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The Other of Black People in If Beale Street Could Talk

Received: 15 September 2017     Accepted: 28 September 2017     Published: 8 November 2017
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Abstract

If Beale Street Could Talk, a novel composed by James Baldwin, is mainly concerned with issues of the entrenched racial discrimination in American society. It discloses a poignant and cruel fact that black people are regarded as second-class citizens who do not possess equal rights as whites do in the society dominated by white supremacy. The thesis engages on a close scrutiny of black people’s living conditions to expose the deleterious impact of racism leading to their identity crises. It chiefly lays emphasis on three aspects. That is, black people are regarded as “the other” in the fields of law, education, and economy respectively. Through the careful interpretation, the thesis attempts to reveal the racial injustice giving rise to black people’s inferiority. Due to racism, black people are forced to lead a humble life without basic rights as American citizens equal to white people.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 5, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11
Page(s) 77-82
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Other, Black People

References
[1] Norman, Brian. “James Baldwin’s Confrontation with US Imperialism in If Beale Street Could Talk.” In the Contact Zone: Language, Race, Class, and Nation, 32.1(2007): 119-138.
[2] Luo, Hong, Zhang Bingsan. “Reflection on Post-humanitarianism in Baldwin’ s If Beale Street Could Talk.”Journal of Wuhan Textile University, 27.2(2014): 55-58.
[3] Lindsay, Michael M. “Real Gods Require Blood:” the Religious Significance of Death in James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain and if Beale Street could Talk, Morgan State University, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I, 2015, 11, .
[4] Pang, Haonong. The Triple Consciousness Under the Impact of Acculturation: A Study of RichardWright’s Four Novels. Shanghai: Shanghai University Press, 2007, 141, 114.
[5] “The Declaration of Independence.” The Journal of American History, 85. 4(1999): 1455-1457.
[6] Finkenbine, Roy E. Sources of the African-American Past: Primary Sources of American History. New York: Longman, 1997, 108.
[7] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 169.
[8] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 213.
[9] Burks, Mary Fair. “Review: James Baldwin's Protest Novel: If Beale Street Could Talk.” Negro American Literature Forum, 10.3(1976): 83-95.
[10] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 130.
[11] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 223.
[12] Pang, Haonong and Xue Xuanzi. The Origins and Flowering of African Literature. Changchun: Northeast Normal University Press, 2012, 110.
[13] Barksdale, Richardand and Kenneth Kinnamon, eds. Black Writers of America: A Comprehensive Anthology. New York: Prentice Hall, 1997, 58.
[14] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 126.
[15] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 157.
[16] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 46.
[17] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 44.
[18] Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Bantam, 1989, 63.
[19] Berlin, Ira. Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. Cambridge, Masssachusetts: Harvard UP, 1998, 359.
[20] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 45.
[21] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 11.
[22] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 7.
[23] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 43.
[24] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 48
[25] Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York: The Dial Press, 1974, 38.
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  • APA Style

    Zhang Jing. (2017). The Other of Black People in If Beale Street Could Talk. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 5(6), 77-82. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11

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    ACS Style

    Zhang Jing. The Other of Black People in If Beale Street Could Talk. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2017, 5(6), 77-82. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11

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    AMA Style

    Zhang Jing. The Other of Black People in If Beale Street Could Talk. Int J Lit Arts. 2017;5(6):77-82. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11,
      author = {Zhang Jing},
      title = {The Other of Black People in If Beale Street Could Talk},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {5},
      number = {6},
      pages = {77-82},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20170506.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20170506.11},
      abstract = {If Beale Street Could Talk, a novel composed by James Baldwin, is mainly concerned with issues of the entrenched racial discrimination in American society. It discloses a poignant and cruel fact that black people are regarded as second-class citizens who do not possess equal rights as whites do in the society dominated by white supremacy. The thesis engages on a close scrutiny of black people’s living conditions to expose the deleterious impact of racism leading to their identity crises. It chiefly lays emphasis on three aspects. That is, black people are regarded as “the other” in the fields of law, education, and economy respectively. Through the careful interpretation, the thesis attempts to reveal the racial injustice giving rise to black people’s inferiority. Due to racism, black people are forced to lead a humble life without basic rights as American citizens equal to white people.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Department of Foreign Language, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China

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