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[2 of 5] The Fire Next Time, "Down at the Cross - pp. 23–48" by James Baldwin (1963)

Author: James Baldwin

“Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind.” The Fire next Time, by James Baldwin, Michael Joseph, 1963, pp. 23–48.


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Down at the Cross originally appeared in The New Yorker under the title Letter from a Region in My Mind

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Oct 20

The audio recording of this book is read by actor Jesse L. Martin. He starred in LAW & ORDER and in the Warner Bros movie THE FLASH.

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Oct 20
ELIJAH V ELIJAH V (Oct 20 2020 5:58PM) : I couldn't find where in the text but when the narrator said¨ they knew it was the man, the white man¨ that oppressed he was basically a cloud blocking their sunlight.
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Oct 28
Harry C Harry C (Oct 28 2020 10:51AM) : I like your idea maybe you saying that the White man represents someone who is of higher authority. [Edited] more

The Oppressed sees the White Man as a god figure.

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Oct 20
ELIJAH V ELIJAH V (Oct 20 2020 6:00PM) : They used to frisk and rape young boys an just leave them there. (white police btw) They left him in an empty lot
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:47PM) : What do you mean by empty lot?
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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 9:20PM) : An open lot is the empty ground that's left when a building burns down or crumbles and gets bulldozed. Click here to see a picture of an open lot. more
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Oct 20
ELIJAH V ELIJAH V (Oct 20 2020 6:02PM) : Friends of his join the 2nd war so they can ¨better¨ themselves but most for the worst. what does he mean by that
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Oct 26
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 26 2020 1:39PM) : i think he means that they wanted to feel importance
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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 1:24PM) : I think he cares for what he believes in
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 12:43PM) : I agree
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Oct 22
NIERRA R NIERRA R (Oct 22 2020 10:57AM) : this is about how people are being forced to become religious even if they dont want to , he is tryin to persuade the non religious people to believe in god .
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Oct 22
Genesis G Genesis G (Oct 22 2020 11:23AM) : because i remember reading about that. more

I agree with you fully.

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Oct 22
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 22 2020 11:54PM) : i honestly just think the dad was trying to keep his son out of the streets and gangs,
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:32PM) : I agree his father wanted him to become a Christian boy to not put attention on him or cause problem but he didn't do it in the very best way.
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Oct 22
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 22 2020 11:58PM) : i think he’s saying no matter how successful u are, as an African American you’ll always be treated wrongfully because of ur race and skin..and he’s right, it’s sad..but true
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:50PM) : I agree with Shaliyah and it is defiantly sad because no matter the race or the skin we all should be treated equally and fairly. [Edited]
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Nov 3
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 03 2020 12:09AM) : This would be about what was on James's mind at the time.
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Down at the Cross

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LETTER FROM A REGION IN MY MIND

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Take up the White Man’s burden–
Ye dare not stoop to less–
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.
-Kipling

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Oct 21
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 21 2020 11:01AM) : kipling it telling certain people to do what white people do-take controle-of their fellow brothers (other people of color). more

but maybe hes talking to the white people in puerto rico?

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Oct 21
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 21 2020 11:03AM) : Kipling is telling people of color to do what white men do- take control- of their brothers. (other people of color.) [Edited] more

But maybe he’s talking about something that he went through and wants to helps others with warning them?

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Oct 21
Alexander w Alexander w (Oct 21 2020 11:05AM) : the white mans burden is talking to people in other countries more

The white mans burden to me is kipling telling others that are getting attacked by the u.s they should fight back. but i also think he is talking to the white people in other countries to act civlilzed

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Oct 22
Karim M Karim M (Oct 22 2020 10:51AM) : It's a poem about religion [Edited] more

Kipling is telling religious people to try to get non religious people to believe in god.

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Oct 22
EMMANUEL R EMMANUEL R (Oct 22 2020 11:03AM) : I agree, but I believe is sort of a good thing more

I say its a good thing because they aren’t making them believe in any thing bad.

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 12:26PM) : I disagree you shouldn't make non religious people become religious.
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Oct 22
ROJO V ROJO V (Oct 22 2020 12:44PM) : I agree with Luisia. Religion i think was taken more seriously back then people that were athesit were more shamed [Edited]
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:55PM) : I agree with Lusia because you shouldn't force a non religions to be a Religions.
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Oct 26
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 26 2020 1:48PM) : i agree with you because i think people should make the choice of becoming religious or not becoming religious. [Edited]
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 7:05PM) : I agree.
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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:25PM) : I agree With Luisa because you get to decide whether or not you want to be religious or non religious.
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Oct 22
Drew H Drew H (Oct 22 2020 10:54AM) : Summary (Red Highlight) Making others believe. [Edited] more

I think this means Kipling wants Caucasians to be in control, Lead the African Americans as they “should”.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:19PM) : I think that they are talking about slavery in this paragraph.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:34PM) : I agree with you Leo [Edited]
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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:26PM) : I agree with you because it does sound like its talking about slavery by the use of words.
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Oct 26
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 26 2020 10:17AM) : what does he mean by weigh your gods and you? does he mean weighing the gods and people with guilt for not interfering?
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 3:17PM) : Don't show weakness [Edited] more

I believe this means to me is for the black man to not show signs of any weakness to a White man, do not show an opening or an entrance for a white man to belittle a black man, So when James Baldwin says to cloak your weariness it means to hide your tiredness so you don’t let anyone take an advantage over you.

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Oct 26
Nico V Nico V (Oct 26 2020 7:43PM) : I think its talking about following what the white man does. more

I disagree that they should force religion on someone who is non religious

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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:34PM) : I agree no one should be forced or feel forced to believe in something they don't believe or want to believe people should have the freedom to express there opinion without feeling scared.
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Oct 26
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 26 2020 10:46PM) : I find it interesting that James Baldwin would include this poem into his book. [Edited] more

The original poem was talking about the U.S and the Philippines, it was said that the U.S should take control of the Philippines again. I find it interesting that Baldwin chose to start the section like this.

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Jan 23
Kiran C Kiran C (Jan 23 2021 5:37PM) : I love that you share this research with us. more

It gives me a glimpse into what makes you tick, Heather — how your mind works and how capable you are. And it makes the book richer for all of us to know the historical background.

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Oct 27
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 27 2020 1:19PM) : . more

He’s telling people of color to not stoop DOWN to their level and I wonder what the white mens burden is

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Oct 27
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 27 2020 1:28PM) : Kipling Is basically telling people of color to follow and do what white men do
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Oct 27
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 27 2020 10:39PM) : I think Kipling is speaking about how slaves took on the white mans burden of work, and how the white mans act will weigh on him.
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Oct 30
cristin t cristin t (Oct 30 2020 9:50AM) : i think is telling this a poem about religion.
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Oct 21
MEKHI J MEKHI J (Oct 21 2020 10:59AM) : white men burden more

is a job of white men can take power over none white

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Oct 22
Karim M Karim M (Oct 22 2020 11:00AM) : I disagree with you but this is what i got to say more

I think there not trying to take over or take power i just think there trying to get people to believe in god

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 4:34PM) : I disagree because white people wanted power and control and used religion to do it.
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Oct 26
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 26 2020 10:13AM) : This paragraph is about slavery
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Oct 26
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 26 2020 1:30PM) : no cap i think its about slavery
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 8:56PM) : i agree i believe its about slavery
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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:23AM) : i think its about slavery more

no cap I think it’s about slavery top

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Oct 27
Ian D Ian D (Oct 27 2020 11:10AM) : Question more

What does it mean to take up the white man’s burden?

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Oct 28
Harry C Harry C (Oct 28 2020 10:42AM) : Kipling is referring to the White man's burden on people who colored people. more

the letter will be referred to people living in those countries that the white man has conquered. Therefore they have to obey the rules

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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:39PM) : I don't really understand what this means.
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 12:45PM) : "White Man's burden" was the duty of white men to bring education and salvation to people around the world that he deemed uncivilized.
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Jan 13
Dehao L Dehao L (Jan 13 2021 10:49AM) : That there isn't a call to loud for freedom which makes sense because freedom should be something everyone should have expressed with people being loud or quiet
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Oct 27
JUAN V JUAN V (Oct 27 2020 9:46AM) : "The silent, sullen peoples" more

I think the “The silent, sullen peoples” are the people James Baldwin is writing the letter to.

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Jan 13
Dehao L Dehao L (Jan 13 2021 10:50AM) : agreed
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 12:46PM) : I agree
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Oct 26
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 26 2020 10:20AM) : what does he mean by weigh your gods and you? does he mean weighing the gods and people with guilt for not interfering?
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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:34PM) : im also wondering the same thing
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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 9:23PM) : what does that mean??
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:52PM) : what does this even mean?
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Down at the cross where my Saviour died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied,
Singing glory to His name!
-Hymn

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Oct 23
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 23 2020 5:05PM) : (Green Highlighted)I notice their a rhyme for example "Down at the cross where my savior died" [Edited]
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:20PM) : The saviour that they are talking about is probably Jesus.
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Oct 26
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 26 2020 1:31PM) : its talking about jesus
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 3:19PM) : I noticed he's talking about a savior which is Jesus [Edited]
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Oct 26
Nico V Nico V (Oct 26 2020 7:45PM) : its talks about "where my Saviour died" more

im pretty sure he is talking about jesus

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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:13PM) : I agree with everyone who's saying it's about Jesus. It is after all a hymn which is a section of text taken from the Bible.
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Jan 13
Dehao L Dehao L (Jan 13 2021 10:50AM) : same
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Oct 26
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 26 2020 10:54PM) : I once again find it interesting that Baldwin decides to use song lyrics in the book. more

It is interesting since he uses this as a transition to talk about the experiences he had gone through as a child at the church.

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Oct 27
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 27 2020 1:21PM) : . more

I think they’re talking about jesus because he says “saviour” and talks about how their saviour died at a cross, which gives the idea that they’re religious

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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 1:25PM) : I believe he is talking about him as well
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Oct 27
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 27 2020 1:30PM) : I think the”savior” could be Jesus they are talking about
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Oct 27
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 27 2020 10:53PM) : I think Hymn is speaking about spreading Jesus’s name
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 10:39AM) : I think this is something that is related to a religion. more

-it sounds like something that would be said in church.

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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:37PM) : I agree with you because it does sounds like something that would be said at church. For example where it states "Down at the crowd where my Savior died." Sounds like something that they would say in church.
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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:25AM) : jesus more

I think that this part of the text is talking about Jesus for example"Down at the cross where my saviour died,

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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:29PM) : I think that where it says about their savior they might be referring to Jesus because as far as I know, around this time people were really religious.
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Oct 26
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 26 2020 10:23AM) : I think this sentence is about jesus
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 6:08PM) : I thought that too. more

Especially when it said “Down at the cross when my Savior died.” It gave me the biggest clue.

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 8:57PM) : i think he talking about jesus
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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 7:09PM) : who is he talking about??
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 9:41AM) : You can tell James is talking about Jesus because of the sentence "Down at the cross where my Saviour died."
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 1:59PM) : Jesus because he died on the cross. It’s a biblical reference
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 9:39PM) : I agree with what you thought he was implying
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:39PM) : I think he is talking about Jesus.
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:53PM) : does this mean that they're cleansing their sins?
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Oct 27
Ian D Ian D (Oct 27 2020 11:10AM) : Question more

What does this sentence mean?

