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
I want to be an honest man and a good writer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the desire for personal integrity and the aspiration to communicate thoughtfully through writing.
In this quote, James A. Baldwin emphasizes the importance of honesty in both character and art. He suggests that to be a good writer, one must possess a commitment to truthfulness, which not only guides ethical conduct but also enriches the authenticity and impact of one's writing. This reflects a deep understanding that artistry and morality are intertwined, and that a writerβs responsibility extends beyond mere creativity to include the integrity of their expression.
Themes
HonestyWritingIntegrityTruthArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech at a writer's conference, one might say, 'As James A. Baldwin once expressed, I want to be an honest man and a good writer.'
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.
James A. BaldwinRead
The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
James A. BaldwinRead
The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
James A. BaldwinRead
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You are who you are at this moment because of everything that's ever happened to you, everything that you carried forward for yourself.
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Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you.
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Of the few innocent pleasures left to men past middle life, the jamming of common sense down the throats of fools is perhaps the keenest.
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We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power.
Bertrand RussellRead