The Symbolism Of Darkness In Giovanni's Room By James Baldwin

The novel Giovanni’s Room written by James Baldwin in 1956, is a compelling novel about the life of a young American man named David, who flees the United States and goes to Paris in to try and find his “true self”. In Paris, he has a girlfriend named Hella who he proposes to, but before she gives him a definite answer she travels to Spain to try and figure herself out. While Hella is traveling in Spain, David has a romantic relationship with an Italian bartender named Giovanni and eventually David moves into his room. Giovanni is an Italian immigrant who lives in Paris and works for Guillaume, who is a good friend of David’s. When David and Giovanni’s relationship intensifies, Guillaume fires Giovanni out of jealously. Giovanni then relies

David references the “dark”, which could symbolize evil or fear. When David describes how Giovanni loves him he says, “... And told me in many ways as he could find how wonderful it was to have me there, how I stood, with my love and ingenuity, between him and the dark.” Giovanni refers that if he was not in a relationship with David, then he would be in a bad place and would be living in fear. Giovanni could feel that way because of his past. For example, Giovanni had a wife back in Italy and they had a child together, but the baby was a stillborn. This destroyed Giovanni he admits, “It was the day of my death-I wish it had been the day of my death.” Giovanni then revels how he took the crucifix off the wall and spit on it and since then he believes god is punishing him for all of his sins. This could be Giovanni’s dark past that he refers to when he was talking to David. When David is with Giovanni he provides him with a sense of safeness and light. Darkness is represented when Giovani reveals how he feels about

Throughout the novel, David shows that he is a selfish person even admitting when he says “…because the motives which lead me to Giovanni’s room, were so mixed, had so little to do with his hopes and desire, and were so deeply a part of my own desperation…” David is saying that he only moved into Giovanni’s room to fulfill his own needs. In this sense, David was using Giovanni has a type of distraction and he did not take into consideration how Giovanni felt about him, proving him to be selfish. David constantly has a desire for sex and does not care if its Giovanni or somebody else. He admits to that desire by saying “…dreamed of the touch of hands, of Giovanni’s hands, or anybody’s hands, hands which would have the power to crush me and make me whole again.” In this regard, David is describing how the way Giovanni or anyone touched him made him feel ashamed but at the same time made him feel unstoppable. This proves David to be selfish because he does not care who he is in a relationship with as long as he is satisfied. Another example that proves him to be selfish is when he admits, “Sometimes, when he was not near me, I thought, I will never let him touch me again. Then when he touched me, I thought it doesn’t matter it’s only the body it will be over soon.” David realizes that the thought of sleeping with Giovanni disgusts him, but he does not care because his desire is met. If David did not let