Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

'Go Tell it On the Mountain Study Guide'. Next Section Go Tell it On the Mountain Summary Buy Study Guide How To Cite in MLA Format Mary Sue Daoud. Other critics identified influences of Dostoevsky, Faulkner, and other classic writers. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews and immediately was recognized as establishing a profound and permanent new voice in American letters. In this beautiful, furious first novel, there are no such reductions.' Douglas Field of The Guardian, reviewing the book in 2003, discusses the 'radical sexualized spirituality' at the heart of the book, pulling out Baldwin's emphasis on the physicality of religion and pointing to it as a foreshadowing of Baldwin's later views both on religion and his developing sexual identity. James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, and educated in New York. New York Times critic Donald Barr says, 'Judicious men in their chairs may explain the sociology of guilt, and so explain Negro religion away. Baldwin's novel was received exceedingly well by critics across the country, citing both the content and most particularly Baldwin's eloquent, lyrical writing. In order to complete the book, Baldwin went to Switzerland and lived a fairly isolated life for three months, writing and revising material that had been taking shape in his mind since his early teens. Like Baldwin, John experiences some homosexual urges, has to deal with family issues and abuse at home, and undergoes a radical transformation where he becomes a Christian. The book deals with 14-year-old John Grimes, whose intellect seems to him the way to escape the strictures of his unloving father (whom we later find out is his stepfather) Gabriel, a Pentecostal preacher. Semi-autobiographical, the book mirrors the troubled relationship Baldwin had with his own stepfather accordingly, troubled relationships, guilt, bitterness, racism, and (perhaps most important) religion are the major themes of the book. Go Tell It on the Mountain is Baldwin's first major work as an author and skyrocketed him into literary stardom upon publication in 1952.

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin