Reading 1001 discussion

Review thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Questions from Penguin Random House

1. Go Tell It on the Mountain is interspersed with prayers, hymns, and biblical verses as epigraphs between sections and as dialogue within chapters. Why do you think Baldwin chose to structure the novel in this way? How does this structure amplify your understanding of the totality of the church in the lives of the characters?

2. The novel is set primarily in 1935 Harlem. How does the time period and location impact the novel’s plot and themes? As the characters grapple with godly aspirations and worldly desires, what challenges and temptations does the city present? In the end, are any of the characters able to harmonize their physical and metaphysical landscapes?

3. We meet John Grimes on his fourteenth birthday with the explanation that this was the day he realized he did not want to be like his father. What events solidified this decision? Have you ever felt pressure to follow in the footsteps of a parent or guardian? Share your own experience of confronting those expectations.

4. Reflecting on his family, John wonders, “If God’s power was so great, why were their lives so troubled?” (page 143). Describe the Grimes family. Despite being deeply concerned with living a devout life, why do you think their lives were so troubled?

5. Gabriel is positioned as the religious, authoritative, and financial head of his family. How does Gabriel complicate his family’s view on Christianity with his anger, abuse, and lies? Do you think his beliefs excuse his behavior?

6. Christian values shape each character’s views on spirituality, sexuality, and morality. What does it take to be a good man or woman according to the church’s teachings? What must be adopted, and what must be sacrificed? While each character struggles to live up to these standards, whose shortcomings are excused and whose are punished?

7. “Florence’s Prayer” illuminates the complex relationship between religion and slavery in the American South. How is religion used to justify slavery and also bring about its end? In what ways do formerly enslaved characters use biblical stories to understand their own suffering? Decades after emancipation, why do you think the novel’s characters return to religion during times of racial strife?

8. Aunt Florence is the first of many characters in the novel to flee the South during the Great Migration. Why does she leave, and what events are set in motion within her family as a result of this decision? What does the North represent to the novel’s migratory characters, including Elizabeth, Richard, and Gabriel? Does New York meet their expectations?

9. Go Tell It on the Mountain sheds light on the lives of Black women as they navigate their ambitions, realize their sexuality, and face the difficult realities of love, marriage, and motherhood. How are their options limited by forces such as the church and patriarchal social conventions in the early twentieth century? What is the danger of being labeled a “fallen woman,” and what lengths do these women go to to avoid being perceived in this way?

10. The story of Deborah’s rape and its lasting impact on her life is horrific and distressing. How does the assault shape the town’s perception of her? Why does Gabriel choose to marry her?

11. What is the root of Florence’s hatred for her brother Gabriel? Do you think her anger is justified? What truths are revealed in their final confrontation?

12. A recurring image in the novel is of the steep climb up the side of the mountain. What does this mountain represent? What is waiting at the top, and why is the climb so difficult? In the end, do any of the characters make it up?

13. Gabriel spends much of his adult life trying to atone for the sins of his past. Do you think marrying Elizabeth and raising John gave him the closure he desired? By the end of the novel, has he forgiven himself or achieved the Lord’s forgiveness that he strives for?

14. Elizabeth is described by her husband as “hardhearted, stiff-necked, and hard to bend” (page 111). Return to the early pages of “Elizabeth’s Prayer.” How is her upbringing shaped by her father’s and aunt’s opposing views, and what impact did it have on her own views on religion and morality? In what ways does she resist her husband’s authority and control?

15. The novel’s main characters all wrestle with their fears of religious punishment and the ever-present threat of destruction. How do they cope with this pressure, and what solutions does the church provide? How does the desire to be saved from destruction and save loved ones link the characters to each other?

16. Go Tell It on the Mountain speaks to themes of ancestry and inheritance. Reflect on Gabriel’s relationship with his sons Royal, John, and Roy. Why does he give his biological children the name Royal, and why is he troubled by the fact that only John has been saved?

17. Who is Elisha, and what is his role in the church? Why do you think he is an important figure in John’s life? What is the significance of his kiss at the end of the novel?

