Response to James baldwin "stranger in the village"

A rather peculiar village

Something the author Baldwin really wanted to express was towards to beginning of the essay when he is explaining the remoteness of this village on top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps. This really struck me he is writing to explain on how remote this village as maybe a way of forgiveness for the way they may treat him and people of his decent. The way he explains the village he is the first person they will ever have seen that is African American. The way he explains this remoteness intrigues me the most. “In the village there is no movie house, no bank, no library, no theater; very few radios, one jeep, one station wagon; and at the moment, one typewriter, mine, an invention which the woman next door to me here had never seen.” This one sentence explains how remote they are not just in location but in modern technological advancements. Most of the first few paragraphs he explains how remote these people are in location but also cultural, social, and technological advancement. “There are about six hundred people living here, all Catholic- I conclude this from the fact that the Catholic church is open all year round, whereas the Protestant chapel, set off on a hill a little removed from the village, is open only in the summertime when the tourists arrive. “ The way he structures and writes this sentence to town is fed by tourism during the summer to the hot springs so much that they build a chapel opposite of their religion that is only open during the summer just for another attraction for tourists. Could it be that this village is so remote that it cherishes every single visitor they have visit their village? I do find it interesting that Baldwin places emphasis to this that tourism is such a vital part to this villages survival maybe not for the finance but for the connection to the world outside of their own . Baldwin may put emphasis on the remoteness of the village but also has