Coupled with his childhood in Harlem which was everything but pleasant, Baldwin had seen it all and was getting tired of the violence around him. and Malcolm X, who were his friends, rubbed off on Baldwin. Painful historic events like the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In a nutshell, Go Tell It On The Mountain is a story about family, religion, and an overview of Black people’s lives within a religious context. The spotlight in this novel is on John Grimes and his relationship with significant members of his family, including his mother and his overly religious stepfather, Gabriel Grimes, whom John is determined never to be like him. The impact of the Pentecostal Church on Black Americans is brought to the fore here, both the negative and positive sides. The novel’s main character is a teenager – John Grimes, who is struggling with balancing his relationship with his family and the church. Awards: 39th on Modern Library’s 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century (1998), TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.īaldwin wrote Go Tell It on the Mountain as a semi-autobiography that indirectly tells the story of his life in Harlem.He notably went from teen pastor to a non-believer. The essay explores Baldwin’s understanding of how Christianity has destroyed the experience of humanity in its real form through repression. In the second essay titled Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind, Baldwin tackles the essence of Christianity to the Black community. In the essay, Baldwin explains to the 14-year-old how he can convert the anger he feels as a result of racial segregation and turn it into a passion that opens the way for a better experience as an African-American. The first essay in the book is titled “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation” and as the name suggests, it’s a letter to his nephew. Baldwin targeted the segregation between the two races in this book with the intention of passing a message to the White community about the struggles of the Black man in the country. The Fire Next Time is made up of two essays written at a time when the gap between Whites and Blacks became very wide in the United States. This is likely the most popular book by the black renowned author and every fan of the author’s books probably read it first. Awards: Was a finalist in the 1964 National Book Awards in the Nonfiction category.
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While it was originally published in 1957, this James Baldwin short story resurfaced again in 1965 when it was republished in the short story collection titled Going to Meet the Man. Howbeit, the name of the main character did not get a mention but everything is seen through his eyes.Īfter worrying so much about his brother’s fate, even after putting substance abuse behind him, the narrator finally understands, it is only through music that Sonny’s suffering can turn into something to live for. The story is written in the first person singular, a narrative with Sonny’s brother as the main character and narrator. Sonny’s Blues chronicles the recollections of a black algebra teacher as he ponders on his brother (Sonny)’s struggles with drugs, arrest, and eventual recovery.
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In no particular order, below are 15 of the best works written by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ‘You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.’ Some of his best works are Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovanni’s Room, Notes of a Native Son, Sonny’s Blues, The Fire Next Time, among several others. During his active days, Baldwin churned out 59 literary works made up of novels, short stories, and plays. The American author was active from 1947 to 1985 but he died in 1987 at the age of 63. Nevertheless, he was mostly his own teacher. Growing up with his single mother in New York City’s Harlem, Baldwin saw poverty ravish black people but he managed to graduate from DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx. The American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and activist, used his passion as a writer to explore and bring to the fore, the ills inherent in the Western society where he lived and died.
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He was an eloquent writer and during his active days, he remained a voice to reckon with when it comes to sensitive subjects like race, sexuality, class distinctions, and the overall experiences of the black race in America.