James Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain

James Baldwin’s novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain, takes readers on the journey of a family in Harlem during the early 1900s. While this story starts off from the perspective of a fourteen-year-old boy, John, it eventually changes to other family members’, such as Florence and Gabriel, in order for readers to experience different characters in different times. John struggles with being the unloved child of his father and with the high expectations to which he has to live up. Baldwin later uncovers that John’s problems stem from early instances within the story and from the conflicts that have occurred between other characters. Between the bottom of page 66 and 74, Baldwin gives readers more background information on Florence and Gabriel and

When the author describes Gabriel as the “apple of his mother’s eye,” readers can see a similarity between Roy and Gabriel, which might explain why Gabriel favors Roy over John. This passage goes on to show more similarities between the two characters as it describes Gabriel as “getting into mischief with other boys”. It also shows that when Gabriel misbehaved, his mother would grab a switch and beat him "until any other boy would have fallen down dead." Gabriel's beatings show his intentions when he beats Roy earlier in the story. Gabriel was taught that beating is a way to teach a lesson, and that is exactly what he does with his children. Baldwin uses this passage to characterize the parallel nature of Gabriel and Roy as well as depict Gabriel’s childhood and how that has affected his adult decisions and

The characterization that takes place allows readers to better understand how the relationship between Gabriel and Florence was affected by jealousy and why the conflict between the two lasted for so long. It also gives readers a better understanding of who Gabriel was growing up. Readers see what he was like as a child and the difference in character before becoming a preacher. Baldwin shows the similarities between Roy and Gabriel and also John and Gabriel. Characterization is a crucial aspect to a text because it allows readers to better understand the characters and their motivations. Without the use of characterization, readers would not have been able to fully understand the relationship between Gabriel and Florence and would miss out on seeing how much Gabriel has changed throughout the novel. Baldwin's work allows readers to gain access into the characters lives by expanding the lenses through which they