
• What are the two ideas (which "seem to be in opposition") that Baldwin proposes as a paradigm for social justice and race activism (113)? According to Baldwin, is the model a viable one? Do you agree or disagree?

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