Stranger in the Village

Julio describes James Baldwin’s attitude toward this village as anthropological. I find not only his attitude to the village, but his explanation for his own rage to be so. By comparing the first impressions of black and white populations upon first encountering the other, he tries to remain fair. The section where he talks about language, and its effect on attitudes, seemed especially trying for a kind of scientific method argument. We call hell black as night, we have ‘black moods’ and ‘black thoughts’, leading to the impression that “black men remain… beyond the disciplines of salvation” (Baldwin 163). Since “the function of language is to control the universe by describing it” (163), it is very hard to argue with language as evidence. Its roots and hidden meanings disappear into the back corners of our minds. We punish ourselves for not thinking before we speak. Writer like Orwell admonish us for not choosing our words more precisely to match and refine our meaning. Baldwin is careful and exact when controlling and describing his universe through noun heavy, tightly constructed sentences.