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
Sentimentality, the ostentatious parading of excessive and spurious emotion, is the mark of dishonesty...the wet eyes of the sentimentalist betray his aversion to experience, his fear of life, his arid heart; and it is always, therefore, the signal of secret and violent humanity, the mark of cruelty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Sentimentality often hides true emotions and can be a sign of dishonesty.
James A. Baldwin's quote suggests that excessive sentimentality is not a true expression of emotion but rather a facade for deeper, often darker feelings. The wet eyes of a sentimentalist reflect more about their inability to confront reality and their deep-seated fears, indicating that what lies beneath this emotional display can be cruelty rather than genuine compassion.
Themes
SentimentalityEmotionDishonestyFearExperience
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the authenticity of emotions in literature.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes →The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
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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.
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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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