GRE Reading Comprehension: Manhatton-GRE阅读Manhatton - 3Z6ORX2WS07PQRKNB$

The African American writer and social critic James Baldwin grew up as an outsider both to the language and culture of power, and yet achieved a balance between self-expression and the language of power. In the 1930's, Hollywood movies portrayed an optimistic, capitalist, white America that dealt with white issues and employed white actors. As a child, Baldwin felt acutely separated from the culture of power. In "Congo Square," Baldwin opens his essay with an important idea: "A child is far too self-centered to relate to any dilemma which does not, somehow, relate to him." Watching the films of the dominant culture, Baldwin attempted to relate the information to his own life, connecting with it however he could. Rather than blindly accept the storylines in the movies, when Baldwin saw a staircase in A Tale of Two Cities, he 10 thought, "I knew about staircases." At the same time, Baldwin distrusted the culture of power: "The civilized ... do not intend to change the status quo ... these people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the 'sanctity' of human life, or the 'conscience' of the civilized world."