James Baldwin's View On Religion

In Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin works with themes of gender, violence, and change. He does this through Florence, Gabriel, and the symbol of morning. The author is trying to say people’s decision can be determined by external factors.

James Baldwin was a prominent African American writer, social critic, and racial justice advocate in the 1960’s and 70’s. In his 1963 Talk to Teachers he aimed to persuade an audience of teachers that education must exist to challenge systems and structures of power and that when it does not, it only serves to reinforce them and amplify their injustice. He specifically focuses on racial hierarchies and white supremacy in the United States. He achieves his persuasive purpose through the strategic use of first, second, and third person pronouns and the use of evocative language, and emphasizes the actionability of his message with anaphora.

James Tackach wrote that it should not come as a surprise that Baldwin would use stories or references from the Bible as a foundation for his literature (109). Baldwin was practically raised in the

Throughout history, literature has served as a prominent tool in the examination of social values, ideas, and dreams. In addition, literature has provided a vital connection between historical, social, and political events. Through the incorporation of religious principles and philosophies, writers have discovered a way to portray different time periods, characters, feelings, and most importantly God.

Burning fossil fuels isn’t the only reason for pollution; likewise, language isn’t the only key to social acceptance and identity. Baldwin’s argument about the importance of language as the "key to identity and social acceptance" is somewhat accurate. Society acceptances us due to our language and provides us with an identity. Social acceptance should be based on how one represents themselves in front of others. Language is of the aspects that determines one’s social acceptance, but it is not the only key to social acceptance. Identity is who you are and something that defines someone; however, language shouldn’t be the only key to one’s identity. Although language plays a significant role in social acceptance and

Other than Baldwin’s honesty, his ability to create emotion is also a part of his style. Zinsser advised, “Writers are obviously at their most natural when they write in the first person … Therefore I urge people to write in the first person: to use ‘I’ and ‘me’ and ‘us’...” (20). Zinsser believes that the use of first person allows the readers to relate and connect to the writing more. The words ”I”, “me”, and “us” signal that the book is written by an actual human and adds to the unique style of the writing. Baldwin is able to actively create a connection to the readers due to the story like manner of the book, yet, he is also able to get his point across by showing the differences in the experiences of a black man. Take for example, when

1) What is the Emancipation Proclamation? When is Baldwin’s letter written and what is the significance of the timing of his letter (specifically: what is the situation of African Americans at the time Baldwin wrote the letter?)

Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain was his first novel, and some would argue that it was his best. Baldwin's

Religio-historical objects are things of crafted pieces of writing that reveal the realities of religious subjects through the perspective visions of their author (C.J Bleeker). Compared to an artist who has a muse, writers also have a “muse” something that influences their writing. Whether it is a personal experience, religious belief, or common morals writers derive the context within their writing from many different aspects of life. One thing most authors derive their ideas from is their religion or just any religion that interest them. Authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O’Connor, writings often include many allegories and symbols to religious faiths.

Soon, Baldwin would go to high school, a predominately Jewish school, and would become educated. Not long afterwards, Christianity would lose its favor for the young man. Once again the idea of color, and the inferiority of his color especially, were being thrown back in his face. He suddenly was faced with the knowledge that Whites wrote the Bible, and that Blacks were descendants of Ham, who was cursed by God. This Jewish viewpoint suddenly changed Baldwin's view on religion. He realized that his ."..fate had been sealed forever, from the beginning of time"(36). He realized that this was not only what Christiandom believed, but also the way it behaved(36).

Narrative is a form of writing used by writers to convey their experiences to an audience. James Baldwin is a renowned author for bringing his experience to literature. He grew up Harlem in the 1940’s and 1950’s, a crucial point in history for America due to the escalading conflict between people of different races marked by the race riots of Harlem and Detroit. This environment that Baldwin grew up in inspires and influences him to write the narrative “Notes of a Native Son,” which is based on his experience with racism and the Jim-Crow Laws. The narrative is about his father and his influence on Baldwin’s life, which he analyzes and compares to his own experiences. When Baldwin comes into

Many people believe that that the motivation of the Christian church is to radically “change the world”. However, through his book To Change The World, James Davison Hunter explains how this common believe is a misconception. Rather, he shows readers that, from a sociological perspective, while Christians thrive in many areas of life by reaching others individually, they fundamentally components of creating cultural change.

This theme of religious conflict carries on to another of Baldwin’s stories. Throughout Go Tell It on the Mountain, Baldwin shows the suffering and temptations that lead to his characters’ downfalls and how their refusal to admit to being anything less than virtuous leads to their spiritual failures (Welsh). Aunt Florence’s confrontation with death is clouded by ambition, as well as the envy and hatred towards her brother, which she does not admit to herself (Leer, 3). Elizabeth’s love for John’s father, while valid, is not strong enough to bridge the gap between her and her husband. Rory is aggressive towards whites, and he is unable to be saved through religion because he does not accept his flaws. John, through his experience on the church floor, is able to be redeemed while battling the hellish side of himself. He battles with his father Gabriel, a walking metaphor for God, and eventually he kneels before the cross (Leer, 7). Gabriel, while the most passionate about religion, is also the most hypocritical and reprehensible character in the

As an author, Kurt Vonnegut has received just about every kind of praise an author can receive: his works held the same sway over American philosophy as did those of Jack Kerouac or J.R.R. Tolkein; his writing has received acclaim from academics and the masses alike; and three of his books have been made into feature films. Society has permanently and noticeably been altered by his writing. Through accessible language and easily-understood themes, Vonnegut has created works subtle, engrossing, and familiar. His main method for doing this is by exploiting a theme with which everyone is familiar and about which everyone has his own opinion: religion.

James baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His essays were mostly of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, mostly in mid-20th-century America. Some of Baldwin's essays are book-length, for instance The Fire Next Time (1963), No Name in the Street (1972), and The Devil Finds Work (1976). An unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, was expanded upon and adapted for cinema as the Academy Award-nominated documentary film I Am Not Your Negro. Writer and playwright James Baldwin was born August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York. One of the 20th century's greatest writers, Baldwin broke new literary ground with the exploration of racial and social issues in his many works. He was especially well known for his essays on the black experience in America.