AP Language: The Language of Composition, ch. 5
Sample Responses to Questions on A Talk to Teachers by James Baldwin
1. In the opening paragraph, Baldwin establishes his ethos by connecting himself to his audience as a fellow citizen and fellow American, someone who loves his country and wants it to be whole and healthy. Though he identifies the chief fear of his audience as the fear of Communism, he proposes that the one fearful aspect of American society of the early 1960s is the “bad faith and cruelty” of generations. Baldwin builds credibility with his audience by recognizing teachers as powerful people who “deal with the minds and hearts of young people.” His audience senses that he as a deep respect for what teachers do each day. He makes a crucial connection between teachers and the future of American society.
In paragraph 2, Baldwin speaks deferentially to teachers and in a respectful tone directs his discussion toward the purpose of education, further establishing a rapport with his audience. His use of historical example and analogy to his audience shows that his is educated and thoughtful. Finally, as Baldwin reveals the paradox inherent in education – the process of education, whose purpose is to provide a way for individuals to establish an identity and think for themselves, is designed to teach obedience to the dictates of society – he further exhibits his depth of understanding for the role of teachers. He identifies strongly with teachers, as he knows they believe that their role in education is to facilitate the process of critical thinking and personal development.
2. The crucial paradox Baldwin proposes is that education should develop free thinking people in order to further the aims of a society, yet people must follow the rules of society in order to create a peaceful world. Thus, it was impossible for children to be both educated and socialized in American society in 1963, which oppressed and perpetuated cruelty toward its black citizenry.
3. Appeals to pathos include the following, but you may have found others as well.
* Patriotism (para 3): “in the shadow of the stars and stripes,” “liberty and justice for all,’” “his country,” and “his countrymen”; this appeal becomes tinged with irony as Baldwin emphasizes the privileges that are unavailable to African American citizens.
* Empathy for African American children and their parents who have to enforce the unfair rules (para 4): “his father or mother slaps him and drags him to the back of the bus”
* Pride in one’s local area (para 5): “tremendous monuments we find all over New York,” contrasted with “[i]f he lives in one of those housing projects of which everyone in New York is so proud”; his appeal to pathos is sardonic in tone
* Sense of the tragic nature of the life of African Americans in poor areas (para 5): “the pimps, the whores, the junkies”
4. By showing his firsthand experience of the visible contrast between uptown and downtown – the “white world” where garbage is collected, the ownership and pride that those who live downtown experience as opposed to the vision of the housing projects in paragraph 5 – Baldwin convinces the audience further that he knows what he is talking about. His vivid imagery appeals to the listeners’ senses. Baldwin deepens his credibility with his audience of teachers as a person who has lived through this disparity, and he enables them to see and to feel the shocking difference between the ghetto and the white neighborhood through his eyes.
7. Baldwin uses quotation marks around the word and states, “you called me one.” The quotation marks highlight the effect of the word in the context of this paragraph and underscore Baldwin’s personal discomfort with and distaste for the word. The use of the word in conjunction with the second-person pronoun carries an air of accusation. Baldwin hopes to initiate in his audience feelings of guilt and a desire to rectify (fix) the situation.
His choice here is bold in that Baldwin risks alienating his audience. Rather than desiring to take action, his audience may instead feel insulted or put off by his suggestion that they are personally connected to those who use this word to degrade African Americans. He chooses the word to echo this suggestion in the opening paragraph that all responsible Americans must “go for broke.’” Here he acts on those words and takes a chance that using this word will further deepen the personal response in his audience of teachers.
9. In the two-sentence paragraph 17, Baldwin appeals to his listeners’ religious beliefs by mentioning the Bible and connecting its moral guidance on having “vision” to his overall appeal to see what is broken and fix it. By separating this appeal to have vision from the rest of the text, Baldwin creates an effective transition to his summation (conclusion). He wants to appeal dramatically to his audience’s basic morality to move them to action. This reference to the Bible also recalls paragraph 13 in which Baldwin asserts that America is not a truly Christian nation. By separating these ideas from the final two paragraphs, Baldwin creates a type of jumping-off point, so to speak. He introduces the idea that lack of vision will destroy our nation, and his final paragraphs will address this assertion with solid suggestions for his audience to act on.
10. Baldwin’s use of parallelism and repetition in his conclusion centers around his use of the words “I would” – “I would try,” “I would teach,” “I would suggest.” Through this emphatic language, which begins with a sense of the small window of opportunity that teachers have (“only a few hours of every day”), Baldwin succeeds in clearly delineating his ideas with regard to educating African Americans in America. His parallel structure effectively lists for teachers what they should be imparting to every young African American child: that the conditions in which they live are criminal and unacceptable, that they must grow up to destroy these conditions, that American culture does not acknowledge the African American condition, that the American press is not truly free, that there is more to American history than is being taught, that the world is theirs to embrace, and that they should question everything they learn. In essence, Baldwin exhorts teachers to teach young African American children that they are the future and that they have the energy and potential to help America become a great nation.
11. Appeals to logos include the following:
* Paragraph 2: “the era of the Third Reich”and details regarding society’s desire for obedient citizens – develops the argument through analogy
* Paragraph 3: references to the American flag and the words of the Pledge of Allegiance – underscores the inherent contradiction that characterizes the lives of African Americans
* Paragraph 4: the description of how a parent reacts to his or her child sitting down in the front of the bus – example of a child’s response and learned behavior provides a logical connection to Baldwin’s overall message that all of these social rules must be taught, and therefore teachers should be teaching something more
* Paragraph 6: viaual description of the contrasts between black and white neighborhoods on Park Avenue – strong imagery creates an undeniable vision for the listener
* Paragraph 10: facts about the Reconstruction, Depression, and labor market – furthers Baldwin’s argument that African Americans aren’t permitted to hope for a promising future
* Paragraph 12: logical analysis of the African American crisis of identity – enables his audience to see the difficult truth
12. Baldwin’s overall tone is courageous, bold, and reasoned. He begins boldly in paragraph 1 by bringing to the table a discussion that is likely to make many people uncomfortable. In paragraph 2 he tempers his boldness with a humble and deferential attitude toward his audience. Later in the piece Baldwin’s tone is hortatory (behavior or action that is encouraging). He speaks confidently and expectantly to teachers whom he hopes will make a difference for these young students, yet he maintains a tone throughout that is admonitory (meant to correct or scold) as well, especially in his final lines, as he warns listeners of the consequences of ignoring this issue.