James Baldwin

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In "A Talk to Teachers," what relationship does James Baldwin establish with his audience in the opening two paragraphs?

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In the opening paragraphs of "A Talk to Teachers," James Baldwin establishes a relationship with his audience by expressing openness and honesty about the societal challenges they face, recognizing the shared awareness of "dangerous times." He acknowledges the importance of teachers, despite not being one himself, and emphasizes the critical role of education. Baldwin's informal tone, modesty, and willingness to engage in honest dialogue help build trust and rapport with his audience.

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Baldwin establishes a relationship of openness right from the start as he immediately addresses the harshest domestic social problem of his time: "The society in which we live is desperately menaced, ... but from within." He also establishes honesty with his audience of teachers; he reiterates what everyone already knows but might be hesitant to say: "we are living through a very dangerous time ... We are in a revolutionary situation." Baldwin further establishes honesty, which is an important element of his relationship with the teachers to establish since he is an outsider as a non-teacher giving counsel to teachers: "I am not a teacher myself." Transparency is established as he speaks diffidently about himself and points out his vulnerability: "[I] in some ways am fairly easily intimidated."
Ethos can be defined in rhetoric as the emotion an author or speaker expresses or displays in an effort to persuade his...

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audience (Encyclopedia Britannica). The relationship Baldwin establishes derives from, or more specifically, generates a persuasive emotion ofearnest sympathy and foreboding. He conveys this ethos through the language in which he couches his ideas:    

earnest: "examine society and try to change it and to fight it – at no matter what risk."
sympathy: "[the black child] has at the front door, if not closer, the pimps, the whores, the junkies – in a word, the danger of life in the ghetto. And the child knows this, though he doesn’t know why."
foreboding: "this [black] child must help her to find a way to use the tremendous potential and tremendous energy which this child represents. If this country does not find a way to use that energy, it will be destroyed by that energy."

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In James Baldwin's speech/published text, "A Talk to Teachers," he immediately establishes a relationship with his audience. This relationship is established in the following ways:

1. Communal sympathy/apathy- Baldwin states that the times they (he and the teachers) are facing are "dangerous times." He goes on to state that they are "in one way or another aware of that." Here Baldwin is establishing a relationship by showing that he recognizes the dangers of the times as the teachers do. He is associating with them so as to gain their trust.

2. Baldwin, then, acknowledges the importance of teachers by stating  that the teachers, as those "who deal with the minds and hearts of young people," must be responsible and "go for broke" when it comes to educating the youth of the nation. Here, Baldwin is stating that teachers are very important in the lives of the young and are needed to "correct so many generations of bad faith and cruelty." As a teacher, one would love to hear this statement being made by someone who is not a teacher.

3. Lastly, Baldwin admits that while he is not a teacher he feels the same way about the youth of today. In the end, Baldwin states what he believes is the purpose of education:

The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not.  To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity.

By saying this, Baldwin is showing his support for education, what education needs to provide for the youth, and gains the trust of the teachers to whom he is speaking.

Overall, Baldwin does a wonderful job of creating a relationship with the teachers to which he is speaking because he does not come down harshly on them. Instead, he appeals to their love of children and education which he obviously shares. The teachers are able to see this and accept the "friendship" he is offering through his speech.

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In "A Talk to Teachers," how does Baldwin establish his relationship and ethos with the audience?

In the first two paragraphs of his speech “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin establishes his relationship with his audience – and also his own “ethos” (or character) – in a number of different ways, including the following:

  • The very first word – “Let’s,” rather than “Let us” – immediately suggests a tone of informality. Baldwin instantly implies that he is not pretentious.
  • The sixth word of the speech – “we” – implies that Baldwin identifies with his audience.  He makes common cause with them; he doesn’t speak down to them.
  • By ending the first sentence by asserting that he and his audience are living in a “very dangerous time,” Baldwin implies that he is a serious person who wants to speak frankly and forthrightly to his audience.
  • The second sentence of the speech is as follows:
Everyone in this room is in one way or another aware of that.

This sentence gives the audience credit for being intelligent, well informed, and concerned (just like Baldwin himself).

  • In the following sentence, Baldwin shows that he is willing to be honest even if honesty is not a popular trait at the moment:
We are in a revolutionary situation, no matter how unpopular that word has become in this country.
  • By telling his audience that if they try to change society, they
will meet the most fantastic, the most brutal, and the most determined resistance,

Baldwin implies that he is courageous (since he is trying to inspire such change) and that his audience can also be courageous (if they are willing to heed his inspiring call).

  • The opening sentence of the second paragraph shows Baldwin’s modesty as well as his respect for his audience. He is deferential and politely asks the audience to allow him to proceed without possessing absolute expertise as a classroom teacher.
  • By beginning the next sentence with the words “It would seem to me,” Baldwin implies that he is tentative and non-dogmatic; he is willing to change his mind if someone can convince him that he is wrong. “It seems to me” would have been a more forceful way of beginning this sentence; “I think” would have been even more forceful. Baldwin, however, wants to present himself as a thoughtful person with an open mind.
  • At the same time, Baldwin shows that he is a man of convictions who relies on certain basic assumptions – assumptions with which few would disagree, as when he briefly declares: “Man is a social animal.”

In short, throughout these opening paragraphs, Baldwin demonstrates his skills as a rhetorician, partly by presenting an appealing image of his own character.

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