If Beale Street Could Talk By James Baldwin

Written by James Baldwin in 1974, If Beale Street Could Talk follows the story of a young black couple in 1970s Harlem. The novel centers around themes of love, perseverance, and connection, as the author discusses institutionalised racism and persecution. Baldwin uses the motif of religion to contrast Alice Hunt’s performative faith with the River family’s secular acts of communion, to show that true religion strengthens love through connection, and comments on religious institutions and their role in fostering shallowness, leading the reader to consider the role that artificial goodwill and dogma play in disrupting genuine belief.

Alice Hunt is emblematic of the church she attends; theatrical, not genuine, and where religion is used to justify abusive behaviours. When Tish is first introduced to the Hunts’ church, she is surprised and made

Alice treats mass as a means of showing off, disregarding the real purpose of a church service. She is described as “high and noble”, which contradicts traditional religious values of humility and introspectness, qualities that people aim to develop during service. Additionally, her footsteps are compared to gunshots, which increases Tish’s unease about the church, since pistols generally serve as an archetype for destruction and disorder, another contradiction to a church’s purpose. The performative nature of the church is further shown in Tish's following comment, where she says “Mrs. Hunt rose, she faced the entire congregation for a moment, and then she, modestly, sat down.”(25). Alice, and by extension the church, are paradoxical. She is being modest only for the sake of the congregation, and making a show out of her humility and decency, habits which are meant to be personal. By facing the congregation before being seated, Mrs. Hunt conveys that her piety is for show;