James Baldwin’s stepfather, to whom he never refers by name, and with whom he had a contentious and even bitter relationship. As a teenager, Baldwin views his father as a relentless authority figure dominating his life. In an attempt to break out from his father’s control, Baldwin becomes a Youth Minister at a different church than the one his father preaches in. Though this is a slight, Baldwin’s father finally gives Baldwin space, allowing him to work on sermons and thus establish something of his own identity. However, the young author’s path to independence is somewhat ironically modeled on David’s, the very figure of authority he is trying to undermine.
Baldwin’s Father Quotes in The Fire Next Time
The The Fire Next Time quotes below are all either spoken by Baldwin’s Father or refer to Baldwin’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
My Dungeon Shook
Quotes
Well, he is dead, he never saw you, and he had a terrible life; he was defeated long before he died because, at the bottom of his heart, he really believed what white people said about him. This is one of the reasons that he became so holy…You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger.
Related Characters:
James Baldwin (speaker), James, Baldwin’s Father
Related Symbols:
The Church
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Fire Next Time LitChart as a printable PDF.
Baldwin’s Father Quotes in The Fire Next Time
The The Fire Next Time quotes below are all either spoken by Baldwin’s Father or refer to Baldwin’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
My Dungeon Shook
Quotes
Well, he is dead, he never saw you, and he had a terrible life; he was defeated long before he died because, at the bottom of his heart, he really believed what white people said about him. This is one of the reasons that he became so holy…You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger.
Related Characters:
James Baldwin (speaker), James, Baldwin’s Father
Related Symbols:
The Church
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
