Rage in Baldwins Stranger in the Village Essay - 578 Words

Rage in Baldwins Stranger in the Village The rage of the disesteemed is personally fruitless, but it is also absolutely inevitable; this rage, so generally discounted, so little understood even among the people whose daily bread it is, is one of the things that makes history. -- James Baldwin, ?Stranger in the Village? (130) In his essay Stranger in the Village (1955), many of James Baldwin?s innermost feelings are exposed to the reader. One of the emotions I believe Baldwin feels most strongly is rage. He is angry at the fact that only whites are looked upon as humans, while the black man is looked upon as chattel. Baldwin mentions the word rage several times in his essay and discusses the reasons why he is filled†¦show more content†¦The past brings out strong emotions in Baldwin leading him to express his feelings by writing. In paragraph 10, Baldwin describes the feeling of rage explicitly. He explains that ?rage? is unavoidable and that one cannot ignore it. The rage of people caught in situations, as Baldwin puts it in the epigraph that frames this essay, causes ?rage? on an everyday basis but still cannot be fully comprehended. The rage of the American Negro can only partially be rationalized by the white people with complications and ?never entirely? subdued by the American Negro. This powerful anger cannot be concealed or disguised because it would become deceitful and invigorate ?rage? and add to its unpleasantness (130-131). Additionally, rage is by far the strongest emotion one can experience, especially if repressed. For instance, Baldwin had a lot of anger and hostility built inside of him because of his troubled past and agitated feelings. These feelings grow inside of Baldwin because he cannot fit into a society that accepts him as an ?exotic rarity? (131), not a human being. In paragraphs 7 and 8, Baldwin alludes to his hostility towards white people. Baldwin supposes that there is an immense distinction between being the first white person to be seen by black people and to be the first black person to be seen by white people. Baldwin asserts that it is not fair that a white man can come to a newShow MoreRelated James Baldwins Stranger in the Village Essays896 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwins Stranger in the Village In paragraph three of James Baldwins Stranger in the Village (1955), he alludes to emotions that are significant, dealing with conflicts that arise in the Swiss village. Of these emotions are two, astonishment and outrage, which represent the relevant feelings of Baldwin, an American black man. These two emotions, for Baldwins ancestors, create arguments about the Negro and their rights to be considered human beings (Baldwin 131). Baldwin,Read More`` Strangers `` By Toni Morrison And James Baldwin1400 Words   |  6 Pagessame opinions. Everyone carries a different opinion of a stranger in his/her mind depending upon there past encounters with strangers. This is evident in the works of Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. We encounter too many people everyday and it’s impossible to get to know them all. We observe and gauge them based on appearances, just like we do with â€Å" Books based on their cover † says Edwin Rolfe in â€Å"Murder in the Glass room†. In â€Å"Strangers† by Morrison, she meets a fisherwoman at her neighbor’sRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s The Shooting An Elephant Essay1946 Words   |  8 Pagesthe motives behind the action of â€Å"avoid looking like a fool† is to maintain his white dignity arose from â€Å"the principle of white supremacy† (Mandela 186). In â€Å"Stranger in the Village†, James Baldwin notes there is a â€Å"great difference† between the whites and blacks as he imagines â€Å"white men arriving for the first time in an African village†: The white man takes the astonishment as tribute, for he arrives to conquer and to convert the natives, whose inferiority in relation to himself is not even to