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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 9:27PM) : does he mean that he became alive when he says "There to my heart was the blood applied,"? but what does that have to do with Jesus dying?
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 12:50PM) : I think this poem was about him finding god
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I UNDERWENT, during the summer that I became fourteen, a prolonged religious crisis. I use the word “religious” in the common, and arbitrary, sense, meaning that I then discovered God, His saints and angels, and His blazing Hell. And since I had been born in a Christian nation, I accepted this Deity as the only one. I supposed Him to exist only within the walls of a church-in fact,. of our church–and I also supposed that God and safety were synonymous..The word “safety” brings us to the real meaning of the word “religious” as we use it. Therefore, to state it in another, more accurate way, I became, during my fourteenth year, for the first time in my life, afraid-afraid of the evil within me and afraid of the evil without. What I saw around me that summer in Harlem was what I had always seen; nothing had changed. But now, without any warning, the whores and pimps and racketeers on the Avenue had become a personal menace. It had not before occurred to me that I could become one of them, but now I realized that we had been produced by the same circumstances. Many of my comrades were clearly headed for the Avenue, and my father said that I was headed that way, too. My friends began to drink and smoke, and embarked -at first avid, then groaning-on their sexual careers. Girls, only slightly older than I was, who sang in the choir or taught Sunday school, the children of holy parents, underwent, before my eyes, their incredible metamorphosis, of which the most bewildering aspect was not their budding breasts or their rounding be-hinds but something deeper and more subtle, in their eyes, their heat, their odour, and the inflection of their voices. Like the strangers on the Avenue, they became, in the twinkling of an eye, unutterably different and fantastically present. Owing to the way I had been raised, the abrupt discomfort that all this aroused in me and the fact that I had no idea what my voice or my mind or my body was likely to do next caused me to consider myself one of the most depraved people on earth. Matters were not helped by the fact that these holy girls seemed rather enjoy my terrified lapses, our grim, guilty, tormented experiments, which were at once as chill and joyless as the Russian steppes and hotter, by far, than all the fires of Hell. .

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 12:35PM) : I Think his questioning his religion because he was born in to a religion were having sex was a sin but then people were having sex and getting turn on by the girls.
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 7:06PM) : I think he also is living in fear about sinning
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:23PM) : He is nervous about these girls because he could go to hell if he has sex with one of them before marriage.
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Jan 13
Dehao L Dehao L (Jan 13 2021 10:51AM) : yep i agree
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 5:22PM) : I think Baldwin is going through puberty and having these thoughts and he thinks he is sinning and that's why he calling himself evil.
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Oct 27
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 27 2020 1:32PM) : I agree with you
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:37PM) : I agree because Baldwin mentions how it was a regular day in Harlem but that something was different he was feeling different he doesn't say it exactly but the way he worded everything makes it seem he's going through puberty.
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Oct 26
Nico V Nico V (Oct 26 2020 7:47PM) : At 14 he had a mix-up about his religion more

he is scared he is gonna go to hell if he follows what his friends are doing

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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 11:10AM) : He underwent changes at 14 he didn't understand more

I believe he was speaking about a regular day but what was different was how he was feeling.

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Oct 27
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 27 2020 1:31PM) : he knows that if he has any type of sexual orientation with these girls before Marriage he can go to hell
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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:28AM) : i more

I feel as if he is fearing it is a sin too be turned on by girls or have sex

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Oct 26
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 26 2020 10:36AM) : James worshipped god at the age of 14
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 12:00PM) : He might have also worshipped God because of his family and where he lived.
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:38PM) : Yeah, Baldwin basically felt the need to worship god with his family all being Christian and his father, he basically felt pressured I believe.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:37AM) : Questions more

What is a prolonged religious crisis?

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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 1:26PM) : I think it when you're questioning your religion
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Oct 26
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 26 2020 1:31PM) : question more

if he prolonged religious crisis would he be meaning he is starting his disbelief in god or is he doubting himself about god.

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 8:59PM) : yeah i agree because he is doubing himself about god
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:54PM) : i think he only worshipped god because of the fact that it was forced upon him.
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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 2:03PM) : I think that too. more

Baldwin is talking about how racism in our country resulted in Black people not being able to earn a decent wage, and having to live in ghettos. But he also describes in paragraph 6 how his step father also pushed him by telling him he was going nowhere fast.“Many of my comrades were clearly headed for the Avenue, and my father said that I was headed that way, too.”

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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 10:39PM) : he started to become religious at the age of 14
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Nov 10
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 10 2020 3:16PM) : Even at a young age Baldwin was raised christian more

so i think he’s talking about how at the age of 14 he may be starting to doubt god since he mentioned a “prolonged religious crisis”.

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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 12:58PM) : I think it’s about how he found god even though he was born a Christian, and how he is afraid to commit a sin
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Jan 22
Laila K Laila K (Jan 22 2021 1:29PM) : yeah I think he became more conscious and fearful of all potential evils and sin
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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 11:04PM) : i liked how he expanded why he used that word (religious)
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Oct 28
Harry C Harry C (Oct 28 2020 10:45AM) : As a child, Baldwin was raised as a Christian. more

He was doing the right thing in becoming religious.

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Oct 28
JUAN V JUAN V (Oct 28 2020 10:45AM) : . more

I think that Baldwin went to the church so he can do the right stuff in his life.

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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 10:40PM) : what does deity mean?
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:40PM) : He was not exposed to life outside of Christianity.
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Oct 21
Dante T Dante T (Oct 21 2020 12:50PM) : Here, Baldwin is saying that he only expected "Him" as in God to only exist in the walls of their church. more

He also states that God and safety are synonymous or one in the same. I found that interesting and it also made me think about how that’s a common line of thinking. Often you’ll see people seeking safety or respite in religion.

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Oct 22
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 22 2020 12:34PM) : He was really lost because he started to believe
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Oct 22
ROJO V ROJO V (Oct 22 2020 12:47PM) : I agree. He was really finding out who he was in his teens
Comment Deleted more

This comment was deleted by Kiran Chaudhuri at Jun 11 2021 3:00PM.

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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 8:43PM) : Say more, Genesis. [Edited] more

I’m not sure what you mean. Can you say more specifically what you’re referring to?

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Oct 22
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 22 2020 11:56PM) : agreed, he was starting to wake up and realize
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 1:44PM) : I agree because now he is realizing what is life in his Teens.
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Oct 28
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 28 2020 9:49AM) : I agree that he's becoming more aware of the world
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 11:04AM) : He was born like "in the religion" so like he had his faith in him.
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Oct 22
Laila K Laila K (Oct 22 2020 12:35PM) : he was scared of his bodily changes more

at this time, puberty and arousal were taboo subjects so no one rlly knew what was going on .

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Oct 22
ROJO V ROJO V (Oct 22 2020 12:47PM) : I agree there were lots of things that were taboo then there are now
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 7:07PM) : It is almost like they want you to live in fear about natural things.
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Oct 29
EMMANUEL R EMMANUEL R (Oct 29 2020 10:57AM) : i agree with this because the way he wrote it sounded like something to worry about more

the word “saftey” brings us to the real meaning of the word “religious” as we use it. "during my 14 years for the first time in my life, afraid-afraid of the evil within me and afraid of the evil without.

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Oct 22
ROJO V ROJO V (Oct 22 2020 12:41PM) : baldwin was scared of himself and the environment around him.I think this is also a reason why he moved to Paris other than him realizing he's gay.
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Oct 22
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 22 2020 11:56PM) : i agree
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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:39PM) : I agree with you
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 1:47PM) : I notice He was scared when he came to harlem in the summer so I would describe him has if he was frightened.
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:40AM) : Must have been weird.
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 1:09PM) : Basically he wasn’t surprised because it was the same as usually
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Oct 21
Lena F Lena F (Oct 21 2020 12:51PM) : It was 1962, so he is using very outdated offensive language.
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Oct 22
ROJO V ROJO V (Oct 22 2020 12:48PM) : yes people spoke differently back then.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 8:04PM) : I agree with you Rojo
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Oct 22
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 22 2020 12:52PM) : I don't think any of these words are outdated people still use them but it is deemed offensive
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:14PM) : I agree with you. some of these words are still used casually.
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Oct 27
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 27 2020 11:16PM) : I think Baldwin is speaking about his first experiences and new outlook on the world. [Edited]
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Oct 28
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 28 2020 8:11AM) : Look at this photo I found! It was taken by photographer Gordon Parks. . . . . . https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.collageplatform.com.prod/image_cache/enlarge_2x/548b3beaaa921a8b5be4cbcc/691fcf6e890b1e48ab57aafef137d0d3.jpeg more

It could even be “the Avenue” that Baldwin grew up on. He was born at East 128th Street between 5th Ave and Madison Ave. The photo was taken in the summer of 1948, when Baldwin turned 14.

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Oct 21
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 21 2020 12:46PM) : i thought this was funny but weird to me..because the way he said "groaning-on their sexual careers" [Edited] more

this just makes me think of weird stuff..and ya’ll already know what i’ talking about but its kinda funny to me idk why

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Oct 27
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Oct 27 2020 4:35PM) : Haha i agree it did sound weird but i wonder what he meant by that 😬
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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 10:06PM) : I was thinking the same thing! more

“Groaning on their sexual careers” might describe how the boys were boasting about “getting laid” (having sex with someone), but Baldwin’s word “groaning” also makes me hear someone groaning as they’re having sex. His writing leads a reader into embarrassingly intimate corners of the mind.

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Oct 30
cristin t cristin t (Oct 30 2020 9:52AM) : i also find it funny but weird at the same time when he said groaning on their sexual careers.
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Oct 22
Genesis G Genesis G (Oct 22 2020 12:44PM) : i think that the dad was trying to keep his son out of the streets and out of gangs. more

it was just at first weird because i thought it was a girl but then i realized that it wasn’t a girl.

Comment Deleted more

This comment was deleted by Kiran Chaudhuri at Jun 11 2021 3:00PM.

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Oct 22
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 22 2020 11:55PM) : lmao i agree too
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 12:01PM) : His father probably didn't want his son to go down the wrong road and live a bad life.
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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:40PM) : I agree
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:19PM) : I agreeee
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Oct 27
MATTHEW W MATTHEW W (Oct 27 2020 10:36AM) : i agree
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Oct 27
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 27 2020 9:45PM) : I agree more

Agree

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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 1:51PM) : When I read this part where it said My friends became to smoke and drink that made me feel like having a miserable life and not having no one to talk to
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 12:02PM) : During that period of his life he might've felt very lonely and that he couldn't say anything about it.
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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 11:12PM) : I think this means that everyone else around him grow up faster and took the wrong path.
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:04PM) : His friends were drinking and smoking at young ages
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Oct 27
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 27 2020 1:24PM) : . more

I think he’s saying how they started doing all these things earlier and he was questioning it all and his dad might’ve wanted to keep him out of trouble?

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Oct 27
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Oct 27 2020 4:32PM) : This made me think that he has irresponsible friends because they are smoking and that is bad for the lungs.
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 11:14AM) : His friends were going into the path that James did not want to go through.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 6:39PM) : Summary (Red Highlight) Change. more

The main point of this section is things are gonna change. No matter what. people are gonna start growing up and things will be different.

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Oct 28
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 28 2020 9:52AM) : I agree because Baldwin is changing and the kids around him are changing
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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 11:14PM) : i feel like he was lost in the world and really didn't know what to do with himself
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 10:48PM) : I agree with you because he says it himself.
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Oct 30
cristin t cristin t (Oct 30 2020 9:53AM) : i feel like he lost and don't know what going on.
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Nov 3
Jessica H Jessica H (Nov 03 2020 10:13AM) : Well, puberty messes with everyone’s heads, but especially the author’s, since he was brought up so religiously.
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 1:43PM) : He was like in shock, he didn't know what to do or feel when he saw his old "friends"
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 1:15PM) : He is saying that he considers himself a wicked person.
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Oct 21
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Oct 21 2020 12:46PM) : Its about the changes of growing people and sexual relations more

He is saying that it tends to be the good girls who enjoy a lot of sexual acts.There used to be a time when that was just really chill and nothing else and it makes them unholy.

