Essay on Analysis of Baldwin's Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin argues that “such Frustrations, so long endured, is driving many strong, admirable men and women whose only crime is color

The idea of relating public and private events in Baldwin’s own experiences is instituted later in the essay in order to transition from narrative to analysis. Baldwin started telling a story about when he lived in New Jersey before the time of his father’s death. He talked about his personal treatment by white people in the south, a first hand account of the racism of that particular era. He learned of the hostility of the Jim Crow Laws inflicted on African Americans during that time period. His story was analogous to nearly all African Americans at that point. When Baldwin lived in New Jersey, he became exposed to the racism of the south that occurred in restaurants and diners. During one of those experiences he wrote, “I

Throughout the 1950’s, the United States belonged to the Leave It To Beaver era. Families were structured around a strong, hard working father and a wonderful homemaker mother. Children were brought up with solid ideologies on what society expects from them and were warned about living a different and dangerous life. Only one-year separates Tennessee William’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room from there publishing dates during this decade of unwavering beliefs. These texts were seen as extremely controversial during their time due to their themes of homosexuality. Sexual orientation was an awkward topic during such a “to the book” time period and these texts pushed the limits, making them remarkable and memorable works. Both Tennessee Williams and James Baldwin explore the panic men experience while trying to comprehend what sexual orientation they belong to and highlight the masculine gay man. These texts also examine the woman’s role in the mist of it all.

“Notes of a Native Son” is a narrative of Baldwin’s life. It is mainly about his relationship with his father and how after his father passed away he realized how his anger and rage, which was depicted as a disease, was

Baldwin, however, describes his father as being a very black-like “African tribal chieftain” (64) who was proud of his heritage despite the chains it locked upon him. He is shown to be one with good intentions, but one who never achieved the positive outcome intended. His ultimate downfall was his paranoia such that “the disease of his mind allowed the disease of his body to destroy him” (66). Baldwin relates the story of a white teacher with good intentions and his father’s objection to her involvement in their lives because of his lack of trust for any white woman. His father’s paranoia even extended to Baldwin’s white high school friends. These friends, although they could be kind, “would do anything to keep a Negro down” (68), and they believed that the “best thing to do was to have as little to do with them as possible” (68). Thus, Baldwin leaves the reader with the image of his father as an unreasonable man who struggled to blockade white America from his life and the lives of his children to the greatest extent of his power. Baldwin then turns his story to focus on his own experience in the world his father loathed and on his realization that he was very much like his father.

Baldwin's Another Country is divided into categories. These categories, including black/white, hetero/homosexual, and male/female are constantly brought up

Does the American Dream belong to every one or does it exclude some individuals? The American Dream is a very powerful force that molds America. It has existed for many generations but has it changed over time? The foundation of the Dream tends to stay the same that is the pursuit of happiness, hope, freedom, justice and equality. The concepts within the American Dream should alter to fit the changes of society. The breakthroughs and obstacles that America overcomes should shift the American Dream. Society may see the American Dream as a dangerous power causing them to be scared to challenge the concepts of the traditional American Dream. Will society become dysfunctional if someone

Baldwin begins the body of his essay by familiarizing the reader with the situation he is currently entangled in. His father has just died and it is the day of his funeral. Baldwin cleverly intertwines other details into this short introduction. He introduces the importance of Life and Death here. He informs the reader that on the same day of his father’s death, his youngest child was born. Life and Death are two very powerful words that employ incredibly symbolic meanings. Life and Death are direct opposites of each other immediately suggesting the distance Baldwin feels from his father at the beginning of the essay. Baldwin connects to the theme of life, because obviously he is the one who is alive, but it isn’t until later that he will realize that he will continue to live through his father. His father connects to the theme of death because he is dead and all of the themes and ideas that surrounded his life have died with him, waiting for someone to carry them on for him. Thus, Baldwin and his father contrast here because they represent the two opposite themes in a person’s life.

Baldwin’s rhetoric powerfully elaborates on the hideous follies of society so he can undermine them. The aftermath of Deborah’s rape highlights the profound sexism in the religious and societal systems; not only does Deborah face trauma after the rape, but she also faces objectification and perception as a body merely to be used for sex and a man’s “bestial” and “brutal and humiliating needs” (Baldwin, 68). This harshness and hostility subjected upon women elaborate on the gross prejudice and unfairness that permeates the church as a whole. Baldwin’s horrific reflection in Go Tell It on the Mountain reveals his own thoughts about religion and society as a whole. As a gay man, Baldwin faced discrimination and prejudice for his sexuality, a reality

Baldwin continues on and says that blacks were being oppressed everywhere. “…Negro girls who set upon a white girl in the subway because…she was stepping on their toes. Indeed she was, all over the nation” (73). Not only does this portray the ever growing tension felt among African Americans in a certain area, it expresses the tension felt across the nation. African Americans everywhere were still continuously looked down upon, causing agitation, which was the current social condition blacks and whites faced.

James Baldwin survived as not an unusual figure; he existed as a black man in the mid-twentieth century disgruntled with the way America treated him. As much as he protested through his literary works and often times through recorded interviews, Baldwin frequently made the clear statement he is not the victim. In fact, he would go as far to say white people are the victims, although what they were victims of remained not as straight forward. The two main topics Baldwin favored writing on were race and sex. In the short story, Going to Meet the Man, the main character, Jesse, is dissatisfied with his sexual performance, or lack thereof, and is intrigued by the sexuality of black people. Did James Baldwin justify himself as the superior being and the white person as the victim in his own assumption which argued white people long to have the sexual capabilities of black people? Through his short story, Baldwin infers white people are inferior sexual performers; they are intrigued by the sexual capabilities of black people, and comforts himself by exposing an example of white lack of superiority.

The experiences of people living in ethnic enclaves have long attracted the attention of many scholars, journalists and writers because they want to understand how these communities are formed, and how the residents of these neighborhoods perceive their identity. This discussion included in this paper will be based on the analysis of literary and scholarly works. For instance, it is possible to refer to such authors as Nella Larsen and Yomme Chang who describe isolated ethnic communities. Furthermore, one can examine the novel Giovanni’s Room written by James Baldwin who examines the reasons why the representatives of the LGBT community can form their own enclaves. Overall, these people can be affected by different factors such as cultural segregation, poverty, linguistic barriers, homophobia, and so forth. Nevertheless, the critical issue is that they feel marginalized and isolated because some aspects of their identity are not accepted by the society. Moreover, these traits can be viewed as the signs of a certain deficiency.

his father and dead mother. David's father has an idealized vision of his son as

James Baldwin’s compelling book ‘’Giovanni’s Room’ has over the years been sitting on my bookshelf among other books, looking rather dishevelled and to my shame, has not been read until now. But, as they say ‘good thinks comes to those who wait’ and without a doubt this is probably one of the most astounding book I ever have read and I can’t wait to read more James Baldwin Novels.

mainstream society” (DeGout, 26). The attitudes and opinions stated by society about homosexuality have affected David and his ability to be himself, because he knows how he will be viewed if he is honest about being homosexual. Due to the fact that David has adapted homophobic attitudes, created by society, it causes himself to holdback from fully committing to Giovanni. He says, “Even when I tried my hardest to give myself to him as he gave himself to me, I was holding something back” (Baldwin, 78). David knows his true feeling towards Giovanni and knows who he really is, but his fear of being a stereotype keeps him from fully committing. David lives in constant fear and shame for feeling the way he does, and this is keeping him from being