James Baldwin
James Baldwin, a writer, is the central character in “The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American.” James Baldwin recounts his peculiar, tangled journeys as a writer and as an African American. James Baldwin’s writing career is fundamentally inclined to his encounters as a black in America. Eventually, Baldwin deconstructs all the American rigidities that put off the progress of the American writers after residing in Europe. Similarly, Baldwin is the narrator in “The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy”, where he puts forward an account of his uncanny relationship with Norman Mailer.
Norman Mailer (“The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy”)
Norman is Jewish writer that James Baldwin coincidentally encounters in Paris. Some of the works attributed to Norman Mailer include: ‘White Negro, The Deer Park, The Naked and the Dead, Barbary Shore and Advertisements for Myself’. Norman inspires James Baldwin positively after becoming comrades after their initial encounter . Eventually, Norman Mailer shifts to politics when he comes to a decision to vie for New York mayor.
Malaquais (“The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy”)
Malaquais is a French translator who objects Norman’s The Deer Park. He is also the translator of The Naked and the Dead.
Adele (“The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy”)
She is Norman’s wife and she escorts him often. She involves herself in activities such as “drinking, travelling and eating” along with her husband and his contacts.