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 9:07PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 27 2020 1:10PM) : Agree
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Oct 21
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 21 2020 12:49PM) : I found this sentence strange. It was strange since the way that he described the girls doing isn't something that you would think people at church would be doing. more

This makes me think of how this setting was back then. Using the paragraph the things that his friends would do is something that isn’t done in these times

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Oct 27
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 27 2020 9:45PM) : Agree
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Nov 1
Bethzy H Bethzy H (Nov 01 2020 9:43PM) : I agree with you, where you said "isn't something you would think people at church would be doing."
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Oct 27
MATTHEW W MATTHEW W (Oct 27 2020 9:04PM) : he saying the girls like to do the horrible stuff than to be good as they portrayed to be
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Yet there was something deeper than these changes, and less definable, that frightened me. It was real in both the boys and the girls, but it was, somehow, more vivid in the boys. In the case of the girls, one watched them turning into matrons before they had become women. They began to manifest a curious and really rather terrifying single-mindedness. It is hard to say exactly how this was conveyed: something implacable in the set of the lips, something farseeing (seeing what?) in the eyes, some new and crushing determination in the walk, something peremptory in the voice. They did not tease us, the boys, any more; they reprimanded us sharply, saying, “You better be thinking about your soul!” For the girls also saw the evidence on the Avenue, knew what the price would be, for them, of one misstep, knew that they had to be protected and that we were the only protection there was. They understood that they must act as God’s decoys, saving the souls of the boys for Jesus and binding the bodies of the boys in marriage. For this was the beginning of our burning time, and “It is better”, said St. Paul-who elsewhere, with a roost unusual and stunning exactness, described himself as a “wretched man”-“to marry than to burn.” And I began to feel in the boys a curious, wary, bewildered despair, as though they were now settling in for the long, hard winter of life. I did not know then what it was that I was react· ing to; I put it to myself that they were letting themselves go. In the same way that the girls were destined to gain as much weight as their mothers, the boys, it was clear, would rise no higher than their fathers. School began to reveal itself, therefore, as a child’s game that one could not win, and boys dropped out of school and went to work. My father wanted me to do the same. I refused, even though I no longer had any illusions about what an education could do for n_ie; I had already encountered too many college-graduate handymen. My friends were now “downtown”, busy, as they put it, “fighting the man”. They began to care less about the way they looked, the way they dressed, the things they did; presently, one found them in twos and threes and fours, in a hallway, sharing a jug of wine or a bottle of whiskey, talking, cursing, fighting, sometimes weeping: lost, and unable to say what it was that oppressed them, except that they knew it was “the man”-the white man. And there seemed to be no way whatever to remove this cloud that stood between them and the sun, between them and love and life and power, between them and whatever it was that they wanted. One did not have to be very bright to realize how little one could do to change one’s situation; one did not have to be abnormally sensitive to be worn down to a cutting edge by the incessant and gratuitous humiliation and danger one encountered every working day, all day long. The humiliation did not apply merely to working days, or workers; I was thirteen and was crossing Fifth Avenue on my way to the Forty-second Street library, and the cop in the middle of the street muttered as I passed him, “Why don’t you niggers stay uptown where you b~long ?” When I was ten, and didn’t look, certainly, any older, two policemen amused themselves with me by frisking me, making comic (and terrifying) speculations concerning my ancestry and probable sexual prowess, and for good measure, leaving me flat on my back in one of Harlem’s empty lots. just before and then during the Second World War, many of my friends fled into the service, all to be changed there, and rarely for the better, many to be ruined, and many to die. Others fled to other states and cities-that is, to other ghettos. Some went on wine or whiskey or the needle, and are still on it. And others, like me, fled into the church.

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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 2:03PM) : (Purple Highlighted) This makes me think that he went on a bad path because it says "Yet there was something deeper than these charges" [Edited]
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:28PM) : What is Baldwins life makes him believe that hell and all these things are real. If the white people are oppressing them so much, why would they take on their religion.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 8:16PM) : (Yellow Highlighted) [Edited] more

They did not want to go to school so they dropped out of school and found a job witch is a handymen

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Oct 27
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 27 2020 1:11PM) : Yea your right
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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 10:46PM) : What's Baldwin saying about WHY they didn't want to go to school?
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Oct 29
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 29 2020 11:11AM) : I think because they do no want to wake up in the Morning
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Oct 29
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 29 2020 2:14PM) : I think that they DID want to go to school. Baldwin is saying that the schooling they were given demeaned (belittled) them. [Edited] more

I like the comments that people put on the sentence that begins, “School began to reveal itself… as a child’s game that one could not win…” Take a look at those comments.

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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:28AM) : i agree more

I agree with your statement.

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Oct 26
Nico V Nico V (Oct 26 2020 7:48PM) : i think he is conflicted with his sexaulity [Edited] more

and how it impacts his religion

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Oct 27
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 27 2020 1:58PM) : . more

i agree

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Nov 3
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 03 2020 12:06AM) : I agree, his sexaulity would have conflicted in his religion because they would consider it a "sin"
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Oct 27
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 27 2020 11:22PM) : From a young age many kids were forced to grow up, boys were supposed to start working and providing, and girls were to talk and act a certain way.
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Oct 29
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 29 2020 11:06AM) : Why they dropped out school was because they did not feel Comfortable they felt un Comfortable in school [Edited] more

I think they made this move is because they were more Comfortable doing a handymen job

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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 9:46AM) : Both genders are growing
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:00PM) : i think girls and boys are going through puberty
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Nov 3
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 03 2020 12:38AM) : I agree more

it shows how they are growing up and becoming different people.

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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:42PM) : They are going through puberty
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Oct 30
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Oct 30 2020 12:07PM) : I agree more

because He describes it as “something deeper than these changes, and less definable, that frightened me”.

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 12:40PM) : I think he starting to question his sexuality
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Oct 22
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 22 2020 12:51PM) : facts more

facts

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 7:08PM) : No I think that he is saying the boys get hornier.
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:43PM) : hahaha you're underestimating girls here
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Oct 27
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 27 2020 2:04PM) : Agreed
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Oct 22
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 22 2020 12:46PM) : sex [Edited] more

i think he is having thoughts of his liking when it comes to. meaning whats attractive to him

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 4:37PM) : I agree
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Oct 26
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 26 2020 1:35PM) : summary more

i think this means that the boys and girls are having bad thoughts and its mainly the boys thats having them

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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 9:47AM) : i agree
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Oct 26
Harry C Harry C (Oct 26 2020 11:01AM) : The connotation of the word matron shows that women in Harlem were being changed from domesticated to something else more

maybe women are housewife anymore.

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Oct 26
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 26 2020 11:02AM) : woman in harlem were being changed, changing them into something else.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 2:25PM) : (Red Highlighted) This sounds tough because back then they would tease and rape people if they got in trouble or do something wrong. [Edited]
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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 11:28PM) : they expected more from the boys then the girls
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:04PM) : i think they are sexist because they expect more from boys then girls
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Oct 27
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Oct 27 2020 4:40PM) : This is just my opinion but this sound kind of sexist . because they are expecting the boys to do better than the girl ........if i got that right
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Oct 26
Harry C Harry C (Oct 26 2020 10:29AM) : This text is an allusion because it is referring to the Christianity figure of the apostle Paul from the bible. more

I feel that Baldwin is feeling the pain that what he was taught from Christianity morals there is an effect of how it is affecting his society.

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Oct 26
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 26 2020 11:58PM) : the boys didn't really need as much education as the girls so they dropped out of school and went to work
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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 1:27PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Oct 27 2020 4:41PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
MATTHEW W MATTHEW W (Oct 27 2020 9:06PM) : I agree
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Oct 30
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Oct 30 2020 12:26PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
MATTHEW W MATTHEW W (Oct 27 2020 9:07PM) : seems like his father was not supported him on what he was trying to do and wanted him to like all the other boys on the block
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Nov 3
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 03 2020 12:41AM) : I agree more

his father was very non supportive to his own son

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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 1:16PM) : I agree
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Nov 3
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 03 2020 12:54AM) : his father didn't care about his future more

he wanted him to drop out of school and get a job immediately which doesn’t seem good for a father to want.

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Oct 26
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 26 2020 10:46AM) : he'd rather have an education more

Baldwin cares more about his education , and would rather go to school than to work and be lost in life. drinking and being depressed while not knowing how to express their feelings and why they have those feeling, not knowing what to do with their excessive freedom.

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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:23PM) : education is definitely one fo his top priorities.
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Oct 27
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 27 2020 2:04PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:03PM) : i thing he wants to be different and learn more in school instead of work
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:43AM) : That's true. Education is everything and i can't believe his father didn't support that
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 1:16PM) : I feel like he believes that education is more important
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Oct 22
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 22 2020 12:46PM) : This means when kids would drop out and start working overtime he started to notice what it did. They were lowlifes and a valid reason was the white man that would oppress them.
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Oct 22
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 22 2020 12:55PM) : facts more

i agree

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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:36AM) : Opinion more

I agree with you because they didn’t care about themselves anymore and they were being oppressed by the white man

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Nov 10
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 10 2020 3:27PM) : I agree
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 8:59PM) : (Red Highlighted) You can tell in this paragraph they did not care at the time. [Edited]
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:53PM) : I agree. Things were starting to change and James had not realized until the impact had fully been made.
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Nov 3
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 03 2020 12:49AM) : I agree more

there was no sign of concern on anyone until it had an impact.

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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:07PM) : They fought and drank wine whiskey
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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 10:53PM) : Baldwin's choice of words here - "... this cloud that stood between them and the sun" - it reminds me of this picture. more
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 10:59PM) : i think this is talking about how one doesnt have to be smart to notice how one thing could affect someone and how it can tear them up by being humiliated and always in danger.
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 1:17PM) : Yeah i agree
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:40AM) : Opinion more

I think the white people don’t like the idea of being around colored people.

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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:58PM) : I "agree". Especially in these times. It was tough for African Americans to do many things without the judgement of others. (Caucasian Americans.)
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:02PM) : yeah and they are putting people of color down because they racist
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Oct 26
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 26 2020 11:03AM) : He is basically saying stay away from me He does not want to socialize because he says you do not belong here.
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Oct 26
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 26 2020 2:15PM) : he dosent want her over there because shes colored. more

this makes me upset and i feel targeted..the racism in this word is dreadful.

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Oct 27
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 27 2020 1:14PM) : Ik.. sometimes I wish Racism wasn’t even in the world.. n we could all just be equal.. n treat each other equally 😔.
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Nov 3
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 03 2020 12:50AM) : I agree more

since she was colored he had more concern for her life

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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 5:31PM) : My opinion [Edited] more

I think the next paragraph is how Baldwin used church to not be caught up in the streets and gangs which many of his friend resorted too. Judging from the last sentence. His friends are on the needle, wine, whisky these are drugs that James friend are taking but instead of James being a follower he went to church to probably be distracted from all those things.