1. Go Tell It on the Mountain is interspersed with prayers, hymns, and biblical verses as epigraphs between sections and as dialogue within chapters. Why do you think Baldwin chose to structure the novel in this way? How does this structure amplify your understanding of the totality of the church in the lives of the characters?
I guess they comment on each character’s life experience. “Gabriel’s Prayer,” for example, opens with a verse about the father and son, a primary concern of his life: his disappointment that he does not have a son by his wife Deborah; his shame about his illegitimate son as well as that son’s fate; his anger toward his adopted son John, who shows more intellectual promise than his biological son, who seems likely to repeat the fate of the first Royal.

2. The novel is set primarily in 1935 Harlem. How does the time period and location impact the novel’s plot and themes? As the characters grapple with godly aspirations and worldly desires, what challenges and temptations does the city present? In the end, are any of the characters able to harmonize their physical and metaphysical landscapes?
At first, the city represents freedom for Florence and Elizabeth, who want to escape their oppressive families and life in the South. Unfortunately, they are both abandoned by the men they love (although in different ways), and there were few economic opportunities for poor Black women then (even now). They both end up working nights cleaning offices, and this is how they meet. There were also few employment opportunities for Black men, who were victimized by whites in power (as they are now). Richard is the clearest example of this, but Gabriel also works menial jobs where one imagines that he is mistreated and oppressed. Drinking and womanizing first offer him a way to escape the misery of his existence, and then religion performs the same task. He feels powerful and righteous when he’s preaching. Gabriel seems to find harmony between the physical and metaphysical, although I’m not sure the women do.

3. We meet John Grimes on his fourteenth birthday with the explanation that this was the day he realized he did not want to be like his father. What events solidified this decision? Have you ever felt pressure to follow in the footsteps of a parent or guardian? Share your own experience of confronting those expectations.
Gabriel slaps Elizabeth and beats the already injured Roy. John was already hardened against his father, religion, and their lifestyle before this, wanting something more than just scraping by and hoping for a better life in heaven. He wants a better life here and now, in the city he lives in, as he imagines when he visits Central Park.

4. Reflecting on his family, John wonders, “If God’s power was so great, why were their lives so troubled?” (page 143). Describe the Grimes family. Despite being deeply concerned with living a devout life, why do you think their lives were so troubled?
This comes back to the answers above – their lives are troubled due to racism and poverty. No matter how righteously they behave, they will not be “rewarded” by God on earth but in heaven.

5. Gabriel is positioned as the religious, authoritative, and financial head of his family. How does Gabriel complicate his family’s view on Christianity with his anger, abuse, and lies? Do you think his beliefs excuse his behavior?
I had a hard time with Gabriel because he is a complete hypocrite. He is so self-righteous that he criticizes other preachers for gossiping, but then gives into temptation with Esther, even stealing money from his wife to get rid of his mistress. I appreciated that Esther was ashamed of having fallen for him so that she didn’t even turn to her mother for help. He also holds a grudge against Elizabeth and John because John is illegitimate, while he has an illegitimate son he never acknowledged and completely neglected. As pointed out above, religion and preaching are ways for him to feel better about himself, hence they don’t excuse his behavior.

6. Christian values shape each character’s views on spirituality, sexuality, and morality. What does it take to be a good man or woman according to the church’s teachings? What must be adopted, and what must be sacrificed? While each character struggles to live up to these standards, whose shortcomings are excused and whose are punished?
Being a good person means not drinking, or seeing movies, or dancing, or listening to music… and definitely not having sex outside of marriage. It seems to me (and to John, at least at first) that you’re sacrificing everything fun in this life for the promise of a better life in heaven. It’s following a “narrow path,” as he thinks of it after seeing his birthday movie. Being a good person does not necessarily mean being kind or sympathetic to others, as Gabriel is a demanding and unforgiving husband, father, son, and brother.

7. “Florence’s Prayer” illuminates the complex relationship between religion and slavery in the American South. How is religion used to justify slavery and also bring about its end? In what ways do formerly enslaved characters use biblical stories to understand their own suffering? Decades after emancipation, why do you think the novel’s characters return to religion during times of racial strife?
As pointed out in other questions, religion promises the faithful that they will be rewarded in the afterlife, especially if they have suffered on earth. The introduction to the novel by Edwidge Danticat cites Baldwin explaining why he turned to religion after experiencing racially motivated abuse as a child: “Some went on wine or whiskey or the needle, and are still on it. And others, like me, fled into the church.”

8. Aunt Florence is the first of many characters in the novel to flee the South during the Great Migration. Why does she leave, and what events are set in motion within her family as a result of this decision? What does the North represent to the novel’s migratory characters, including Elizabeth, Richard, and Gabriel? Does New York meet their expectations?
See questions #2 and #3 above.

