James Baldwin and George Orwelll?

Question

i have this project to write an essay on the "Nature of Oppression" betweeen the two essays titled "Shooting and Elephant" by "George Orwell" and James Baldwin's "My Dungeon Shook" its a compare and contrast.

i understood the elephant essay, but the dungeon one slightly confused me. can you help me understand what they mean by Nature of Oppression and what it means for the specific essay?

thanks!

Answer 1

The nature of obsession can be defined as: a compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea (Orwell's story = imperialism; Baldwin's letter = racism) or an unwanted feeling or emotion (Orwell's story = narrator acting to save face or not to be ridiculed; Baldwin's letter = hatred towards whites changing to loving and accepting whites as a black man in order to change them and the nature of racism) often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety (Orwell's story = narrator upset with how the people perceived him and the actual act of cruelty in killing the elephant on how the elephant died; Baldwin's letter = difficulty in loving whites in order to change them and how that would be viewed negatively by both races i.e., how people would perceive him).

Part of the nature of obsession is that we "can't see the forest through the trees". In other words, the obsession (Imperialism/Racism) blocks our understanding of what the real problems are. As Baldwin said in his letter "The very time I thought I was lost, My dungeon shook and my chains fell off".  He was the one that freed himself, not society, not others, but himself.

These are just my opinions backed by reading "The Fire Next Time" by Baldwin when it first came out! Long time ago in a much different (and sometimes, not so different) world. Hope this helps a little and gets you on the right path in writing your essay. Sounds like a great class, project, and teacher! Good luck.

Answer 2

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