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Oct 27
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 27 2020 8:15AM) : The main branch of the New York City Library. Baldwin went around the city by himself at the age of 14, including downtown, where there were fewer Black people. more
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 11:13AM) : Its disgusting more

Its disgusting how this situations occurred a 13 year old doing absolutely nothing and a man a white man feels the need to say such disgusting hateful words because of his color

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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:09PM) : The cop was racist calling the black people the N Word saying they should've where they belong uptown
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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 1:31PM) : It talks about how someone would want to be treated fairly
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 5:41PM) : This reminds me of the book The Color Purple😬 because they have the same actions and treats colored people the same. [Edited]
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:46AM) : That's messed up. They are being profiled.
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Jan 22
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 22 2021 1:19PM) : I feel like some whit people haven’t affected anyone but they may be part of the problem
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 11:07AM) : Question (Green Highlight) Opinion (Purple Highlight) more

I know it was hard for many people to see, children, men, woman, friends, family etc. To be harassed constantly by police, and not have a say or justification in it. How would they get over it in this time? How much hatred could one hold in there heart before they snap?

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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 2:06PM) : He talks about police hurting him and sexually touching him and how they used their position as police officers to hurt him because his African America.
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Oct 26
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 26 2020 11:33PM) : Opinion: I find this disgusting that this event has occurred. more

He talks about how Two policemen assaulted him physically and verbally. It is even more disgusting since nothing much was done about it.

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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:45AM) : That's amazing, just like that without him doing anything bad. Just picked out and bothered
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 1:29PM) : Summary more

The police mentally, physically and verbally harassed him and it clearly took a toll on him since he remembered it from so many years later on telling it to his nephew. Police brutality still exists today.

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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:08PM) : he went to church while others did bad stuff
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Oct 27
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 27 2020 1:14PM) : True

For the wages of sin were visible everywhere, in every wine-stained and urine-splashed hallway, in every clanging ambulance bell, in every scar on the faces of the pimps and their whores, in every helpless, new· born baby being brought into this danger, in every knife and pistol fight on. the Avenue, and in every disastrous bulletin: a cousin, mother of six, suddenly gone mad, the children parcelled out here and there; an indestructible aunt rewarded for years of hard labour by a slow, agonizing death in a terrible small room; someone’s bright son blown into eternity by his own hand; another turned robber and carried off to jail. It was a summer of dreadful speculations and discoveries, of which these were not the worst. Crime became real, for example–for the first time–not as a possibility but as the possibility. One would never defeat one’s circumstances by working and saving one’s pennies; one would never, by working, acquire that many pennies, and, besides, the social treatment accorded even the most succ~ful Negroes proved that one needed, in order to be free, something more than a bank account. One needed a handle, a lever, a means of inspiring fear. It was absolutely clear that the police would whip you and take you in as long as they could get away with it, and that everyone else-house-wives, taxi-drivers, elevator boys, dishwashers, bartenders, lawyers, judges, doctors, and grocers–would never, by the operation of any generous human feeling, cease to use you as an outlet for his frustrations and hostilities. Neither civilized reason nor Christian love would cause any of those people to treat you as they presumably wanted to be treated; only the fear of your power to retaliate would cause them to do that, or to seem to do it, which was (and is) good enough. There appears to be a vast amount of confusion on this point, but I do not know many Negroes who are eager to be “accepted” by white people, still less to be. loved ·by them; they, the blacks, simply don’t wish to be beaten over the head by the whites every instant of our brief pa.smge on this planet. White people in this country will have quite enough to do in learning how to accept and love themselves and each other, and when they have achieved this-which will not be tomorrow and may very well be never-the Negro problem will no longer exist, for it will no longer be needed.

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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 4:33PM) : (Green Highlighted) When I read this line "being brought into danger " it makes me feel sad and danger because it get you emotional. [Edited]
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 4:53PM) : ( Purple Highlighted)I feel like their is hate in this statement What I mean is like here an example like in a movie their's good people and bad people [Edited]
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Oct 29
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 29 2020 1:57PM) : Not sure what you mean by "there is hate in this statement". You've made the comment about the whole paragraph. Do you mean the whole paragraph when you say, "statement"? Or do you mean the part that 10 other people highlighted purple? more

I hear LOVE in this statement, not hate. I think Baldwin is saying that the Black church was wrong to call the people sinners. Baldwin is holding America’s racist society accountable for putting people in horrible situations where they had to make choiceless choices. They didn’t become alcoholic or drug-addicted because they wanted to. They didn’t become mentally ill, sick from overwork, or suicidal, because they felt like it. They didn’t become sex workers or gang members or thieves because they were “bad”. Baldwin is saying that our white supremacist society limited their options so much that it destroyed their lives, families, physical and mental health, and safety. Black people didn’t deserve to be called sinners by the church. Instead, they deserved to be supported in organizing against racism.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:31PM) : I think he is trying to say that if white people learn to love each other it will be easier for them to not be racist towards black people.
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:11PM) : I agree they could be less racist
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Oct 26
Nico V Nico V (Oct 26 2020 7:52PM) : it was very tough for black people in the 60's no matter what
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:12PM) : I agree because people were so racist to them.
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 8:47PM) : did they try to defend themselves or did they just let them beat them??
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:25AM) : Baldwin speaks about how white people must accept themselves first before they can accept black people.
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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:32AM) : i more

I feel like he’s trying to say that if white people could put themselves in other people’s shoes they’d understand more things and wouldn’t be racist.

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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 5:33PM) : I believe this is the life for people who were black in the 60's and this is how it was especially Harlem because Harlem was a very poor place the people live in Harlem most likely was living in poverty and had a scarcity of basic goods. [Edited]
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 9:49AM) : This sentence is about how it was like living in Harlem
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:10PM) : i think they are explaning people of colors life
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 2:04PM) : opinion more

I think life was really corrupt and this is for things went. Everything was going downhill. And people were committing suicide

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Oct 27
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 27 2020 9:46PM) : Agree
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 5:53PM) : I like how he clearly describes what he's talking about
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:01PM) : I agree because therefore you can understand and imagine what he is describing
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Oct 28
JUAN V JUAN V (Oct 28 2020 10:24AM) : I think more

I think that everything that’s happening around is falling apart.

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Oct 28
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 28 2020 10:53AM) : https://images.app.goo.gl/vJbfxcc5A5MwucLb6 more

this image shows the poverty in Harlem, very sad

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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:35AM) : i more

This is explaining how it feels living in Harlem.

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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 6:51PM) : Opinion (Purple Highlight) I like how this phrase/sentence is worded. more

“For the first time, NOT as a possibility but as THE possibility.” The use of not and the was clever.

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Oct 22
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 22 2020 12:56PM) : I think he saying no matter what amount of money or how successful you are as in African american during this era you would always be treated different.
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Oct 26
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 26 2020 11:07AM) : I think he's saying that as a black man, you cant have control over your own life, that it doesn't matter if you have money because that cant buy freedom of making decisions for yourself. other's actions have a great affect on people.
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Oct 26
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 26 2020 1:39PM) : summary more

i think the author means that no matter how much money you have a colored person would be treated differently and it won’t change

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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:12PM) : Yes i agree because people thought they didn't belong there and were very racist
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:25PM) : here he's really showing what it was like to be a black man then. no matter how much money you make and how successful you become it doesn't matter. You don't have main control over your life.
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:14PM) : no matter how much money they had they would always be treated badly for being colored
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:47AM) : I believe a education is key. It will help progress in life. Using the right tool which is knowledge can help them fight the system
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 1:32PM) : When I first read this sentence I thought that it was disgusting. more

How could that be unnoticed that this would happen.

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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:08PM) : he is saying that no matter how black people try, white people will always fear what they might do to them.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:44AM) : Summary more

i think this means that the black people don’t need to be accepted but they just don’t beat anymore.

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Oct 27
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 27 2020 9:46PM) : Agree
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 11:43AM) : not wanting to accept them more

I think this is saying that they want nothing to do with them because of what they have done to him

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Oct 27
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 27 2020 1:21PM) : I feel like he’s right.. because hes saying that white people barley get to give them a chance n doesn’t give them the same love as colored people want them to give.. yk what I’m saying? more

The sentence where he said that kinda was “but I don’t know many negroes who are eager to be “accepted” by white people, still less to be. Loved by them.” I’m gonna stop right there but I feel like he seems sad that this is happening n there are so many racist white people out there who won’t give them a chance.

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Oct 27
ANDERSON M ANDERSON M (Oct 27 2020 9:47PM) : Agreee
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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 10:57PM) : As it said "the blacks, simply don't wish to get beaten over the head by the whites.." That is something that should be wished for. That should be something you shouldn't have to worry about.
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Oct 26
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 26 2020 1:34PM) : i think this is talking about how white people needed to accept each other for their hate to not go toward black people.
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:17PM) : The white people have to learn to love themselves and the colored people so there would be no racism in the world and the colored people would be accepted more
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 1:31PM) : *People of color* not colored people that’s outdated
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Oct 28
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 28 2020 9:55AM) : I wonder did Baldwin father Approve of Baldwin being a famous write? Because I know he is really strict more

question

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Oct 28
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 28 2020 12:35PM) : . more

Once the white people learn to accept and love themself and others, the problem for people of color will “no longer exist”

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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:46PM) : He is saying that white people's oppression of people of color is rooted in their own insecurities.

People more advantageously placed than we in Harlem were, and are, will no doubt find the psychology and the view of human nature sketched above dismal and shocking in the extreme. But the Negro’s experience of the white world cannot possibly create in him any respect for the standards by which the white world claims to live. His own condition is overwhelming proof that white people do not live by these standards. Negro servants have been smuggling odds and ends out of white homes for generations, and white people have been delighted to have them do it, because it has assuaged a dim guilt and testified to the intrinsic superiority of white people. Even the most doltish and servile Negro could scarcely fail to be impressed by the disparity between his situation and that of the people for whom he worked; Negroes who were neither doltish nor servile did not feel that they were doing anything wrong when they robbed white people. In spite of the Puritan-Yankee equation of virtue with well-being, Negroes had excellent reasons for doubting that money was made or kept by any very striking adherence to the Christian virtues; it certainly did not work that way for black Christians. In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived, had no moral ground on which to stand. They had the judges, the juries, the shotguns, the law-in a word, power. But it was a criminal power, to be feared but not respected, and to be out-witted in any way whatever. And those virtues preached but not practised by the white world were merely another means of holding Negroes in subjection.

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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 5:20PM) : So I notice if someone else robbed something it would be a big problem and people would look into it more

in any case, white people, who had robbed

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:13PM) : i think that they are saying the people that have important job they wouldnt go to jail
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:33PM) : This means that morally black people should be aloud to steal from the white people that opress them because of the way that they have been exploited through slavery.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 9:13PM) : (Purple Highlight) I feel like back then it was hard to live because they had less opportunity but now the New Generations has more opportunity and some people take it for advantage but people back then did not even have that choice. [Edited]
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:29PM) : its saying that white people wanted to show that they are superior which wasn't right
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:28AM) : I think Baldwin is saying that power isn’t everything, whites people’s morals were looked down upon by slaves and what they made them do.
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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 10:26PM) : Different people in the community would have different opportunities then others.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:47AM) : Question more

What does he mean when he says “cannot possibly create in him any respect for the standards by which the white world claims to live”?

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Oct 26
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 26 2020 8:14PM) : I think what he means by that is the blacks couldn't respect the whites' so called standards because they did not practice what they preach. they preached to others to live by morals and standards that they themselves don't live by. more

while preaching to others to follow these morals and standards, they ignored and actually did the exact opposite of what they were teaching, they stole black peoples’ liberty and treated them harshly.

