But he had the tendency of all wildly disorganised people to suppose that the lives of others were tamer and less sensual and more cerebral than his own.
James Baldwin
Self-perception, Chaos, Personal disorganization, Human nature, Sensuality, Misunderstanding
James Baldwin’s Quotes On Topics
Emotional Turmoil | Social Impact | Individual Action | Personal Fulfillment | Collective Behavior | Life Crisis | Urban Poverty | Obsession | Racial Progress | Reevaluation | Family Dynamics | Anger Management | Tranquility | Nostalgia | Overcoming Fear | History Reflection | Risk And Giving | Social Blame | Creative Process | Spiritual Conflict | More
More James Baldwin Quotes
“The establishment of democracy on the American continent was scarcely as radical a break with the past as was the necessity, which Americans faced, of broadening this concept to include black men.” James Baldwin
American History, Democracy, Inclusivity, Racial Equality, Societal Progress
James Baldwin American History, Democracy, Inclusivity, Racial Equality, Societal Progress“Try to imagine how you would feel if you woke up one morning to find the sun shining and all the stars aflame. You would be frightened because it is out of the order of nature. Any upheaval in the universe is terrifying because it so profoundly attacks one’s sense of one’s own reality. Well, the black man has functioned in the white man’s world as a fixed star, as an immovable pillar: and as he moves out of his place, heaven and earth are shaken to their foundation.” James Baldwin
Racial Inequality, Societal Change, Fear, Systemic Racism, Human Reality, Upheaval
James Baldwin Racial Inequality, Societal Change, Fear, Systemic Racism, Human Reality, Upheaval“Observing that, from this height, the city which had been so dark as he walked through it seemed to be on fire.” James Baldwin
Urban life, Cityscape, Visual imagery, Metaphor, Observation, Transformation
James Baldwin Urban life, Cityscape, Visual imagery, Metaphor, Observation, Transformation“For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.” James Baldwin
Suffering and Joy, Human Experience, Storytelling, Triumph, Darkness and Light
James Baldwin Suffering and Joy, Human Experience, Storytelling, Triumph, Darkness and Light“In America, though, life seems to move faster than anywhere else on the globe and each generation is promised more than it will get: which creates, in each generation, a furious, bewildered rage, the rage of people who cannot find solid ground beneath their feet.” James Baldwin
Generational Struggles, American Dream, Disillusionment, Social Expectations, Personal Struggles
James Baldwin Generational Struggles, American Dream, Disillusionment, Social Expectations, Personal Struggles“The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced him.” James Baldwin
Writer's Responsibility, Experience Excavation, Self-Reflection, Cultural Identity, Personal History, Human Connection
James Baldwin Writer's Responsibility, Experience Excavation, Self-Reflection, Cultural Identity, Personal History, Human Connection“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” James Baldwin
Race, Consciousness, Anger, Inequality, Experience
James Baldwin Race, Consciousness, Anger, Inequality, Experience“There are few things more dreadful than dealing with a man who knows he is going under, in his own eyes, and in the eyes of others. Nothing can help that man. What is left of that man flees from what is left of human attention.” James Baldwin
Despair, Humanity, Struggle, Self-Perception, Isolation, Reflection
James Baldwin Despair, Humanity, Struggle, Self-Perception, Isolation, Reflection“There is often something beautiful, there is always something awful, in the spectacle of a person who has lost one of his faculties, a faculty he never questioned until it was gone, and who struggles to recover it. Yet people remain people, on crutches or indeed on deathbeds...” James Baldwin
Loss, Struggle, Recovery, Resilience, Humanity
James Baldwin Loss, Struggle, Recovery, Resilience, Humanity“These captive men are the hidden price for a hidden lie: the righteous must be able to locate the damned.” James Baldwin
Social justice, Hidden truths, Moral responsibility, Injustice, Personal cost, Redemption
James Baldwin Social justice, Hidden truths, Moral responsibility, Injustice, Personal cost, Redemption“The questions which one asks oneself begin, at least, to illuminate the world, and become one’s key to the experience of others.” James Baldwin
Questions, Introspection, Illumination, Experience, Understanding
James Baldwin Questions, Introspection, Illumination, Experience, Understanding“Artists are here to disturb the peace.” James Baldwin
Art, Disruption, Society, Change, Rebellion, Creativity
James Baldwin Art, Disruption, Society, Change, Rebellion, Creativity“If we do not now dare everything, the fulfillment of that prophecy, re-created from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: God gave Noah the rainbow sign. No more water, fire next time.” James Baldwin
Courage, Prophecy, Change, Resistance, Faith, Revolution
James Baldwin Courage, Prophecy, Change, Resistance, Faith, Revolution“Oedipus did not remember the thongs that bound his feet; nevertheless the marks they left testified to that doom toward which his feet were leading him. The man does not remember the hand that struck him, the darkness that frightened him, as a child; nevertheless, the hand and the darkness remain with him, indivisible from himself forever, part of the passion that drives him wherever he thinks to take flight.” James Baldwin
Fate, Memory, Childhood Trauma, Personal History, Self-Identity
James Baldwin Fate, Memory, Childhood Trauma, Personal History, Self-Identity“We take our shape within and against that cage of reality bequeathed us at our birth.” James Baldwin
Identity Formation, Societal Constraints, Personal Growth, Reality, Human Condition
James Baldwin Identity Formation, Societal Constraints, Personal Growth, Reality, Human Condition“Uncle Tom’s Cabin, then, is activated by what might be called a theological terror, the terror of damnation; and the spirit that breathes in this book, hot, self-righteous, fearful, is not different from that spirit of medieval times which sought to exorcize evil by burning witches; and is not different from that terror which activates a lynch mob.” James Baldwin
Theological Terror, Historical Fear, Racism, Oppression, Social Justice
James Baldwin Theological Terror, Historical Fear, Racism, Oppression, Social Justice“Ages ago, in another city, on another bus, I sat so at the windows, looking outward, inventing for each flying face which trapped my brief attention some life, some destiny, in which I played a part. I was looking for some whisper, or promise, of my possible salvation. But it seemed to me that morning that my ancient self had been dreaming the most dangerous dream of all.” James Baldwin
Dreams, Personal Salvation, Dangerous Thoughts, Observation, Reflection, Searching Souls
James Baldwin Dreams, Personal Salvation, Dangerous Thoughts, Observation, Reflection, Searching Souls“If I am not what you say I am, then you are not who you think you are.” James Baldwin
Identity Conflict, Self-Definition, Personal Truth, Perception vs Reality, Psychological Struggle, Social Expectations
James Baldwin Identity Conflict, Self-Definition, Personal Truth, Perception vs Reality, Psychological Struggle, Social Expectations