Skip to main content

Go Tell It on the Mountain is said to be a semi-biographical account of Baldwin's life. What similarities does the novel have with Baldwin's life?

The troubled relationship between father and son in the text is drawn from Baldwin's actual life, as is the setting for their conflict and interaction. The agon between Gabriel and John seems to closely resemble that which really existed between Baldwin and his father, especially in its locale in the church. This was the platform and real-life landscape where a struggle for identity took place.

Baldwin performed the role of a preacher as a young man and the church was a major part of his young life. The depiction of Baldwin's time spent in the church in Go Tell It on the Mountain is thus factual and autobiographical. 


The novel's depiction of Baldwin's father very closely resembles the version of his father that Baldwin draws in the essay, "Notes of a Native Son."


Elsewhere in Baldwin's fiction, the father figure is similarly characterized as a stern man with little ability or willingness to yield affection to his eldest son. A preacher and a man of definite beliefs, Baldwin's father seems to have tried to shape his son James to follow in his footsteps, and for a time the future writer did just that.


Baldwin was the oldest child in his family in real life, as he is in Go Tell It on the Mountain, and his father's backstory, as recounted in the novel, was rooted in the South.


The elements of the novel that deal with the fledgling and complicated sexuality of John Grimes are also autobiographical. In other works of fiction like Giovanni's Room, Another Country and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone, Baldwin also explores the issues of sexual identity and racial identity. These issues spring from real experiences.


We can see that the basic facts of the Grimes family and the central conflicts of the novel relating to religion, sexuality and identity are effectively autobiographical, although they are rendered in the novel with creative force and with poetic license.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...

What gift did Della buy for Jim and why in "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

Della buys Jim a watch fob because his watch is his most prized possession. Della and Jim Young do not have much money. Despite this, Della really wants to buy Jim a good Christmas present. She is even willing to sell her hair to get him a nice gift. This is ironic because we learn Della and Jim both highly prize her hair. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which... Della buys Jim a watch fob because his watch is his most prized possession. Della and Jim Young do not have much money. Despite this, Della really wants to buy Jim a good Christmas present. She is even willing to sell her hair to get him a nice gift. This is ironic because we learn Della and Jim both highly prize her hair. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.  Della is still willing to sell her hair so she can b...

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...