"Hatred"

In the story “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he mentions his experiences with his father along with the American culture. He mainly focuses on hatred throughout the story, which come together with society and his relationship with his father.

Baldwin watches his father die of bitterness, and watches society grow bitter along side. Through the novel Baldwin gets intimidated with his father when he says that his friends are in league with the devil and intend to rob their family or everything they owned. Baldwin then becomes more distance to his father, due to the fact that he criticized his friends before knowing them. This relates to criticism between blacks and whites. For example; when Baldwin goes to a diner and the waitress tells him “We don’t serve blacks.”

Baldwin’s experiences throughout his life was always hatred and criticism towards his father and between blacks and whites. Having his father beside him all his life made him grow bitter about life and also seeing society through his father point of view. Once his father dies, Baldwin see society through his own point of view and not through the meaning his father left him.

Taking Criticism

In the book “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris, the author talks about his situation of attending school again at a new place and learning a new language, but also have to deal with a teacher who harshly criticize his French. David gives examples that any person reading this book will relate to.

I can relate to the author for the same reason that I once had a teacher that constantly criticized me. For example, when the teacher tells him, “Were you always this palicmkrexis?” “Even a fluscrzsa tiawelmun knows that a typewriter is feminine.” When reading this, I remembered when my teacher once put me down for not being able to read well. With her criticism, I was determined to get better and show her I was capable to accomplish anything. Just the way David proves his teacher by learning the language and understanding the disapprovals the teacher will tell him.

I belief the message of this book is to not let people bring you down. There will always be people who would intimidate you but you have to be able to take the negatively and turn it positive, to help you on the long run.

change

A change in our world can lead us to new leaders, experiences and opportunities. Waking up this morning to hear that Barack Obama is our new president was a big change to our country. Not only is he the first African American to stand as our leader but he would be a new president that will make new transformation to our society and our future. As he mentioned once, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek".

2008 is here and our history has changed dramatically. I voted for Barack Obama so we the people could make a difference in this country. We have the freedom and rights to have any leader we want, but why is it that throughout the past years we have been stuck with president's that disgraced our voices and has mind of his own. We needed a change, and our change is here.