Go Tell It On The Mountain Conflict Essay

Imagine hiding in a box, wanting to come out, but afraid of people attacking you once you step foot out of that box? Now imagine because of that fear, you have to situate your life in that box for the rest of your life. How would that make you feel? In the novel, Go Tell It on The Mountain by James Baldwin, the main character John Grimes faces that same exact issue. Because of societal and family views, he is pressured to follow in his stepfather’s footsteps without even thinking about who he is and who/what he wants to be. He is pressured by his father and is held in emotional constraint that is eating him alive. James Baldwin utilizes both characterization and conflict to exhibit the harsh struggles of wanting to live in one's truth and living

When Gabriel found out that Esther was pregnant after committing adultery with her, he gave her money to go away and have the child. Gabriel did not want to acknowledge his sin with Esther because he was a preacher (172). James Baldwin, introducing us to Gabriel’s secretive side expresses the idea that Gabriel struggled with inner conflict due to his status and the values that the church held. Because he was a preacher, he could not let society view him through a different lens after exposing his sin (172). This generational hypocrisy within the Christian community and within himself caused Gabriel to pass this on to pass this onto his family and have rising conflicts later in the book between himself and his family. James Baldwin emphasizes this hypocrisy in order to highlight the narrow minded views within the Christian community and how it affects later generations. When John was thinking about his life, he realized that he could not worship God without “worshiping” his father first(20). James Baldwin making this connection further explains the conflict between Gabriel and his family, especially his step son, John. This conflict caused John to be a reserved person; he did not feel comfortable being himself because of the backlash he would receive from his step father. In order to live up to his stepfather’s views, he held back,

Robert Z. Birdwell, in his article, talks about how the author, James Baldwin, wants to break the heritage within his Church community but also experience the culture of the African American community (Robert Z. Birdwell, Kairotic Time, Recognition, and Freedom). James Baldwin highlights the hypocrisy of the Church. In the novel, there are many sinners but they are not exposed. In the church community, homosexuality is considered to be a sin. James Baldiwn highlights the fact that older cultural views are passed on from generation to generation and it causes people to be blinded from new ideas. Even though many sins were committed by the community, when it came to homosexuality, they viewed it as a huge sin. This is hypocrisy! Dennis Ray Knight Jr., in his article, speaks on how James Baldwin condemns the Christian community because of their views on homosexuality, and how this novel was written to expose their faults (Dennis Ray Knight Jr. “Time to Tell”). James Baldwin faced nearly the same issues that the main character, John Grimes faced. He received a lot of backlash from the church community for just wanting to be himself which caused him to fight for his freedom. He wrote this book in order to educate people on the harsh realities of the Christian community. He wanted others to realize the oppression that came from these