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Racism in Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin
The Questions Baldwin Sets
At first glance, the character Jesse in James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” seems like a reprehensible character. But consider what the title suggests, that we will meet “the Man” in the story, yet a good portion of the narrative is dedicated to an event that happened to Jesse as a young boy. What is Baldwin suggesting about this event in Jesse’s childhood? Is this event crucial in understanding how the boy became the man? What does it have to say about the kind of man Jesse is? After seeing what Jesse went through as a child, does that make us more sympathetic toward him? Is Baldwin suggesting a relationship between Jesse’s childhood experience and Southern racism? If so, what does this relationship suggest about racism? Is Baldwin suggesting that racism is a culturally learned phenomenon, and as such it is something to be pitied in racist people?
The Summary of the Story
The story begins, Jesse, in the bedroom, unable to meet his marital obligations to his wife. Jesse kept thinking about a black girl who is submissive and would do anything he asked her to do. His wife kept urging him to sleep because he could have a stressful day the following day, but he could not hear of it. She says, ‘ go to sleep; you got a hard day tomorrow’. Unaware of the problem depriving her husband of sleep. He was afraid to ask her wife for some favors.
The blacks had become agitated and were protesting. Jesse could foresee that the days to follow were not going to be as peaceful as before. Jesse knew that the days ahead were not going to as calm. Then he recalled something he saw when he was a young boy. When he was eight years old, he witnessed a black man tied up, tortured, and burnt to death. His body was later torn apart by some white men (Cassel, 25). The reason why the black man was treated this way was not clear from the setting. This event never left his memory as he grew into adulthood. Besides, the event shaped his character and attitude in adulthood. In this narrative, Baldwin is suggesting that some events during childhood can get imprinted in person and consequently develop his/her personality. Childhood memories of the lynched black man and the black women he exploited sexually helped him gain an erection and make love to his wife, Grace.
Perpetuating Racism
The author portrays the sexual inferiority of white racist men, as shown when the African man “who steps out of the line” is perceived as a threat to the dominance of white men sexually (Baldwin, 63). His is also shown when Jesse regains his sexual ability and then says to his wife Grace, “I will do you like a nigger…” It also shows the social and economic dominance exercised by white men (Baldwin, 74). Baldwin subtly shows humanity’s animalism in the typical white man as he explores Jesse’s attitudes and how they were established. Jesse’s views, the journey from childhood to adulthood, and memories are full of racial imprints (Cassel, 2017). This is clear from the way he treats the civil rights activist and leader. Form this narrative, Jesse learned racism from his childhood events and continued to perpetuate this racist acts against the blacks as cultural heritage.
Work Cited
- Baldwin, James. Going to meet the man. Royal Blind Society of New South Wales., 1948.
- Burns, Danny. ‘Deepening and scaling participatory research with the poorest and most marginalized.’ European Journal of Operational Research 268.3 (2018): 865-874.
- Cassel, Alexandra. ‘Circulating Emotions in James Baldwin’s Going to Meet the Man and in American Society.’ (2017).
- Stuart, Christian. ‘ESL writers in the Mainstream Classroom: Cultivating a Culture of Success.’ (2018): 20.
