Analysis Of The Rockpile By James Baldwin

James Baldwin’s Writing Style

James Baldwin has a unique writing style that is influenced by his past as a pastor and poet. In “Sonny’s Blues” and “The Rockpile” both include a poetic style, consisting of numerous literary devices, as well as many biblical influences which are present throughout the short stories.

James Baldwin was born August 2, 1924 to a single mother and he never knew his biological father. His step-father, David Baldwin, had a major impact on James’ writing due to his profession as a Baptist minister. He was a youth minister and at a young age he found his love for reading and writing. Through the entirety of his life, he published numerous short stories and poems. His writings often experimented with unusual and risky

One of the most prominent ones was foreshadowing. For instance, at the beginning of the story, Baldwin uses past conversations to bring context to the story. He stated that, ‘“It's a wonder they don't kill themselves’, Elizabeth told the boys” which is clear foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen to the boys (Baldwin). Baldwin uses foreshadowing to get the reader interested from the beginning of the story. The author also uses this literary device when talking about the actual rockpile itself. He mentioned how the Rockpile was somehow mysterious and that no one actually knew why it was there. The only information Baldwin gave to reader about the Rockpile was that it was a place absent of good. Thus the reader was also dragged into the story because they wanted to see how John and Roy would interact with the Rockpile from the

This short story is a great example of how the author uses his knowledge of poetry to uplift his writing to sound lyrical and beautiful. An example of his lyrical writing is seen when he states,

“As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last” (Baldwin).

This eloquent passage almost seems as if Baldwin wants us to sing it. The author uses other literary devices such as alliteration. As seen in the passage above, Baldwin uses alliteration to create imagery and emphasize words which give help his works