10. The story of Deborah’s rape and its lasting impact on her life is horrific and distressing. How does the assault shape the town’s perception of her? Why does Gabriel choose to marry her?
The town blames her for the rape and/or think she is ruined by it. As Baldwin writes, the men of the town carry a “lewd, uneasy wonder” about the night she was taken into the fields; I take this to mean they wonder if she did something to motivate the rape. He also writes that this night “robbed her of the right to be a woman.” She may have suffered physical injuries that make it impossible for her to conceive a child. Gabriel marries her, in part, because he has a dream that their union will bring forth children blessed by God who will carry on their holy work.

11. What is the root of Florence’s hatred for her brother Gabriel? Do you think her anger is justified? What truths are revealed in their final confrontation?
“Gabriel was the apple of his mother’s eye” (73), and with his birth, Florence’s future is “swallowed up.” Her mother believes it is only logical that everything should be sacrificed for the son, to make sure he is strong and well-dressed and educated to go out into the world to work. Florence is a mere girl, so she will just get married and stay home anyway. Florence is also the only living person who knows the extent of Gabriel’s hypocrisy – that he cheated on and stole from Deborah and fathered an illegitimate child. In their final confrontation, Florence says Gabriel hasn’t met a person who he hasn’t made to “drink a cup of sorrow,” (go Florence!). She calls him on his treatment of Elizabeth and John – that he is trying to make Elizabeth pay for her sin to make up for his own (go Florence!). She reveals the letter Deborah sent her, which she will give to Elizabeth after her death so everyone will know that he’s the world’s biggest hypocrite (go Florence!).

12. A recurring image in the novel is of the steep climb up the side of the mountain. What does this mountain represent? What is waiting at the top, and why is the climb so difficult? In the end, do any of the characters make it up?
Gabriel’s dream of the mountain stood out to me the most. He has this dream after having an erotic dream, which is just perfect because, in case I haven’t said it enough, he’s such a hypocrite. To Gabriel, climbing the mountain is like climbing out of the valley of sin into a beautiful and sunlit place where he and his lineage will be blessed by God. He takes this as a sign to marry Deborah and father legitimate children with her. This plan is thwarted, as are his hopes of making a holy family with Elizabeth, as the bastard John is the only son likely to be saved and follow in his footsteps.

13. Gabriel spends much of his adult life trying to atone for the sins of his past. Do you think marrying Elizabeth and raising John gave him the closure he desired? By the end of the novel, has he forgiven himself or achieved the Lord’s forgiveness that he strives for?
See question #11. He has not forgiven himself, partly because he cannot forgive others for committing similar sins (i.e., Elizabeth).

14. Elizabeth is described by her husband as “hardhearted, stiff-necked, and hard to bend” (page 111). Return to the early pages of “Elizabeth’s Prayer.” How is her upbringing shaped by her father’s and aunt’s opposing views, and what impact did it have on her own views on religion and morality? In what ways does she resist her husband’s authority and control?
The lesson she takes from her father is never to let the world see you weep, never to let anyone know they’ve beaten you. Elizabeth loves her father even though she shouldn’t because he runs a bordello. That love initially shapes her view of religion, which is associated with her aunt, who takes her away from the person she loves because he is a “sinner.” She sees Richard’s fate and John’s illegitimacy as punishment for her sins. Thus, Gabriel seems like a savior, especially given the promises he makes her.

16. Go Tell It on the Mountain speaks to themes of ancestry and inheritance. Reflect on Gabriel’s relationship with his sons Royal, John, and Roy. Why does he give his biological children the name Royal, and why is he troubled by the fact that only John has been saved?
I believe this is addressed in other answers above.

17. Who is Elisha, and what is his role in the church? Why do you think he is an important figure in John’s life? What is the significance of his kiss at the end of the novel?
Elisha is the nephew of the church Pastor. He plays the piano and leads a youth group. John admires him. Unlike Gabriel, who preaches one thing and practices another and beats his sons and wife, Elisha seems like a decent person. He also seems to be a symbol for John of the ability to be “saved” without becoming like his father, who he despises. The kiss at the end of the novel is Elisha’s blessing, a “seal ineffaceable forever.” Baldwin would later come out as gay, so one could find homoerotic meaning in the kiss as well.