---
title: "3 Trapped Quotes By James A. Baldwin"
description: "3 Trapped quotes by James A. Baldwin. Plus more from James A. Baldwin and more Trapped sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/james-a-baldwin-2080_history_james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being_191611.jpg"
---

> [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/james-a-baldwin-2080_history_james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being_191611.jpg)

> [It was as though we were a picture, trapped in time: this had been happening for hundreds of years, people sitting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/it-was-as-though-we-were-a-picture-trapped-in-time-this-had-been/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/james-a-baldwin-2080_blues-music_it-was-as-though-we-were-a-picture-trapp_1659924.jpg)

> [The miracle is that some have stepped out of the rags of the Republic's definition to assume the great burden and glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-miracle-is-that-some-have-stepped-out-of-the-rags-of-the-republic/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/james-a-baldwin-2080_achievement_the-miracle-is-that-some-have-stepped-ou_2177800.jpg)

## Other authors on Trapped

## More by James A. Baldwin

> [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/all-i-know-about-music-is-that-not-many-people-ever-really-hear-it/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [I've always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-ve-always-believed-that-you-can-think-positive-just-as-well-as-you/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-white-man-discovered-the-cross-by-way-of-the-bible-but-the-black/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/voyagers-discover-that-the-world-can-never-be-larger-than-the-person/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [We take our shape, it is true, within and against that cage of reality bequeathed us at our birth; and yet it is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/we-take-our-shape-it-is-true-within-and-against-that-cage-of-reality/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [The American ideal is, after all, that everyone should be as much alike as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-is-after-all-that-everyone-should-be-as-much-alike/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [I think Americans are terrified of feeling anything. I never met a people more infantile in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-think-americans-are-terrified-of-feeling-anything-i-never-met-a/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/unless-a-writer-is-extremely-old-when-he-dies-in-which-case-he-has/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [An identity is questioned only when it is menaced, as when the mighty begin to fall, or when the wretched begin to rise, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/an-identity-is-questioned-only-when-it-is-menaced-as-when-the-mighty/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [White people will have quite enough to do in learning how to accept and love themselves and each other, and when they have achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/white-people-will-have-quite-enough-to-do-in-learning-how-to-accept/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [A devotion to humanity is... too easily equated with a devotion to a Cause, and Causes, as we know, are notoriously bloodthirsty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/a-devotion-to-humanity-is-too-easily-equated-with-a-devotion-to-a/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

> [Most people... find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/most-people-find-a-disorientating-mismatch-between-the-long-term/)

[James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/)

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