It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
James A. BaldwinRead
Every legend, moreover, contains its residuum of truth, and the root function of language is to control the universe by describing it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Legends hold elements of truth, and language serves to shape our understanding of reality.
James A. Baldwin suggests that every legend has a basis in truth, indicating that storytelling often emerges from real experiences or facts. Additionally, he emphasizes the power of language, asserting that it enables us to articulate and thus exert influence over the world around us by framing how we perceive it.
Themes
LegendTruthLanguageControlUniverse
In practice
Example use cases
In a classroom discussion about the power of storytelling in literature, this quote can illustrate the connection between legends and truth.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes βThe white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
James A. BaldwinRead
Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
James A. BaldwinRead
Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
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The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
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The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
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'Who do you think you are?' That's the big one, isn't it? A flourishing life depends on how you answer that.
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