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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 10:30PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:15PM) : i agree because why should black people respect white peoples standers
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:49PM) : People of color cannot respect the white people who discriminate against them.
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 5:37PM) : I think this sentence means that white people want a black servant to steal, just to show that's what black people do and just show that white people are superior. [Edited]
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:27PM) : This is showing how much white people actually enjoyed being racists and harm black people. It didn't just happen, they enjoyed it. So much so that they would be happy to see their black servants do something wrong.
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 9:52AM) : White people watched the slaves crawl around and scavenge for food
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:26PM) : white people want to steal black people basically. they want to prove who is more "superior" which is stupid.
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Oct 30
cristin t cristin t (Oct 30 2020 9:58AM) : i agree on that.
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 6:52PM) : Opinion [Edited] more

It’s like black people had to scrounge around for basic human necessities and it fulfilled the white peoples need and want to be “superior” when they saw them doing it.

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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:36AM) : I more

For some reason, white people wanna prove possession of “power” which is dumb.

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Oct 30
cristin t cristin t (Oct 30 2020 9:59AM) : very dumb how they just want to prove who is more powerful.
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Oct 27
MATTHEW W MATTHEW W (Oct 27 2020 9:13PM) : this is a interesting sentence because he saying since that white people tortured us so much it was fine for us to do that same without any consequences
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 8:51PM) : sooo black Christians had more power??
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:17PM) : i think thats what they are saying because it didnt work for the black christians
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 11:45AM) : illegal more

he is basically saying that white have all the big powers with them no matter what and blacks cant do anything about it because they have the big powers

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Oct 27
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 27 2020 12:21PM) : summary more

i think that the author is trying to talk about slavery when white people had a lot of power

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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 9:45PM) : Summary more

They’re already higher then black people on the economic and social hierarchy. If they’re still stealing from African Americans when they’re already superior then they have no morals. They’re grounded by money and that’s the only thing that keeps them likable.

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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:16PM) : he is talking about the time where white people had more power over black people.
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Oct 29
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 29 2020 11:39AM) : This makes me think of George floyd how black people are not treated equally and that becomes a problem because everybody she be treated equally no matter what this why we protested for our rights
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Oct 28
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 28 2020 12:38PM) : . more

They got what they got not because of positive means, but negative means. As it says that they had judges, juries, shotguns, everything and “power”, it was merely criminal power, that of which they robbed.

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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:17PM) : Baldwin states examples of where white people had power.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 8:46PM) : Opinion (Purple Highlight) I think the way James put these words together, creates a powerful "acceptance" this world should not have. more

It lets others aka Caucasians get away with things they shouldn’t be able too. Especially when it puts African Americans down to be acknowledged.

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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 10:34PM) : I think white people want to see black servants do something wrong just to talk down at them and also it shows how they stereotype black people as people who steal.
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 10:09PM) : I think Baldwin was telling others to not let others have power over them. more

Baldwin want to make sure that nothing is going to be set up in a certain way to seem like its ones fault.

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It turned out, then, that summer, that the moral bani.ers that I had supposed to exist between me and the dangers of a criminal career were so tenuous as to be nearly non-existent. I certainly could not discover any principled reason for not becoming a criminal, and it is not my poor, God-fearing parents who are to be indicted for the lack but this society. I was icily deter-mined-more determined, really, than I then knew-never to make my peace with the ghetto but to die and go to Hell before I would let any white man spit on me, before I would accept my “place” in this repub-lic. I did not intend to allow the white people of this country to tell me who I was, and limit me that way, and polish me off that way. And yet, of course, at the same time, I was being spat on and defined and des-cribed and limited, and could have been polished off with no effort whatever. Every Negro boy-in my situation during those years, at least-who reaches this point realizes, at once, profoundly, because he wants to live, that he stands in great peril and must find, with speed, a “thing”, a gimmick, to lift him out, to start him on his way. And it does n()t matter what the gim-mick is. It was this last realization that terrified me and-since it revealed that the door opened on so many dangers-helped to hurl me into the church. And, by an unforeseeable paradox, it was my career in the church that turned out, precisely, to be my gimmick.

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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 5:52PM) : ( Yellow Highlighted) I am noticing while reading this story it about negative and criminal and society and republicans it goes towards bad paths when you think about it [Edited]
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:36PM) : In those times a lot of black people tried to go into sports or showbuisness because that was one of the only ways to get out of the hole that they were dug into. I think that is what this paragraph is referencing.
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:31AM) : Baldwin doesn’t want other people to define his worth and value so he tries his best,
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Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:49PM) : He was questioning himself.
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 10:19AM) : James is a law-abiding citizen
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 10:15PM) : I think he is trying to make a point to others that there is no reason for him to break any laws. more

He tried to look at all the different circumstances on why he would break the law but he still could not find one.

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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:30PM) : I think he is careful about it so he doesn't want white people to think of him as less superior
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Oct 29
JAYDEN T JAYDEN T (Oct 29 2020 1:38AM) : i more

James is trying to prove that he has no reason to break laws.

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Oct 29
Karim M Karim M (Oct 29 2020 10:12AM) : i agree and i also think james is innocent
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 10:54PM) : James is basically trying to prove that he doesn't have any intention on becoming a criminal despite not having any principled reason for not becoming one.
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 10:45AM) : I think Baldwin wants to leave the ghetto and be famous so no white person can say anything to him
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:19PM) : i think he wants to be more then what the white people expect black people growing up
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Oct 26
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 26 2020 8:26PM) : I think he's saying that he would rather experience death and things worse then death, then to accept the discrimination he receives and be okay with it, or become the person the whites expect him to be. [Edited]
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 9:55PM) : Yeah I think that he’d go as far as dying then to experience the white mans racism
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:49AM) : He seems like death is something he is afraid of. He seems to be willing to accept abuse than to fight for what he believes in or what he wants to change
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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 10:19PM) : I think James is referring to not go the path that people with his color go through because of discrimination. He wants to make his own path.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:56AM) : Question more

What does it mean if you are polished off?

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Oct 26
Kiran C Kiran C (Oct 26 2020 11:31AM) : "Polished off" means to finish off, or dispose of rapidly or completely. more

Baldwin is using the metaphor of polishing shoes or furniture or any hard surface, saying that white people want to clean their society of Black people. His metaphor enables him to plant in the reader’s mind an image of Black people as dirt – as in, Black people being treated “like dirt”. Makes me think of how young Black people (and other people of color) are treated as if they are disposable – as if they don’t matter.

Baldwin extends the metaphor in the next sentence, where he italicizes the word “was” (see how its letters are slanted?): "I WAS being spat upon. Think about it – sometimes, if you don’t have shoe polish or water handy, you might just spit on the dirty spot on your shoe, and rub it out.

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Oct 29
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 29 2020 10:38AM) : I think this means quickly finish or consume something.
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Oct 26
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 26 2020 1:47PM) : summary more

i think that he means that he will not take what the white people says about him and he will not let them tell him who he was

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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 10:03PM) : I agree. He wouldn't allow himself to be diminished by others, But sometimes you can't always win. Sometimes you don't have enough power to "fight" back. Aka fight against the Caucasians and there beliefs. more

He would still try though.

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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 8:53PM) : Opinion. I like the use of "I did not intend to allow".
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:22PM) : I agree because this shows how he is saying that his intensions were not to let some guy tell him who he was
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 10:40PM) : I think James Baldwin want to become somebody and be something and he won't let a white person take away he's life.
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 11:47AM) : he is saying that he wont let the white dictate what he can or can be or do. and he wont let them limit what he can do.
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For when I tried to assess my capabilities, I realized that I had almost none. In order to achieve the life I wanted, I had been dealt, it seemed to me, the worst possible hand. I could not become a prizefighter-many of us tried but very few succeeded. I could not sing. I could not dance. I had been well conditioned by the world in which I grew up, so I did not yet dare take the idea of becoming a writer seriously. The only other possibility seemed to involve my becoming one of the sordid people on the Avenue, who were not so sordid as I then imagined but who frightened me terribly, both because I did not want to live that life and because of what they made me feel. Everything inflamed me, and that was bad enough, but I myself had also become a source of fire and temptation. I had been far too well raised, alas, to suppose that any of the extremely explicit overtures made to me that summer, sometimes by boys and girls but also, more alarmingly, by older men and women, had anything to do with my attractiveness. On the contrary, since the Harlem idea of seduction is, to put it mildly, blunt, whatever these people saw in me merely confirmed my sense of my depravity.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:40PM) : This paragraph speaks to that if black people didn't have any talents at that time nobody saw any worth in them.
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Oct 26
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 26 2020 10:36AM) : (Purple Highlighted) more

I feel like they treated Black People like nothing because basically their saying theirs a waste of time

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:20PM) : i think he just noticed he dont got any talents
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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 2:00PM) : He wanted to achieve his goals a certain way
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:31PM) : he realizes he has no talent
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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 9:02PM) : Yeah, I agree, according to what he said this makes sense, that James realized he has no talents.
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:32AM) : Baldwin doubts his abilities and thinks he doesn’t have any talent
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 10:54AM) : James realized that he has no talents
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Oct 27
VICTORIA T VICTORIA T (Oct 27 2020 1:17PM) : I mean, not everyone has to have talents to be successful or “great” there already unique in their own way:)
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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 2:01PM) : I agree
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:51AM) : sounds true but then again it seems like he feels that the life he was given should have came with talents to do things. Everything is learned and you have to work hard to achieve certain things
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:35PM) : he realizes he doesn't really have key talents.
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 10:36PM) : I agree
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 10:51PM) : I think he feels like he has no talents after trying different things.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:57AM) : summary more

I think that he wants to achieve the life he wants but his situation makes it extremely hard to do it.

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Oct 26
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 26 2020 2:13PM) : summary more

the author is trying to say that he wants to try to achieve a life he wants but what he has right now is giving him a lot of problems

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Oct 27
STEVEN G STEVEN G (Oct 27 2020 2:03PM) : People see things in different perspective
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 6:50PM) : Its not fair more

Because the cards he been dealt aren’t fair he wants a certain life but cant get it

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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:32PM) : he knows it would be very hard to achieve great things
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:26PM) : there was very little success when trying to become a prizefighter.
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 5:44PM) : summary [Edited] more
This means He’s eager, He’s eager to find what he’s good at so he can succeed in life.
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 10:54AM) : I think he's saying that he knows how the world is like, and he knows the situation he's in, so he couldn't take his idea of becoming a writer seriously. more

it would have been extremely hard for him to live the life he wants if he didn’t have any special talent, because he wouldn’t be useful. no one would take him seriously if others can’t benefit from him.

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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 10:52PM) : Baldwin thought that that he did not have an actual talent. more

He realized that he couldn’t do much with what he knew to do. He didn’t believe that with the conditions he was in he could be a writer as a real job.

