How do you feel Baldwin’s readings of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and A Tale of Two Cities shaped his views?
At the time that he read both these books, Baldwin admitted he had no clue what the books were about, even though he read and re-read them. I may be over simplifying Baldwin’s view, but I think his reading of these books helped him see that a revolution was needed and that it was possible for change to occur.
I think that Baldwin’s reading of A Tale of Two Cities shaped his decision to live in Paris, where he felt more immune to the racism that he encountered in America. A Tale of Two Cities portrayed Paris as the chaotic city during the French Revolution while London was the safe haven, and Baldwin applied this metaphor to his own life in choosing to flee to Paris. Regarding Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the path for Baldwin’s work was paved by the groundwork of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel. While probably not all of the themes in her book would be agreed upon by Baldwin, Stowe represented the reprehensibility of slavery and exposed a bit of the generational effect it had on families. Baldwin built off of this elucidation and further exposed the long-term effects on black American culture.
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James Baldwin as he matured, didn’t like " Uncle Tom’s Cabin". Here a black person is always saving a white person at their own expense, even until brutal rejection/punishment to death. Forgiving the person doing him harm, while doing the right thing with integrity and genuine care. Thus, Uncle Tom’s Cabin impacted his relationship with many white Americans. He was misunderstood or threatened by those who didn’t understand his intellect, speech and literary skill/genius, including some black Americans. In the 50s/60s a black person could be called an “Uncle Tom” trying to achieve or attain excellence or education that was perceived as white privileged. Thus trying to be white in a Black body. The Tale of Two cities probably initially wanted him to fight and stand against racism and discrimination. However he was not well received at times for his sexual orientation. Thus, he needed a safe place like in the book where he could be his true self; Paris and parts of Europe. Revert to what he does best; writing and presenting fact/views of Blacks in a freer and less judgmental society.