ipl-logo

Brief Summary Of 'The Rockpile' By James Baldwin

573 Words3 Pages

“The Rockpile”, by James Baldwin, starts out with the narrator describing the mass of natural rock that juts out of the ground in an empty lot between two houses. It Is located across the street from the home of brothers John and Roy and their family. There always seemed to be boys playing and fighting on the rockpile each afternoon and on Saturdays and Sundays. John and Roy’s mother, Elizabeth, had told both of the boys that they are to go nowhere near the rockpile. On Saturdays the boys like to sit out on the fire escape and watch the street below and the people that walk it. Their father, Gabriel, always got off of work early on Saturdays and soon the boys knew they would have to come inside. From the window the boys could see the bridge that spanned the Harlem …show more content…

Some friends of Roy called him from the streets to come down with them. John tried to persuade Roy to stay where he was, but he was adamant and decided to go down anyways. After a substantial amount of time had passed, John looked up from his drawing and noticed that there was a gang fight on the rockpile. John had a hard time locating Roy until he saw him moving to the very top. Roy’s shirt was torn and just then, an empty tin can flew out of the air and cut him above his eye. As he lay bleeding on the ground, Roy yelled out for his mother. Elizabeth ran downstairs to get him and a man was waiting with Roy in his arms. Once they got upstairs the blood was washed away and Roy’s cut was treated and bandaged. Elizabeth’s company, Sister McCandless, looked at John with scorn and wanted to know why he allowed his brother to go downstairs and why he did not inform his mother. As the sister got ready to leave to prepare for Tarry Service, she could hear the footsteps of John and Roy’s father coming up the stairs. Sister McCandless left promptly to go and prepare Gabriel for what lie

Show More
Related
1286 Words | 6 Pages

Rebels at Rock Island: the story of a Civil War prison is a book written by author Benton McAdams and was published by the Northern Illinois University Press in DeKalb, Illinois. This 260-page non-fiction book was published in 2000 based on a prison during the Civil War. Benton McAdams purpose to writing this book was to break the common thought that Rock Island prison was an overall horrible place for the prisoners to be in. The information given in the book can change people points of view and their opinions on whether the prison was actually as bad as people have said. Rebels at Rock Island was written to change the readers’ viewpoint about the prison that is sometimes referred to as the “Andersonville of the North.”

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

He then, thought If Uncle Rafe was Injured then Gabbi (his sister) may be too. Cal went to Gabbi’s room and saw her laying down on the floor “Like a broken doll.” He put his ears on her chest and she wasn’t breathing, then he tried to do CPR but that failed too. Cal was screaming at Gabbi and telling her to breathe. Cal had heard something downstairs,

Read More
200 Words | 1 Pages

Robert knew something was wrong when the toddler 's mother, Kimberly Johnson, picked him up. The toddler was agitated and holding his arm. Alexis told Kimberly that her son was upset because the other children had already went home. However, when the toddler 's father took him to the doctor, the doctor told him that the toddler had a broken arm.

Read More
221 Words | 1 Pages

Nurse Davila asked him if he wanted to call his wife and he agreed, after speaking to his wife, he learned that he was in a

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution, successfully enables his readers to grasp the significance behind Boston and its neighboring cities during the rise of the Revolutionary War. Most Americans have a vague understanding of why events like the Battle of Bunker Hill are relevant and how this particular campaign played a pinnacle role in leading up to the Revolutionary War, but Philbrick does a service to Americans by beautifully illustrating these events from cover to cover. Not only is each occasion intimately detailed, but Philbrick records these instances in a precise and memorable rhythm. Although at times his novel might appear exhausting with vivid imagery, Philbrick’s thesis remains clear: In the

Read More
657 Words | 3 Pages

In the piece, “Upon This Rock,” by John Jeremiah Sullivan, the author takes us with him on his journey to a Christian Rock festival called Creation. At first, he seems skeptical because of his trouble with the Crossover Festival and he worries about what might happen while he is trying to do his research. Once he arrives at Creation, Sullivan notices that the Christians he encounters are mostly younger the age of eighteen and that roughly one hundred percent of them were white. He depicts them in a way that makes the reader think they are abnormal or different. Then, the author introduces us to 6 interesting young men and describes them like they’re his best friends, and making them seem far from crazy.