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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:02PM) : Question (Green Highlight) more
Why did he want to use the word “inflamed”? Why did he feel like the “source of fire and temptation”? Like some part of it may have been his fault?
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It is certainly sad that the awakening of one’s senses should lead to such a merciless judgment of oneself-to say nothing of ~e time and anguish one spends in the effort to arrive at any other–but it is also inevitable that a literal attempt to mortify the flesh should be made among black people like those with whom I grew up. Negroes in this country-and Negroes do not, strictly or legally speaking, exist in any other-are taught really to despise themselves from the moment their eyes open on the world. This world is white and they are black. White people hold the power, which means that they are superior to blacks (intrinsically, that is: God decreed it so), and the world has innumerable ways of making this difference known and felt and feared. Long before the Negro child perceives this difference, and even longer before he understands it, he has begun to react to it, he has begun to be controlled by it. Every effort made by the child’s elders to prepare him for a fate from which they cannot protect him causes him secretly, in terror, to begin to wait, without knowing that he is doing so, his mysterious and inexorable punishment. He must be “good” not only in order to please his parents and not only to avoid being punished by them; behind their authority stands another, nameless and impersonal, infinitely harder to please, and bottomlessly cruel. And this filters into the child’s consciousness through his parents’ tone of voice as he is being exhorted, punished, or loved; in the sudden, uncontrollable note of fear heard in his mother’s or his father’s voice when he’ has strayed beyond some particular boundary. He does not know what the boundary is, and he can get no explanation of it, which is frightening enough, but the fear he hears in the voices of his elders is more frightening still. The fear that I heard in my father’s voice, for example, when he realized that I really believed I could do anything a white boy could do, and had every intention of proving it, was not at all like the fear I heard when one of us was ill or had fallen down the stairs or strayed too far from the house. It was another fear, a fear that the child, in challenging the white world’s assumptions, was putting himself in the path of destruction. A child cannot, thank Heaven, know how vast and how merciless is the nature of power, with what unbelievable cruelty people treat each other. He reacts to the fear in his parents’ voices because his parents hold up the world for him and he has no protection without them. I defended myself, as I imagined, against the fear my father made me feel by remembering that he was very old-fashioned. Also, I prided myself on the fact that I already knew how to outwit him. To defend oneself against a fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced. As for one’s wits, it is just not true that one can live by them-not, that is, if one wishes really to live. That summer, in any case, all the fears with which I had grown up, and which were now a part of me and controlled my vision of the world, rose up like a wall between the world and me, and drove me into the church.

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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:36AM) : Baldwin speaks on how the worlds word influences young minds into thinking they are less, and that it is hard to live in a world where no one is equal.
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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 11:37AM) : I agree with you. Equalism plays a big part in the world but, there is none.
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Oct 28
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 28 2020 12:44PM) : .. more

His actions and fear was not the same as a white boy’s actions fear because of their different worlds

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Oct 28
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 28 2020 12:48PM) : I agree
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 10:59AM) : Question more

Was he also taught to despise himself from the moment their eyes open ont he world?

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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 10:55AM) : Yes because during that time period America was very racist
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:22PM) : i think black people were raised to hate themselvs
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 10:30PM) : I think the way they grew up and were raised and when they see injustice happening to their own family and peers it invokes rage and they’re taught that rage is what’s wrong with them [Edited]
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Oct 27
SANIYA L SANIYA L (Oct 27 2020 10:52AM) : Black people were taught to not like themselves and think of themselves poorly from the moment they were born.
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 11:01AM) : Black people were convinced that they were worst than white people
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Oct 27
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 27 2020 12:23PM) : summary more

the colored people were meant to think that they are lower than everybody else and they are suppose to dislike themselves

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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:35PM) : white people made black people think that they were worthless. so they never really grew up with self confidence
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:01PM) : The environment that they were in was not good for them. more

They were told that they were worse than white people. They were put in a mentality where it was bad for themselves.

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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:33PM) : white people had made such an impact on black people that they thought they were lesser than white people
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:10PM) : Opinion. I love the way this is said. It's the truth.
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:52PM) : This is really good poetry!
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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:42PM) : the Bible is saying that white people are above black people only because it is white people that publish the Bible and they can say whatever they want to.
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 10:44PM) : This kinda shows that there has always been racism because it in religion and religion dates back to centuries.
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:20PM) : This is basically saying the world is ruled by the whites and are superior to the blacks
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:53AM) : I don't think so, they are just a bit smarter by using their smarts to prevent others from rising.
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Oct 26
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 26 2020 5:49PM) : I think this sentence means that the elders are trying to prepare Their black child from the hate and obstacles they are going to face in this white world
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Jan 22
Laila K Laila K (Jan 22 2021 1:07PM) : The fear instilled in children more

When his parents instill fear in him by punishment or otherwise, I think it’s a reflection of their own fears. They just pass it down to the kid.

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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 7:18PM) : his father was in fear because when he was a kid he believed that he can do anything a white boy could and that can cause big problems. [Edited]
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:55AM) : The path of destruction, wow. they seem to have all this locked up in their mind. these are fears, fears they need to conquer
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Oct 27
Isabelle L Isabelle L (Oct 27 2020 1:21PM) : A child shouldn't know how badly and cruel the people treat another more

l

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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:56AM) : this is true. You don't want them growing up seeing that or learning that
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 10:40PM) : I think James is talking about how children should not grow up seeing how cruel people treat each other.
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:15AM) : I think what he means by this is his parents' are his protection from the racist world they're living in. a parents' job back then was to understand their boundaries and make sure that their children follow those boundaries. [Edited] more

the fear in his parents’ voices, are capable of destroying all his hopes of being indifferent, and constantly remind him of this poor reality. that’s how they protected him, they made him understand that he’s different. he doesn’t understand very well or knows what it is, but he is aware that there is a line he must not cross.

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Oct 28
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 28 2020 8:33AM) : i agree
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As I look back, everything I did seems curiously deliberate, though it certainly did not seem deliberate then. For example, I did not join the church of which my father was a member and in which he preached. My best friend in school, who attended a different church, had already “surrendered his life to the Lord”, and he was very anxious about my soul’s salvation. (I wasn’t, but any human attention was better than n0ne.) One Saturday afternoon, he took me to his church. There were no services that day, and the church was empty, except for some women cleaning and some other women praying. My friend took me into the back room to meet his pastor-a woman. There she sat, in her robes, smiling, an extremely proud and handsome woman, with Africa, Europe, and the America of the American Indian blended in her face. She was perhaps forty-five or fifty at this time, and in our world she was a very celebrated woman. My friend was about to introduce me when she looked at me and smiled and said, “Whose little boy are you?” Now this, unbelievably, was precisely the phrase used by pimps and racketeers on the Avenue when they suggested, both humorously and intensely, that I “hang out” with them. Perhaps part of the terror they had caused me to feel came from the fact that I unquestionably wanted to be somebod·y’s little boy. I was so frightened, and at the mercy of so many conundrums, that in-evitably, that summer, someone would have taken me over; one doesn’t, in Harlem, long remain standing on any auction block. It was my good luck-perhaps– that I found myself in the church racket instead of some other, and surrendered to a spiritual seduction long before I came to any carnal knowledge. For when the pastor asked me, with that marvelous smile, “Whose little boy are you?” my heart replied at once, “Why, yours.”

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:45PM) : I think that the role the church played in these boys lives was to keep them away from the bad things in the world which I think is one of the good things about religion.
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:34PM) : I agree.
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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 9:57AM) : Oh my gosh, yes! That makes so much sense. I agree with you on that.
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 10:50PM) : I think his father scared he might die or get hurt if he tries to be better than a white person in the era.
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:14AM) : I think this means that the efforts by parents to teach their kids about the world they will be living in as a Black person. And it's scary for an elder to let a kid go especially in a world and time where people are despised cause of their color
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:15PM) : The church had a big effect on what Baldwin had went thorough. more

It was clear that many parents wanted their children to attend church. Baldwin clearly felt something when he was at the church.

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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:34PM) : his religion/church made a huge impact on his life
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:38AM) : Why did Baldwin say “why yours”?
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:24PM) : he didnt go to church cause of his father he went because of his bestfriend
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 12:55PM) : I'm confused by this.
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 10:15PM) : James went to church with his best friend instead of his father because his best friend was anxious about his souls ability to rescue him from sin and its outcome.
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:37PM) : wait are they talking about him hanging out with "pimps" or just his language?
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:33PM) : i think he is talking about how the pimps used that precise language.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:21PM) : Connections (Yellow Highlight) more

This reminds me of James’s stories from the past and the large tole it had on his life, and being able to grow up. Like a “normal kid”.

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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 7:23PM) : This shows that he wanted to be wanted by someone, and hearing someone say this touched him.
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 10:56PM) : Summary more

He’s saying that it’s good he got into church and was in that surrounding long before he knew anything about carnal activities.

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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:00AM) : Question more

When she asked who’s little boy he was, why did he say “why yours”.

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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 1:57PM) : James said why yours because James thought the pastor was nice
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 1:58PM) : This sentence shows how much James liked that pastor
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:57AM) : looks like he fell in love so quick
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 10:32PM) : when the pastor asked “Whose little boy are you?” , why did he say “Why, yours.” when he has both a mom and step dad?
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Oct 28
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 28 2020 12:52PM) : . more

He probably felt comforted by her or thought she was nice

The summer wore on, and things got worse. I be-came more guilty and more frightened, and kept all this bottled up inside me, and naturally, inescapably, one night, when this woman had finished preaching, everything came roaring, screaming, crying out, and I fell to the ground before the altar. It was the strangest sensation I have ever had in my life-up to that time, or since. I had not known that it was going to happen, or that it could happen. One moment I was on my feet, singing and clapping and, at the same time, working out in my head the plot of a play I was working on then; the next moment, with no transition, no sensation of falling, I was on my back, with the lights beating down into my face and all the vertical saints above me. I did not know what I was doing down so low, or how I had got there. And the anguish that filled me cannot be described. It moved in me like one of those floods that devastate counties, tearing everything down, tearing children from their parents and love~ from each other, and making everything an unrecognizable waste. All I really remember is the pain, the unspeakable pain; it was as though I were yelling up to Heaven and Heaven would not hear me. And if Heaven would not hear me, if love could not descend from Heaven-to wash me, to make me clean-then utter disaster was my portion. Yes, it does indeed mean something-something unspeakable-to be born, in a white country, an Anglo-Teutonic, antisexual country, black. You very soon, without knowing it, give up all hope of communion. Black people, mainly, look down or look up but do not look at each other, not at you, and white people, mainly, look away. And the universe is simply a sounding drum; there is no way, no way whatever, so it seemed then and has sometimes seemed since, to get through a life, to love your wife and children, or your friends, or your mother and father, or to be loved. The universe, which is not merely the stars and the moon and the planets, flowers, grass, and trees, but other people, has evolved no terms for your existence, has made no room for you, and if love will not swing wide the gates, no other power will or can. And if one desp~as who has not ?–of human love, God’s love alone is left. But God~ I felt. this even then, so long ago, on that tremendous floor, unwillingly-is white. And if His love was so great, and if He loved all His children, why were we, the blacks, cast down so far? Why? In spite of all I said thereafter, I found no answer on the floor-not that answer, anyway-and I was on the floor all night. Over me, to bring me “through”, the saints sang and rejoiced and prayed. And in the morning, when they raised me, they told me that I was “saved”.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:49PM) : I think that religion is one of the only things that keeps him going because without the hope of being saved and having a good after life there is no point to living this life in pain.
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Oct 27
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 27 2020 1:12PM) : I agree I think religion is very important to him
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:34PM) : religion is also very important to him and It seems to help him in all sorts of ways and can be almost like an escape.
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:16AM) : Baldwin is saying if we were all gods children why do blacks have to cast so far away meaning why do black have to go through all these awful things if we were gods children
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:34PM) : religion for him seems to be his escape from reality
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 10:59AM) : i've seen a lot of people thing like this, but when their problems don't seem to disappear, they blame the world or others
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:39AM) : Baldwin took comfort in religion
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 1:12PM) : He is keeping a secret about what he was doing that summer, I think.
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:38PM) : I think he is talking about his sexuality
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 7:28PM) : I understand what He's feeling because sometimes you don't want to express how your feeling and when all of that is being held inside no more room for more everything comes falling out.
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:36PM) : i think he was talking about his sexuality because of the religion frowning upon same sex love.
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Oct 29
Karim M Karim M (Oct 29 2020 10:13AM) : hes getting accused for a lot of things right now and the more he gets guily and doing thigs the more he gets nervous and scared
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 10:05PM) : I think James is talking about feeling guilty because of his sexuality. Since same sex love was frowned upon by his religion.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:04AM) : Question more

What pain is he talking about and why is Heaven not hearing him?

