What is the meaning of Go Tell It on the Mountain?
The song’s message is that the Christian message (“that Jesus Christ is born”) should be spread everywhere, shouted from the mountaintops. This novel can be interpreted as Baldwin’s way of telling his own experience of Christianity—with all its difficulties, bumps, and bruises—as well as his own coming-of-age.
What is Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin about?
It tells the story of John Grimes, an intelligent teenager in 1930s Harlem, and his relationship with his family and his church. The novel also reveals the back stories of John’s mother, his biological father, and his violent, fanatically religious stepfather, Gabriel Grimes.
What is John’s sin in Go Tell It on the Mountain?
Take, for example, the incident on the morning of his birthday, when John’s thoughts turn to his “sin” of masturbating while thinking of the older boys. In addition to the anonymous boys whom John recalls in the lavatory, there seems to be one person for whom John has a special affinity. That is Elisha.
What is the main conflict in Go Tell It on the Mountain?
At the heart of the story three main conflicts intertwine: a clash between father and son, a coming-of-age struggle, and a religious crisis.
Where does Go Tell It on the Mountain come from?
Like many spirituals and folk songs, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” has a pretty murky origin. The song likely dates back to the mid-19th century, but spirituals were passed from plantation to plantation orally, disseminating the songs without sheet music, let alone recordings, making them difficult to date accurately.
Who Said Go Tell It on the Mountain?
He said that at 11, Penn Station closes its doors. He asked another homeless woman named Milagro what he should do next, and she graciously offered him a nice place by a bridge trustle near her to sleep. 2 Tim Lucas, “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” Luke 2:8.
What type of novel is Go Tell It on the Mountain?
Autobiographical novel
Fictional Autobiography
Go Tell It on the Mountain/Genres
How does Go tell it on the mountain end?
At the end of James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain, after a dusk-to-dawn prostration before God at the altar of his church, John, the fourteen-year-old protagonist, gives his soul to Christ.
Who is John’s real father in Go Tell It on the Mountain?
Finally, although John does not know it, Gabriel is not his biological father. The familial “sleight of hand” (first Gabriel is John’s father, then he is not) not withstanding, Gabriel is, in every way but biological, John’s father.
How does Go Tell It on the Mountain end?
Why is Go Tell It on the Mountain banned?
Why: Challenged in Hudson Falls, NY (1994) and Prince William County, VA (1988) for various reasons including language, sexual themes, violence, and references to rape & degrading treatment of women. First line: “Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father.”