History can be told in many different ways and in different forms. James Baldwin gives us a little bit of history in a personal way by telling the story of a man and his father and the relationship they had in “Notes of a Native Son.” The narrator of this story not only gives us a personal insight to the relationship between him and his father, it also teaches us a different point of view of Negroes during the time this was written. It gives us, the reader, a different way of learning history without the traditional history book.
This story teaches us about what life was like for Negroes during this time period. Lots of different races/ethnicities have gone through different, yet similar, struggles throughout history. The story of this man, however, gives us a history lesson but in a more personal way. He tells us about his relationship between himself and his father, which seemed strained and sort of nonexistent. I believe that the way Baldwin wrote this, from a first person point of view, and giving it a more personal vibe lets the reader in on what life was truly like. Baldwin also writes the story in a way that makes it possible for other races and ethnicities to know what Negroes had to go through. It’s like “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which was a personal diary of a young Jewish girl growing up during Hitler’s time and how her and her family had to hide out. In my opinion, reading a narrative story about someone’s life and their struggles makes me appreciate life more and embrace different cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, etc. It broadens my mind moreso than just reading a history book with dates and places because a personal narrative is just that…more personable and more relatable.
This story teaches us about a different time and place differently than a history book because it gives us an actual story about someone and what they went through. Whereas a history book doesn't give us that personal connection of what someone is going through; history books more or less just gives us dates and places of facts/events that have happened in our past. This story gives us both a history lesson about the time and place the narrator was at but also gives us a personalized journey. Regardless of race, this story also gives a thoughtful perspective on a father-son relationship. If anything else, it gives the reader more insight to what a relationship should have and what is lacking between them.
The relationship seems strained from the very beginning of the story. The narrator starts off by stating that his father died, as well as when he died, but in a way that seems very neutral, "On the 29th of July, in 1943, my father died. On the same day, a few hours later, his last child was born." (P. 736) Is the narrator sad his father is dead? Does he care either way, if his father is dead or alive? As he continues on, he explains the strains between him and his father, "I had not known my father very well. We had got on badly, partly because we shared, in our different fashions, the vice of stubborn pride. When he was dead I realized that I had hardly ever spoken to hi. When he had been dead a long time I began to wish I had. It seems to be typical of life in America, where opportunities, real and fancied, are thicker than anywhere else on the globe, that the second generation has no time to talk to the first. No one, including my father, seems to have known exactly how old he was, but his mother had been born during slavery. He was of the first generation of free men. He, along with thousands of other Negroes, came North after 1919 and I was part of the generation which had never seen the landscape of what Negroes sometimes call the Old Country*." (P. 737)
It’s obvious from this passage that they didn’t talk much and didn’t really know one another very well. I’m sure that, historically speaking, parents and their children didn’t talk so openly as we do nowadays. For me, this passage says so much. It gives us an insight to him and his father's relationship - obviously his father came over here from the North after 1919; his father and that generation refer to the landscape they were a part of the Old Country; and the narrator and his father didn't seem to talk much, although after his dad died, he wished they would have talked more. In relation to history, that time period and those generations weren't used to "talking" to their kids/families about certain things, and I'm sure the women were more or less taught to listen to their husbands and "obey" what they say and ask. Another quote that shows their relationship is when Baldwin writes, "I do not remember, in all those years, that one of his children was ever glad to see him come home." (P. 738) The children seem scared and nervous to be around their father, as Baldwin even goes on to write that after he died, the kids actually started having their friends over. I also feel this quote shows that the kids and their dad obviously didn't have a great relationship - possibly because the dad felt like his kids had it easier than he did growing up and didn't have to endure slavery, discrimination, and having to migrate to a different place.
In a historical standpoint, poverty was among many people and races, including the narrator and his family. However, I don’t think it was something that was verbally talked about or acknowledged, except when his father would joke about it, "He used to make little jokes about our poverty, which never, of course, seemed very funny to us." (P. 738) In history books, at least the ones I remember, always seemed to portray lighter skinned people as more powerful, righteous, deserving, and richer than, for example, the Negroes. His dad joking about their poverty isn't funny, to anyone, especially his children. It's like he was rubbing it in their face, yet not really doing anything to get them out of poverty and give them all a better, richer life.
Throughout history, people have been discriminated against, and unfortunetly, the narrator and his family were no exception. "My last night in New Jersey, a white friend from New York took me to the nearest big town, Trenton, to go to the moves and have a few drinks. As it turned out, he also saved me from, at the very least, a violent whipping. Almost every detail of that night stands out very clearly in my memory. I even remember the name of the movie we saw...called This Land Is Mine. I remember the name of the diner we walked into when the movie ended: it was the 'American Diner.' When we walked in the counterman asked what we wanted and I remember answering with the casual sharpness which had become my habit: 'We want a hamburger and a cup of coffee, what do you think we want?' I do not know why, after a year of such rebuffs, I so completely failed to anticipate his answer, which was, of course, 'We don't serve Negroes here.'" (P. 741) Again, some things never change throughout history. In our day and age, there are many places that have some kind of sign that says that they can refuse service to anyone. I mean, it doesn't say they can serve someone because of their race or ethnicity, but I'm sure some places do still do that, which is very unfair. It someone goes into an establishment and is very loud, rude, causing a ruckus - then yes, don't serve them and ask them to leave. But if they are kind, willing patrons of any establishment, they should be served like anyone else.
As you can see, the story of this man and his father gives us a personal insight to their relationship, or lack thereof. It also gives us different views about our history and gives us a personal journey that ties their relationship and history into one story. Stories like this entices the reader, pulls us in, and delivers an interesting tale of the ups and downs of life. It’s also a great story because of how Baldwin uses different literary devices to get certain points across. I also believe this story helps our society appreciate the diversities of our world and hopefully opens people’s eyes to becoming more open and accepting.