12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习

12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习

ID:40876535

大小:37.50 KB

页数:8页

时间:2019-08-09

12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习_第1页
12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习_第2页
12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习_第3页
12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习_第4页
12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习_第5页
资源描述:

《12The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American学习》由会员上传分享,免费在线阅读,更多相关内容在学术论文-天天文库

1、12TheDiscoveryofWhatItMeanstoBeanAmericanJamesBaldwin1“ItisacomplexfatetobeanAmerican,”HenryJamesobserved,andtheprincipaldiscoveryanAmericanwritermakesinEuropeisjusthowcomplexthisfateis.America’shistory,heraspirations,herpeculiartriumphs,herevenmorepecul

2、iardefeats,andherpositionintheworld–yesterdayandtoday–areallsoprofoundlyandstubbornlyuniquethattheveryword“America”remainsanew,almostcompletelyundefinedandextremelycontroversialpropernoun.Nooneintheworldseemstoknowexactlywhatitdescribes,notevenwemotleymi

3、llionswhocallourselvesAmericans.2IleftAmericabecauseIdoubtedmyabilitytosurvivethefuryofthecolorproblemhere.(SometimesIstilldo.)IwantedtopreventmyselffrombecomingmerelyaNegro;oreven,merelyaNegrowriter.Iwantedtofindoutinwhatwaythespecialnessofmyexperiencec

4、ouldbemadetoconnectmewithotherpeopleinsteadofdividingmefromthem.(IwasasisolatedfromNegroesasIwasfromwhites,whichiswhathappenswhenaNegrobegins,atbottom,tobelievewhatwhitepeoplesayabouthim.)3Inmynecessitytofindthetermsonwhichmyexperiencecouldberelatedtotha

5、tofothers,Negroesandwhites,writersandnon-writers,Iproved,tomyastonishment,tobeasAmericanasanyTexasG.I.AndIfoundmyexperiencewassharedbyeveryAmericanwriterIknewinParis.Likeme,theyhadbeendivorcedfromtheirorigins,anditturnedouttomakeverylittledifferencethatt

6、heoriginsofwhiteAmericanswereEuropeanandminewereAfrican–theywerenomoreathomeinEuropethanIwas.4ThefactthatIwasthesonofaslaveandtheywerethesonsoffreemenmeantless,bythetimeweconfrontedeachotheronEuropesoil,thanthefactthatwewerebothsearchingforourseparateide

7、ntities.Whenwehadfoundthese,weseemedtobesaying,why,then,wewouldnolongerneedtoclingtotheshameandbitternesswhichhaddividedussolong.5ItbecameterriblyclearinEurope,asitneverhadbeenhere,thatweknewmoreabouteachotherthananyEuropeanevercould.Anditalsobecameclear

8、that,nomatterwhereourfathershadbeenborn,orwhattheyhadendured,thefactofEuropehadformedusboth,waspartofouridentityandpartofourinheritance.6IhadbeeninParisacoupleofyearsbeforeanyofthisbecamecleartome.Whenitdid,Ilikemanyawrite

当前文档最多预览五页,下载文档查看全文

此文档下载收益归作者所有

当前文档最多预览五页,下载文档查看全文
温馨提示:
1. 部分包含数学公式或PPT动画的文件,查看预览时可能会显示错乱或异常,文件下载后无此问题,请放心下载。
2. 本文档由用户上传,版权归属用户,天天文库负责整理代发布。如果您对本文档版权有争议请及时联系客服。
3. 下载前请仔细阅读文档内容,确认文档内容符合您的需求后进行下载,若出现内容与标题不符可向本站投诉处理。
4. 下载文档时可能由于网络波动等原因无法下载或下载错误,付费完成后未能成功下载的用户请联系客服处理。