Paper Summary:

This paper explores the life and works of writer James Baldwin while focusing on the novel "The Fire Next Time" which garnered the author the cover of Time Magazine. Essentially a moralist, Baldwin has continually spoken out about racism as a moral problem. This paper examines the sadness and anger in Baldwin's works which are a result of his growing up poor in Harlem of the 1920s. This paper also probes into the author's views on Christianity, racism and the Nation of Islam.

From the Paper:

"Baldwin is more than an angry writer, angry with segregation and the track record of whites versus blacks. He is just as angry at the black Christian churches, and at the Islamic movement, and feels that, somehow, in order to achieve racial harmony these two opposite factions have to find a way to compromise. He also does not shy away from the rationale that, in order to BE someone, the black man has to assume some sort of power. However, this quest for this power indicated to some that Baldwin had some sort of hidden agenda, a revolutionary one that would turn the title into reality."

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