And this turned into Florence's deepest desire: to leave the cottage one morning and never come back. Not many months after Gabriel's birth, her father—whom she hardly remembered—had left that way one morning. (Baldwin 15). Following Florence's realization that she has no cause to stick around is the quotation. She left the nation by walking through a large gate after tying her belongings in a piece of cloth and placing them on her head.
Following the quotation, the author describes how Florence learned that people had left the earth and the sky and started their voyage up north. However, her mother never wished to go there since she preferred to stay in the cabin wash for the white folks despite her old age and back sore. She wants Florence also to be satisfied with assisting with washing, preparing meals and looking after Gabriel.
Florence story represents the situation of several women, particularly the black women in the society. Through her story, on how she was raised and the conditions marked by lack of fairness that she had to go through just because she was a black woman. It's a common fear among the black women that they end up with no bright future as the average housewife with no meaningful education. Like Florence, they hope and dream to get an education and a good future for themselves.
Florence resented her brother Gabriel from the time he was born since their mother favored Gabriel a lot since he was a man-child at the expense of Florence since she was a lady. The mother thought “Florence was a girl, and would by and by be married and have children of her own and the duties of a woman” (Baldwin 15). It depicts how much the gender lines are clear. There are specific roles of women and men and each person needs to stay within their gender lines. The way the genders relate is, however, unsustainable since girls are expected to suffer as they mature to be wives.
Essay 2
Then Richard shouted, “But I wasn’t there! Look at me, goddammit – I wasn’t there!” “You black bastards,” the man said, looking at him, “you’re all the same.” The quotation follows the incident at the station. The author recounts how Richard had not robbed the store but had gone to wait for train since it was late but the trains were slow and therefore ended standing on the platform alone. Two colored boys with torn clothes and frightened who were running from a white man came to the platform and stood close to him.
Richard and three colored boys who joined him on the platform after running away from another white man. All of them were herded into the wagon and later the station-house. Richard gave his name and said he was not part of it and requested one of the boys to confirm his testimony. The store owner was brought in to make identification making Richard to relax since he knew the man would not claim he was involved when he had not seen him before. However, when the man came in with a police officer he looked at them and said: “yeah, that’s them, all right.”
After the quotation, silence filled in the station with all the white men watching and he knew he is lost. Looking at the white man’s bloody shirt, at the bottom of his heart he said to Elizabeth “I wish to God they’d killed you” (Baldwin 36). When questioning began, the three boys signed the confession but Richard did not He said that he would die first to sign a confession to what he did not do. One of them hit him across on the head telling him “maybe you will die, you black son-of-a-bitch.” (Baldwin 37).
Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain shows the effects of racism and the kind of inhumanity that slaves in America went through. Blacks worked for the white folks, for instance, Florence and Gabriel’s mother worked for the white folks like a slave. The characters in the novel go through various circumstances including social, psychological and physical. Florence and his brother Gabriel have other siblings, but they do not know them since they were snatched from their mother all because of slavery and race.
Part II
The African-American spiritual hymn that James Baldwin uses for the title of his novel is often considered a Christmas song. It begins, “Go Tell it on the Mountain/ Over the hills and everywhere/ Go Tell it on the Mountain/ That Jesus Christ is born!” How does the theme of a new birth and the arrival of a savior relate to the events and the theme of the novel?
The author tells various stories depicting different themes, however, from a broad perspective, it is about the coming to age of a young boy, John Grimes who is the main character in the novel. The story gets complex since it is mixed with other stories of the boy’s father, mother and aunt. It’s not only John Grimes who comes of age. Instead other characters too come of age making the theme of coming to age the main theme of the novel. For instance, Florence’s and Gabriel’s mother who worked as a slave for the white folks got freedom through the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.
The novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain happen in a span of just a day and a night, however, a lot takes place within the twenty-four hours. The main character in the novel, John Grimes goes through a religious conversion and before the end of the day becomes an adult before himself and the entire community. The novel depicts how much religion has played a role in the development of some of the characters. Characters who come to age in the novel include John’s older relatives, his aunt and his mother. Their decision to accept or reject religion by going to church or failing to go, all people affirm their adulthood.
At the beginning of the novel, John and his father Gabriel are depicted as preachers to all those who knew them. They attend a local church on a weekly basis symbolizing strong devotion of their faith. John believe in the existence of God; however, he did not feel it. When one reads through the novel, one notes how slowly by slowly John transitions into a more committed believer. Finally, the Holy Spirit overcomes him giving him the Lord’s visions. At the end of all this he shouts “I am saved’ then goes ahead to dedicate his life fully to God. Even though the novel depicts themes of family and religion alongside religion, religion dominates the two.
Work Cited
Baldwin, James. Go Tell It on the Mountain. n.d. Web. 8 May 2017. .
