Loneliness and Isolation in Baldwin’s, Here be Dragons :: Here Dragons

Loneliness and Isolation in Baldwin’s, Here be Dragons I am not a targeted minority and I have never felt discriminated against, but I certainly have found my self weighed down, unable to keep up, in the constant rush and roar that is our society. I have felt isolated and left behind by everything around me, and this utter loneliness is not something that is easy to deal with. This loneliness inevitably turns to self-hatred as I ask myself why I can’t keep pace with everyone else when they seem to be doing just fine? Reading James Baldwin has reminded me that I’m not alone, and that there are many ways to deal with the isolation one feels within society. For some, struggling to keep afloat in the mainstream as it rushes along is the most comprehensible way, but for others, like Baldwin, it’s easier to simply get out of the water and walk along the bank at his own chosen pace. In Baldwin’s â€Å"Here be Dragons† he addresses the issues of loneliness and isolation in many ways. In the end, he comes to the conclusion that everyone has a part of everyone else inside of him or her, much like a yin yang: â€Å"†¦we are all androgynous†¦because each of us, helplessly and forever, contains the other-male in female, female in male, white in black and black in white. We are a part of each other†(160). If we are all a part of each other, then we do not need to try to keep up with the current of society to stay connected with the world. We can go wherever we please, whenever and however, and never have to fear the loss of the vital links that keep humans human. In the beginning of his story Baldwin speaks of his young adolescence during which various men constantly take advantage of him. In this part of life he speaks much of loneliness. First, as he talks about those who are literally androgynous, containing male and female parts, he guesses at the â€Å"†¦all-but-intolerable loneliness†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (150) that they must feel at not being able to find love by being themselves for fear of humiliation at being so different. Later, he tells of his many encounters with men that appeared to be stereotypical American citizens looking â€Å"†¦like cops, football players, soldiers†¦or bank presidents†¦construction workers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (153). These men would accost Baldwin in dark movie theaters and in the alleys at night begging or bullying him to take them to bed.