This Morning, This Evening, So Soon by James Baldwin
"This Morning, This Evening, So Soon" is a poignant short story by James Baldwin that explores themes of identity, race, and familial bonds through the lens of an expatriate's experience in Paris. The narrative unfolds on the eve of the narrator and his family's return to the United States after a 12-year absence, instigating reflections on the challenges of re-entering a society marked by racial discrimination. The story is structured around the narrator's interactions with his family and friends, juxtaposed with his memories and dreams that reveal his deep love for Paris — a city where he feels less judged by his skin color.
Throughout the tale, Baldwin illuminates the narrator's internal conflicts as he grapples with his past experiences, particularly a traumatic visit to the U.S. for his mother's funeral, which exposed him to the harsh realities of racism in America. The narrator's relationships with his family and his multiracial identity add layers to his emotional landscape, allowing readers to witness the complexities of belonging and the impact of societal expectations. The story culminates in a moment of introspection as he contemplates his role as a father, emphasizing themes of legacy and connection. Ultimately, Baldwin's work invites readers to consider the struggles of navigating cultural identities in a divided world.
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This Morning, This Evening, So Soon by James Baldwin
First published: 1960
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: The 1950's
Locale: Paris
Principal Characters:
The narrator , an African American singer and actor living in ParisHarriet , his Swedish wifePaul , his seven-year-old sonJean Luc Vidal , the French director of his films
The Story
On the eve of the narrator and his family's departure for the United States after twelve years of residence in Paris, the narrator is being chided by his wife and visiting sister about his nightmares. He is worried about his return to the racist United States after such a long absence and what effect it will have on his multiracial family and his career.
The story is structured around a series of social interactions. The first concerns the narrator's family and his Paris existence. He puts his son to bed in the concierge's apartment, and his wife and sister go out on the town. The narrator slips into the first of his reveries on his apartment balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower as he revisits his first years in Paris as an expatriate and struggling artist. He speculates on the whereabouts of his old North African friends and the conditions of the current Algerian conflict. He is in love with Paris and the French because they do not judge him on skin color, but he deplores their colonial war.
The narrator has an extended flashback about his visit to the United States eight years before for his mother's funeral. He describes the boat trip on which he sings spirituals and blues for a white audience, and his arrival in New York, where he is called "boy" by a white officer as he descends the gangplank and is engulfed by the "cunning and murderous beast" of New York City.
The flashback ends and the narrator welcomes his French friend and director, Jean Luc Vidal, into his Paris apartment. Over drinks, they reminisce about the narrator's defining role as Chico in Les Fauves nous attendent, a movie about a young mulatto man from Martinique who dies tragically in the underworld of Paris. Vidal drew a great performance out of the narrator by forcing him to confront his own interior demons, including the hateful summer after his mother's death that he spent in the American South working as an elevator boy.
The final section of the story takes place on Paris's Left Bank. In a discotheque, the narrator is recognized and approached by four African American students on tour in Europe. On their way to a Spanish bar, they hook up with Boona, an old Arab friend of the narrator. In a Spanish bar, one of the American girls has ten dollars stolen. Boona is accused and the narrator intercedes. Boona denies he stole the money. The matter is finally dropped, but not without an argument that forces the narrator to think about his position in relation to Africans. In the early hours they separate, and the narrator goes home to stand over his sleeping son's bed pondering father-son relationships. He awakens his son and they set out on their journey to the new world.
Bibliography
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Standley, Fred L., and Nancy V. Burt, eds. Critical Essays on James Baldwin. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1988.
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Tomlinson, Robert. "'Payin' One's Dues': Expatriation as Personal Experience and Paradigm in the Works of James Baldwin." African American Review 33 (Spring, 1999): 135-148.
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