James Baldwin emphasizes on the importance of writers in America in The Discovery of What It Means to be an American. He strongly believes that escaping from America to Europe is the best way for black American writers to speak up the reality of the American society. Baldwin, who is an American Novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and civil rights advocator, criticizes, ”American writers that they do not describe society, and have no interest in it. They only describe individuals in opposition to it, or isolated from it” (22). After moving to Europe at the age of 24, he realizes that he can freely express the racial and sexual issues. He assumes that writers is the ones who find out hidden laws, and unspoken but profound assumptions to govern the society. Since living in America demotivates black American writers to fully get ”freedom of expression”, Baldwin encourages the American writers to keep running to Europe and sustainably fulfill their writing careers.

I found Baldwin’s paper on American-European relations particularly interesting. His commentary on status, claiming that Americans place greater emphasis on status than Europeans, aligned with some points made in the Great Gatsby, like those regarding social mobility, old money versus new money, etc. However looking at his claim historically, I don’t understand the origin of the American importance on status. While European traditions with status originate from monarchial and feudalist systems, America is derived from anti-European traditions which rejected the ranking of individuals.

James Baldwin is an American Negro writer who spent almost of his life living in Europe. On the 7-page note, he reveals his own experience in finding his own identity. He hardly defines who he is while living in American due to the color problem (17). However, after moving to Europe, especially in French, he feels so different and seems to be very grateful for that. One important indicator that he describes as a big difference of a black man living in Europe and America is “social paranoia” (20). This term refers to the ability of social interaction between every individual one society. He compares that in America there is a social and occupational barriers in communication, while it is not the case in Europe. Therefore, he, as well as many other American writers in Europe, has an extraordinary feeling because “he can reach out to everyone, that he is accessible to everyone and open to everything” (20).