The Great, Gray City of Light

This essay analyzes one of James Baldwin's least commented-upon essays, "Equal in Paris," through the lens of current debates about transatlantic differences regarding race, equality, and citizenship. In his essay, Baldwin narrates how he was imprisoned in Paris for several days a yea...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Marzouki, Nadia (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2022
In: Journal of law and religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 250-258
Further subjects:B Prison
B American Black writers
B colorblindness
B Race
B Delusion
B Equality
B Paris
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Summary:This essay analyzes one of James Baldwin's least commented-upon essays, "Equal in Paris," through the lens of current debates about transatlantic differences regarding race, equality, and citizenship. In his essay, Baldwin narrates how he was imprisoned in Paris for several days a year after his arrival in France. Baldwin constructs his essay not as a political manifesto about race, citizenship, and equality. Rather, through a powerful and cinematographic description, he leads the reader to share the narrator's distressing experience of disjunction and terror he had while in prison. This literary choice can be understood in the context of Baldwin's rejection of theologies of damnation and redemption that, according to him, motivate protest writings.
ISSN:2163-3088
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of law and religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/jlr.2022.25