Rites of Passage in Baldwin
Maturity falls into two categories, physical maturity and psychological maturity. For most people, physical maturity occurs in any case, whereas only those who quest for self-identity achieve psychological maturity. James Baldwin depicts this kind of maturity in Go Tell It On The Mountain via the protagonist John Grimes. From a literal level, Baldwin develops the theme of rights of passage through the sub-themes of racism, religion, and paternalism and compares and contrasts them in order to illustrate John Grimes' metamorphosis from a young boy to an adult within his society. The sub-theme of religion deviates from the main theme, rights of passage. Baldwin performs this through John's experiences with religion. John's earliest memories bore semblances of a church, and a "hurry and brightness of Sunday mornings" (Baldwin 11). Thus, Baldwin creates the fact that religion plays an important part of John's life. In fact, the rest of John's life would become dominated by religion. Baldwin foreshadows this through a quote: "Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father" (Baldwin 11). John however must undergo a number of tests in order to become one of God's servants. In the beginning,
Books and writers. 2000. 6 May 2001 .Porter, Horace. Stealing the Fire: The Art and Protest of James Baldwin. Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1989. 14-17, 114-15. Ultimately, John experiences a vision during a moment of prayer. In this vision, a voice calls out to John and reveals to him about the "black curse". The voice then whispers sardonically, "all niggers had come from the most undutiful of Noah's sons" (Baldwin 197). John does not comply; instead he questions this curse and here, John's strength stands out. Through this passage, Baldwin makes evident John's rights to be African American. John shows signs of taking part in society as African American. Baldwin, James. Go Tell It On the Mountain. New York: Bantam DoubleDay Dell Publishing Group, Inc, 1952.
Some common words found in the essay are:
African American, John Grimes', Van Gessep's, Van Gennep, Furthermore John's, Ultimately John, John Grimes, , James Baldwin, God Baldwin, rites passage, rights passage, james baldwin, tell mountain, african american, john grimes, john experiences, sub-theme religion, john begins, racism religion, john experiences vision, passage john grimes, theme rights passage, 2000 6 2001, baldwin makes evident,
Approximate Word count = 1407
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