Read More
251 Words | 2 Pages

In James Baldwin’s short story, “The Rockpile”, he uses an object, the rockpile, as symbolism for something bigger. Baldwin uses the rockpile to represent the dangers that come with freedom. The mother of the main character says to her sons, “Its a wonder they don’t kill themselves” (1). This illustrates that the rockpile and those who regularly go there are dangerous. The statement sets the idea that both John and Roy should not be going there.

Read More
1454 Words | 6 Pages

Even after Owen accidentally kill’s John mother by hitting her with a baseball, the two boys remain friends. John tells tales of his and Owen’s lives, from when they are kids to Owen’s death, and even after that horrible event. Owen effects every aspect of John’s life in a way that no other person could. The novel, however,

Read More
1259 Words | 6 Pages

On June 12th, 1942, Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank received a diary from her parents. Little did they know that the diary would later become one of the most critical pieces of information in World War II. In the beginning of her diary, it was just like any other teenage girl’s diary. She led a normal life, worrying about what she’d wear tomorrow or what her friends are doing.

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

In the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he expresses feelings of hate and despair towards his father. His father died when James was 19 years old from tuberculosis; it just so happens that his funeral was on the day of the Harlem Riot of 1943. Baldwin explains that his father isn’t fond of white people due to the racist past. He recalls a time when a white teacher brought him to a theater and that caused nothing but upset with his father, even though it was a kind act. Many events happened to Baldwin as a result of segregation, including a time where a waitress refused to serve him due to his skin color and Baldwin threw a pitcher of water at her.

Read More
260 Words | 2 Pages

In James Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native Son”, many different stories throughout his life are presented to convey his feelings towards his father and his treatment as a young black man in America at the time. He walks the reader through many encounters with his father, which begin with his father’s death. Baldwin describes his feeling the morning of the funeral and the discontent he had at the time. He goes on to describe how his father was brought up and his ideals; and how this led him to raise his children.

Read More
1396 Words | 6 Pages

The narrator is visited by a friend from Sonny’s past and then after reaches out to his brother. Sonny invites him to come hear him play and that is when the narrator understands his brother and in turn understands he himself. James Baldwin was raised by a single mother and later stepfather who was a Baptist minister. He attended school in the Bronx and developed a passion for

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

The couple had just returned to their apartment to have dinner after visiting their daughter, Quintana, in the hospital. Quintana had been unconscious for days and was suffering from pneumonia and septic shock. Didion recalls that she was mixing the salad for dinner when she noticed her husband stop mid-sentence and slump over. Within an hour of calling the paramedics, John was pronounced dead (p. 22). Within an hour, her husband had gone from living and breathing in his living room recliner, to a death certificate marked 10:18 p.m.

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

In the book 'Holes' by Louis Sachar, Stanley the protagonist tries to overcome the struggles in Camp Green Lake. There was once a beautiful large lake, but now it is just a flat, dry wasteland which turn bad children into a good. Stanley was an isolated person with no friend and he was unlucky of the curse that his great great grandfather that made him went to Camp Green Lake . Stanley was challenged by digging holes in the blistering weather and whenever he dug a hole he become stronger by each hole he dug. Stanley faces many problems during his time at Camp Green Lake but he manages to overcome all of them.

Read More
1391 Words | 6 Pages

In this stage, I will describe what I felt about the situation. At first, I was amazed at the way Susan was taking care of the situation. She was continuously trying to keep John calm, but even she knew that she was failing at it. The pain on her face whilst telling her husband that their son will be coming late, when in reality he won’t be coming at all, was clear. At this point I wondered that how many times John must have asked this question at home and how Susan would have taken care of the situation.

Read More

More about Brief Summary Of 'The Rockpile' By James Baldwin

Related Topics

Open Document