Argument Supports Baldwin’s Premise

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“An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience” James Baldwin
Introduction
The saying “an identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person face and used his experience” by James Baldwin provides a broader perspective on how people build their identity through their position, abilities, and experiences in life. At a certain point in life, one may experience difficult or challenging moments that require critical thinking and analysis of the situation, whereby if he/she comes out of that situation triumph, he/she manages to create an identity which issues that particular person honor and respect. For instance, many people have managed to define their identities through their experiences in situations other people thought they may not go through successfully. Despite the situation a person may come across, it is necessary to depict courage and power to fight own and victory or overcoming the situation in a positive way and mind will define the person’s identity. Considering the argument of James Baldwin, it is right to say that personal identity is mainly defined by the way people manages to face their situations and build experiences in a strong and courageous way as discussed herein. The articled I uses in illustration of the argument in this paper include; “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and me”, “Leave Your Name at the Border”, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, and “Eight Simple Words”.
The worst situation that may bring down personal identity and even cause someone to feel inferior is discrimination and the existence of disparity among other human races. Discrimination and disparity may occur in the form of social status, ethnicity, skin color, cultural difference, economic class or even political position of an individual. Other factors like academic level, working position, proficiency in communication and even people associated with may also bring down the identity of individuals. For example, as stated by Brent Staples in the “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponder His Power to Alter Public Space”, the author experiences a high level of discrimination while ‘growing up in black and white’, a problem experienced by many black people in the States of America. “It was in the echo of the terrified women’s footfall that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into- the ability to alter public space in ugly ways, it was clear that she thought herself in the quarry of a mugger, a rapist, or defenseless wayfarers” (Staple, 1994). The mistreatment and misunderstanding of the whites toward the black ethnic group could have been enough reason to bring down the identity of the author. Other individuals like Elie Wiesel went through a terrifying moment of torture, beating, and harassments as they were deported in the country Rome even after serving the state government in high positions (Wiesel, 1928). Wiesel was serving as the chairman of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust. Howver, it all depends on how an individ...