Summary Of Go Tell It On The Mountain By James Baldwin

In the novel ‘Go Tell It On The Mountain’ by James Baldwin, Baldwin shows envy and jealousy can turn anyone into a danger for (themselves or someone else) and it stems from favoritism which should be cut out. He does this by using Roy vs. John as well as Florence vs. Gabriel in order to connect to the biblical allusion of Cain and Abel.
Baldwin includes the different treatment between our protagonist's sons which is very different due to the fact that one is illegitimate, in hopes of showing that this favoritism causes both children harm and should be ended. Baldwin does this by providing the reader with a line of symmetry to a biblical story Cain and Abel. In the novel Baldwin states, “When he was young, John had paid no attention to Sunday

Which shows an unfair balance system coming from the father because he expects so much of the child that isn't his but nothing of the one that is.Similar to in the biblical story Cain and Abel where both children were hoping that there offering to god meant that he would allow them to live yet only one of them were granted their wish. Now as the book continues the effects of the different parenting starts to show more and more. For example, while John spends most of his nights considering whether or not he wants to be a preacher Roy spends his nights “doing it with the girls down the street.” In all actuality, they both suffer. Roy gets stabbed in a knife fight while being involved in what his dad would tell only John is a sin and John feels stuck all day every day as he realizes his dad is not accepting him.Similar to the story of Cain and Abel who both suffered. Cain killed

When Florence visits Gabriel's church for the first time she’s supposed to, of course like everyone else there be rejoicing, however she doesn’t feel like same spirit everyone else does. “Yet, in Florence's heart tonight hatred and bitterness weighed like granite,” (Baldwin, 70). This line shows that there is something sitting heavily in florence's mind that not only causes her pain but makes her angry. Baldwin continues to say what it is that has been on Florence's mind and shows a flashback. Inside this flashback there is a prayer being said. “This was the first prayer Florence heard, the only prayer she was ever to hear in which her mother demanded the protection of God more passionately for her daughter than she demanded it for her son” (Baldwin, 73).This similarly to the story of Cain and Abel shows the separation between two children.While Florence is never prayed for her brother always is.The effects of this show in both children's downfall similarly to in Cain and Abel in terms that Florence has this burden of a memory of only one time her mom prayed for unlike the millions of times her mom prayed for her brother.Gabriel's downfall is he is constantly putting others down because he was always