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:26PM) : i think he suffering
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 11:07PM) : I think he got in an adrenalin rush
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:15AM) : Little boy more

When she says who’s “little boy” are you it’s a negative concept because I think little boys refer to the henchmen of the pimps and racketeers back then, but when Baldwin says i’m yours That means i’m a little boy of a pastor or god meaning i’m a worker or henchmen of a pastor, or god.

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Oct 27
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 27 2020 12:31PM) : summary more

i think that he just wants to have hope in god but he is starting to jus thave disbelief beacause it seems as though god is not listening to him

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:45PM) : he is ubset that heaven would not hear him
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:21PM) : Baldwin felt something was different when he tried to get in contact with God. more

I think he felt like if he was not being heard by God. He felt like if this pain wasn’t able to be heard in Heaven.

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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:12AM) : I agree, I think this later lead into Baldwin’s doubt of his religion.
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:38PM) : says that even god has a bit of white in him.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:25PM) : Question. I have the same question as James. more

Why? Why did things have to be this way for the world to work? Why are things moving in this direction? Why do African Americans have to suffer?

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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 11:49PM) : Thought more

James is really questioning God right now which I think will lead to him leaving the church

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Oct 28
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 28 2020 8:33AM) : i agree
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Oct 28
iyanna R iyanna R (Oct 28 2020 12:55PM) : . more

Is he starting to question god?

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Nov 1
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 01 2020 10:32PM) : I think he was starting to question god because he mentioned more

“if he loved all his children, why were we, the blacks, cast down so far”.

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Nov 2
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 02 2020 11:49AM) : yeah that makes a lot of sense more

I agree with this because there is good evidence as to why they may question god.

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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 10:51PM) : I think he was questioning god's love for him. he didn't understand why his life was so unfair if god loved him.
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Well, indeed I was, in a way, for I was utterly drained and exhausted, and released, for the first time, from all my guilty torment. I was aware then only of my relief. For many years, I could not ask myself why human relief had to be achieved in a fashion at once so pagan and so desperate-in a fashion at once so unspeakably old and so unutterably new. And by the time I was able to ask myself this question, I was also able to see that the principles governing the rites and customs of the churches in which I grew up did not differ from the principles governing the rites and customs of other churches, white. The principles were Blindness, Loneliness, and Terror, the first principle necessarily and actively cultivated in order to deny the two others. I would love to believe that the principles were Faith, Hope, and Charity, but this is clearly not so for most Christians, or for what we call the Christian world.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:52PM) : I know that god is hope for these people but can't they see that way the church expects them to live is horrible?
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 11:10PM) : I agree like his trying so hard to not question his religion but then he like no it nothing.
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:47PM) : why does the church make them do something's that are terrible?
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:27PM) : I feel like Baldwin is finding it difficult to not question his religion. more

It is pursue that Religion is always correct but in Baldwins case he didn’t feel like religion was for him.

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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:43PM) : I agree.
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:35PM) : he feels free/relieved
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 12:41AM) : Religion wasn’t always a safe haven, or safe place to express yourself in a Christian dominated place
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Nov 2
Kenneth P Kenneth P (Nov 02 2020 11:52AM) : I agree more

I agree because the way Baldwin described it a lot of colored people were having issues when it came to going to church.

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Nov 2
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Nov 02 2020 9:46AM) : To them, they trust and believe in god a lot. They admire him a whole awful lot.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:28PM) : I'm glad he finally felt a sensation of relief/being released. He got a chance to forget.
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 11:53PM) : Me too
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Oct 27
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 27 2020 1:10PM) : summary more

he got to feel free from all his guilty torment

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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:42PM) : James feels relieved
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 7:30PM) : He's saying that after letting it all out he feels relieved like there is no more weight on his shoulder.
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 9:47PM) : James felt like he was free from all feelings of guilt he has had in the past. more

“guilty torment”.

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:46PM) : i dont get what the principles are
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:00PM) : I think he means that principles he was taught was no different from the whites' bible principles, he thought the bible was biased.
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 1:14PM) : What is a principle?
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:06AM) : Question more

What type of principles are these?

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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:41PM) : I think these principles were for christians because of what is said on the sentence after this.
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I was saved. But at the same time, out of a deep, adolescent cunning I do not pretend to understand, I realized immediately that I could not remain in the church merely as another worshipper. I would have to give myself something to do, in order not to be too bored and find myself among all the wretched unsaved of the Avenue. And I don’t doubt that I also intended to best my father on his own ground. Anyway, very shortly after I joined the church, I became a preacher – a Young Minister-and I remained in the pulpit for more than three years. My youth quickly made me a much bigger drawing· card than my father. I pushed this advantage ruthlessly, for it was the most effective means I had found of breaking his hold over me. That was the most frightening time of my life, and quite the most dishonest, and the resulting hysteria lent great pas&on to my sermons-for a while. I relished the attention and the relative immunity from punishment that my new status gave me, and I relished, above all, the sudden right to privacy. It had to be recognized, after all, that I was still a schoolboy, with my schoolwork to do, and I was also expected to prepare at least one sermon a week. During what we may call my heyday, I preached much more often than that. This meant that there were hours and even whole days when I could not be interrupted-not even by my father. I had immobilized him. It took rather more time for me to realize that I had also immobilized myself, and had escaped from nothing whatever.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:54PM) : Why would he stay with the church if he had already been saved?
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:44PM) : James wants to save others
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:48PM) : why do Catholics/Christians devote their lives to going to church even if it hurts them like in his case?
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:11AM) : I think because it gives them sense of purpose in life or because it gives them hope and promise.
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:36PM) : he stays at the church was for his family
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 3:58AM) : Baldwin had drowned himself of work.
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:18PM) : who are the wretched and unsaved of the avenue, and why are they called that?
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 11:54PM) : I think the wretched and unsaved In his eyes are the people who sell their body’s or don’t go to school or church
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:13PM) : I think what motivated him to stay at the church was that if he became a better preacher compared to his dad, he would get freedom and his dad wont always watch over his back.
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Nov 10
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 10 2020 7:33PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:43PM) : he is competing in a way with his father.
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Oct 29
Karim M Karim M (Oct 29 2020 10:14AM) : i agree but i dont think you worded it right
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:33PM) : Question. Did he stay with the church to honor his life changing moment? Did he stay with the church to help others, that may suffer the same issues he once did? Or Did he stay because he believed he needed it. He needed to have the church, the worship?
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Oct 27

I imagine that it could be very moving to witness a child preacher, speaking wisdom beyond his years.

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Oct 27
benny v benny v (Oct 27 2020 1:14PM) : Agreeing more

I also imagine it could be very moving, but you also learn some things from it I believe thats what makes a person wise or from his own experiences due to his life.

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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:32PM) : Opinion: I find it amazing that he became a preacher. more

When I first read this I thought it was interesting that he would become a preacher at a very young age.

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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:09AM) : Opinion more

I think that he liked that he was now bigger than his father.

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:48PM) : i think instead of being on his dad grands he made his own
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:16AM) : James Bladwin is saying [Edited] more

Baldwin is saying if we were all gods children why do blacks have to cast so far away meaning why do black have to go through all these awful things if we were gods children

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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:45PM) : James wants to be free
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Nov 11
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 11 2020 9:44PM) : I think James is slowly starting to find a path of his own. more

“breaking his hold over me”.

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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 1:16PM) : He is relishing being a Minister of the Church and the new life it comes with.
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Oct 27
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 27 2020 1:20PM) : question more

what is a sermon? why does he have to do it every week?

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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:24PM) : Did he ever feel like it was too much for him and unmotivated to continue?
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The church was very exciting. It took a long time for me to disengage myself from this excitement, and on the blindest, most visceral level, I never really have, and never will. There is no music like that music, no drama like the drama of the saints rejoicing, the sinners moaning, the tambourines racing, and all those voices coming together and crying holy unto the Lord. There is still, for me, no pathos quite like the pathos of those multi-coloured, worn, somehow triumphant and transfigured faces, speaking from the depths of a visible, tangible, continuing despair of the goodness of the Lord. I have never seen anything to equal the fire and excitement that sometimes, without warning, fill a church, causing the church, as Leadbelly and so many others have testified, to “rock”. Nothing that has happened to me since equals the power and the glory that I sometimes felt when, in the middle of a sermon, I knew that I was somehow, by some miracle, really carrying, as they said, ”the Word”-when the church and I were one. Their pain and their joy were mine, and mine were theirs—they surrendered their pain and joy to me, I surrendered mine to them-and their cries of “Amen ! ” and “Hallelujah!” and “Yes, Lord ! ” and “Praise His name !” and “Preach it, brother!” sustained and whipped on my solos until we all became equal, wringing wet, singing and dan~­ ing, in anguish and rejoicing, at the foot of the altar. It was, for a long time, in spite of-or, not inconceivably, because of-the shabbiness of my motives, my only sustenance, my meat and drink. I rushed home from school, to the church, to the altar, to be alone there, to commune with Jesus, my dearest Friend, who would never fail me, who knew all the secrets of my heart. Perhaps He did, but I didn’t, and the bargain we struck, actually, down there at the foot of the cross, was that He would never let me find out.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 6:57PM) : I think that Baldwin has mixed feelings about Christianity based on the way that he talks about it.
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:44PM) : I agree.
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:32PM) : he talks about his religion in such a way that makes me think he's not very comfortable in the environment its created for him.
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Jan 28
Kiran C Kiran C (Jan 28 2021 2:25PM) : I agree. A Pentacostal evangelical church in the 1930's and 40's would not have been a hospitable environment for a young, gay, free-thinker.
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 11:16PM) : I think he's scared to question his faith because each time he questions it he always says I been saved.
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:17AM) : The author is saying that he became an preacher and I think he chose this job because he wanted to excel at something and he was bored, But another reason is maybe James wanted to be distracted from all the gang related issues [Edited]
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:34PM) : I think that it is difficult for Baldwin to make a choice of if he stays or leaves. more

Baldwin had experience wonderful things at the church but at the same time there were certain thing which may have caused him to want to leave.

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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:36PM) : its hard for him to leave but he knows its best for him
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:00AM) : I think Baldwin feels connected to the church and it’s his second home.
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:25PM) : he found the church very exciting, and found it hard to disengage himself from it. he really enjoyed the church if it was hard for him to leave.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:41PM) : The authors main point is nothing could compare to the rejoicing of the church.
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:44PM) : he tells the positive side of being in the church.
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 11:54PM) : Baldwin really enjoyed being at church
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 1:19PM) : He is saying that the Church is incomparable.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:10AM) : Opinion more

I think he really enjoyed being a preacher at the Church.

