Often, when Baldwin mentions Americans, he is indicating white Americans rather than Americans as a whole. Yet he refers to himself at the end of the opening paragraph as an American without a modifier (117). Baldwin thus troubles the word “American” and pushes for it to include a wide range of experiences. By the end of the essay, Baldwin writes that not only the US but also “[t]his world is white no longer” (129, emphasis added). The US is a microcosm that precedes the rest of the world in mixing races, and it is a task for Americans (inclusive) to determine how to go forward.

The Cathedral at Chartres signifies for Baldwin the divergent experiences that result from a single place or event. After introducing the term on Page 121, Baldwin goes on to analyze it at greater length on Page 128. He speculates on what white people see and feel when they approach the cathedral before describing his own experience before the edifice. The cathedral is known for its High Gothic architecture and was built during the 12th and 13th centuries. Baldwin explains, “I doubt that the villagers think of the devil when they face a cathedral because they have never been identified with the devil” (128).