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:50PM) : i think that gave him joy
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:25PM) : what does Pathos mean? what or who is it?
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:48PM) : James enjoyed being in the church
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Nov 10
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 10 2020 7:32PM) : I think James is giving a small example of what it may feel like to attend church.
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 3:08PM) : James really loved jesus and was his best friend to him.
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He failed His bargain. He was a much better Man than I took Him for. It happened, as things do, imperceptibly, in many ways at onc.e. I date it–the slow crumbling of my faith, the pulverization of my fortress–from the time, about a year after I had begun to preach, when I began to read again. I justified this desire by the fact that I was still in school, and I began, fatally, with Dostoevski. By this time, I was in a high school that was predominantly Jewish. This meant that I was surrounded by people who were, by definition, beyond any hope of salvation, who laughed at the tracts and leaflets I brought to school, and who pointed out that the Gospels had been written long after the death of Christ. This might not have been so distressing if it had not forced me to read the tracts and leaflets myself, for they were indeed, unless one believed their message already, impossible to believe. I remember feeling dimly that there was a kind of blackmail in it. People, I felt, ought to love the Lord because they loved Him, and not because they were afraid of going to Hell. I was forced, reluctantly, to realize that the Bible itself had been written by men, and translated by men out of languages I could not read, and I was already, without quite admitting it to myself, terribly involved with the effort of putting words on paper. Of course, I had the rebuttal ready: These men had all been operating under divine inspiration. Had they? All of them? And I also knew by now, alas, far more about divine inspiration than I dared admit, for I knew how I worked myself up into my own visions, and how frequently–indeed, incessantly–the visions God granted to me differed from the visions He granted to my father. I did not understand the dreams I had at night, but I knew that they were not holy. For that matter, I knew that my waking hours were far from holy. I spent most of my time in a state of repentance for things I had vividly desired to do but had not done. The fact that I was dealing with Jews brought the whole question of colour, which I had been desperately avoiding, into the terrified centre of my mind. I realized that the Bible had been written by white men. I knew that, according to many Christians, I was a descendant of Ham, who had been cursed, and that I was therefore predestined to be a slave. This had nothing to do with anything I was, or contained, or could become; my fate had been sealed forever, from the beginning of time. And it seemed, indeed, when one looked out over Christendom, that this was what Christendom effectively believed. It was c.ertainly the way it behaved. I remembered the Italian priests and bishops blessing Italian boys who were on their way to Ethiopia.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 7:01PM) : This paragraph shows the realization that the Bible was written white men. I think he realizes, with characters like Ham, that the Bible is a tool to hold black people down.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:44PM) : I defiantly agree with you Leo
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:49PM) : i agree with you tbh
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:37PM) : i agree
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Oct 28
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 28 2020 8:30AM) : i agree
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:04AM) : Baldwin realizes that the Bible writes his destiny and he feels as if there’s no escaping it.
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Oct 28
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 28 2020 12:50PM) : Baldwin notices the Bible and that is writes his destiny
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 3:05PM) : James is a bit confused on what to do. At the same time he is doing so much stuff. Such as school, making friends, letting his dad accept him etc.
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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:54AM) : Question more

Who failed their bargain? If he’s talking about Jesus then how did he fail His bargain?

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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:30PM) : I'm wondering the same thing
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:38PM) : he is ready to disengage because he knows the bible is just another way white people try to be above black people
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Oct 28
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 28 2020 8:31AM) : i agree and i think that that is one of the reasons why he praised god but he could not believe in god [Edited]
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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 1:20PM) : I think he is talking about God or Jesus.
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:26PM) : what does he mean by slow crumbling of his faith? does he mean that his faith was starting to disappear?
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:09AM) : Baldwin most likely meant he became less religious or had doubts.
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Nov 10
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 10 2020 3:47PM) : I think James Baldwin was starting to have doubts when it came to his religious beliefs. [Edited]
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:18AM) : There something that Baldwin feels that he can't describe, when he said Jesus, my dearest friend,who would never fail me knew all the secrets of my heart perhaps he did, but I didn't. This show that Baldwin is felling something that he can't describe
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Oct 27
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 27 2020 1:12PM) : I agree
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:52PM) : he was forced to read the tracts and leaflets
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:35PM) : why did he bring his tracts and leaflets if it was impossible to believe? [Edited]
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Oct 27
SANIYA L SANIYA L (Oct 27 2020 8:20PM) : People where telling him that it was basically impossible to believe because it was written long after what happened. He felt like he saw certain things that didn't sound right (good) like it was made to trick people
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Oct 28
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 28 2020 12:50PM) : I agree
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 11:06AM) : This is something many people live by
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:41PM) : Baldwin had also come to realization that The Bible was written and translated. more

He was to find out that the bible was made by White Men. I think that he started to feel different after he found this out.

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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 11:56PM) : I think this was kind of a turning point for him
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 11:03AM) : This is interesting.
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:44PM) : Connection. There was a connection between his life and his fathers life. How God granted different visions for the both of them.
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 9:58PM) : i agree with you
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:50PM) : The bible was racist
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 11:07AM) : it will be good to know who wrote the bible, not just to know that it was written by man
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Again, the Jewish boys in high school were troubling because I could find no point of connection between them and the Jewish pawnbrokers and landlords and grocery-store owners in Harlem. I knew that these people were Jews-God knows I was told it often enough-but I thought of them only as white. Jews, as such, until I got to high school, were all incarcerated ·in the Old Testament, and their names were Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Job, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was bewildering to find them so many miles and centuries out of Egypt, and ·so far from the fiery furnace. My best friend in high school was a Jew. He came to our house once, and afterwards my father asked, as he asked about everyone, “Is he a Christian?”-by which he meant “Is he saved?” I really do not know whether my answer came out of innocence or venom, but I said coldly, “No. He’s Jewish.” My father slammed me across the face with his great palm, and in that moment everything flooded back-all the hatred and all the fear, and the depth of a merciless resolve to kill my father rather than allow my father to kill me–and I knew that all those sermons and tears and all that repeQ.tance and rejoicing had changed nothing. I wondered if I was expected to be glad that a friend of mine, or anyone, was to be tormented forever in Hell, and I also thought, suddenly, of the Jews in another Christian nation, Germany. They were not so far from the fiery furnace after all, and my best friend might have been one of them. I told my father, “He’s a better Christian than you are,” and walked out of the house. The battle between us was in the open, but that was all right; it was almost a relief. A more deadly struggle had begun.

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Oct 25
Leo P Leo P (Oct 25 2020 7:03PM) : This is a major problem with religion. It teaches people to pity those is another religion and try to force our beliefs onto them.
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:31PM) : I agree with you Leo [Edited]
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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 7:08PM) : I notice in this society Whether your religions or not it's always going to be hatred more

Why is their hatred why can’t everyone be treated equally and fairly?

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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:54PM) : not everyone has equail rights and thats bad
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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:08AM) : I think hatred stems from fear of being in the position some people put others in.
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Oct 26
SARA P SARA P (Oct 26 2020 10:30PM) : this shows how much hatred has been put into religion and how its used for forcing people to do things and to make up of bad things people have done.
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Oct 27
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 27 2020 11:21AM) : I believe Paragraph 16 relates to paragraph 19 because maybe the blindness and terror was the bible saying black people were the descendants of Ham and predestined to be slaves.
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Oct 27
Nico V Nico V (Oct 27 2020 11:38PM) : he was struggling to connect with the Jewish boys
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:45PM) : I felt like this was a little extreme. more

When I first read this I felt like some of the reactions were too much. But it just shows what environment Baldwin was put through.

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Oct 28
Jaylene G Jaylene G (Oct 28 2020 4:07AM) : I think Baldwin leaves home Or his relationship with his father gets worse after his father slapped him for being friends with a Jewish person
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Oct 27
kailyn m kailyn m (Oct 27 2020 9:55PM) : he didnt know how to cnnect with the jewish boys in school
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 1:46PM) : I agree, so probably that's what was troubling james in school.
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Oct 27
ALEXANDER C ALEXANDER C (Oct 27 2020 11:47PM) : couldn't connect with the jewish people in harlem probably because of religion beliefs.
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Nov 10
ANGELINA T ANGELINA T (Nov 10 2020 3:44PM) : James Baldwin had a difficulty connecting with the Jewish people in Harlem more

because of the differences in their religious beliefs.

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Oct 27
SANIYA L SANIYA L (Oct 27 2020 8:26PM) : He thought of jews as white and he knew they would appear in the bible with certain type of names and was shocked when he saw them far from egypt
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Oct 27
Mbathio M Mbathio M (Oct 27 2020 11:57PM) : He disregarded them and one of their traits and completely focused on their race. Sounds familiar [Edited]
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Oct 28
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 28 2020 12:56PM) : They think that being Christian means that your saved?
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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 1:58PM) : being Christian to them meant to be saved?
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 9:56PM) : ig so🤷🏿‍♀️
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Jan 29
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 29 2021 9:36AM) : What happend if he wasn’t Christian and he wasn’t saved will they still be okay with that
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Oct 26
Drew H Drew H (Oct 26 2020 9:48PM) : After all the hard work James went through to get better and improve his lifestyle/emotions. His father ruined it for him. James is back to the way he once was. The way he hated and wanted to be relieved from.
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 9:42PM) : i kind of think his dad was trying to help him in his own way
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Oct 28
alyssa g alyssa g (Oct 28 2020 11:11AM) : i agree, but sometimes they get the wrong idea and think that this violance is soemthing you have to have and with this type of violance you get things resolved. However the right type of fighting power is not really being taught, which is the mind
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Oct 27
DOUGLAS M DOUGLAS M (Oct 27 2020 2:02PM) : summary more
james is really mad and he got back memories of hatred and fear. he doesnt want to just le this dad be in charge of him. he wants to be in charge of himself and not let anyone rule him
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Oct 27
hai cheng l hai cheng l (Oct 27 2020 2:52PM) : James still hated his father
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Oct 27
NICOLLE J NICOLLE J (Oct 27 2020 8:29PM) : James had worked hard to become the expectation of his father, a Christian, and when things are finally going smoothly everything comes back after that one slam across the face, because his father is close minded and wont accept it.
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Oct 27
Kaimea Z Kaimea Z (Oct 27 2020 11:39PM) : why did him saying his friend wasn't a Christian but Jewish make his dad slap him?
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Oct 27
HEATHER F HEATHER F (Oct 27 2020 11:51PM) : I believe it had to do with his mindset more

I believe that his dad was put into the mindset that their specific religion that they follow is the correct one.

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Oct 28
Lena F Lena F (Oct 28 2020 1:28PM) : He has always had a bad relationship with his father.
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Oct 28
Isabell Z Isabell Z (Oct 28 2020 3:01PM) : After James answering his dad's question, his dad made James remember the past- more

-After James’s father asking “Is he a Christian” and James replied with “he is Jewish.” James’s dad slapped him. I think it is because the dad was like in the mindset that Christian was the only “right” or “true” religion at the time.

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Oct 26
Ian D Ian D (Oct 26 2020 11:56AM) : Question more

why did he say that to his father if his friend was Jewish and not even a Christian?

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Oct 27
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 27 2020 2:00PM) : probably to see if his dad would accept his friend even though his friend was Jewish
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Oct 29
Karim M Karim M (Oct 29 2020 10:15AM) : james is in a really bad situation right now and its not looking good for him right now

DMU Timestamp: September 03, 2020 08:33

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Oct 25
AMRA B AMRA B (Oct 25 2020 3:55PM) : We should all have a right and a limit in life Why I say that is because in some cases we can and in some cases we can't [Edited]
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 7:40PM) : i agree
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Oct 28
OCEAN D OCEAN D (Oct 28 2020 8:43AM) : I don't understand what you mean do you mean we have a limit Of what we say or do we have a limit of what we do, because if it's what we do I disagree.
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Oct 28
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 28 2020 10:56AM) : I agree with you
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Oct 26
ALEJANDRO R ALEJANDRO R (Oct 26 2020 11:37AM) : whats crazy is some people now are as racist as the people back then. like thats wild
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 7:39PM) : frl then wanna seal sum that we invited and claim it has their own smh🚶🏿‍♀️
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Jan 29
Tasneem O Tasneem O (Jan 29 2021 7:35AM) : I agree
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Oct 26
Luisa P Luisa P (Oct 26 2020 9:20PM) : Why do people always have to criticize other people religion or be mad for someone believing in another belief.
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Oct 27
Alexis K Alexis K (Oct 27 2020 7:37PM) : i think it because their not used to what that person believes in or it's weird to them
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Oct 28
shaliyah f shaliyah f (Oct 28 2020 10:56AM) : Yea I agree
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