Introduction


James Baldwin

Best known for his semiautobiographical novel Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), African-American author James Baldwin primarily explores issues of injustice and identity. That is understandably so. Born in 1924 in Harlem, Baldwin never knew his biological father, his mother was impoverished, and his stepfather was abusive. Baldwin also had to deal with the problems posed by being homosexual. His feelings of the unfairness of life come out repeatedly in both his fiction and nonfiction. Thinking he could escape personal problems at home, Baldwin moved to Europe in 1948. However, he returned to the States in 1957, compelled by the school desegregation debates. Although he wrote consistently after publishing Mountain, Baldwin never again achieved its success.

Essential Facts

  1. Baldwin became a preacher at the age of 14 and delivered sermons for three years, but he later left the church entirely.
  2. Baldwin finished Go Tell It on the Mountain not in Harlem, the city of his upbringing and setting of the novel, but in Switzerland.
  3. Baldwin felt it was his personal mission to “bear witness to the truth.”
  4. Baldwin was of great interest to the F.B.I., which purportedly held more than 1,750 files on his activities.
  5. One of Baldwin’s most quoted maxims is “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
 

Recommended Resources

  1. Go Tell It on the Mountain Study Guide (eNotes)
  2. James Baldwin - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  3. James Baldwin - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  4. Notes of a Native Son Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. African American Drama
  2. American Ethnic Writers
  3. Another Country Literary Characters
  4. Another Country Literary Places
  5. Blues for Mister Charlie Literary Characters
  6. Critical Survey of Drama
  7. Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  8. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  9. Evidence of Things Not Seen
  10. Gay and Lesbian Long Fiction
  11. Giovanni's Room Identities and Issues
  12. Giovanni's Room Literary Characters
  13. Giovanni's Room Masterplot
  14. Go Tell It on the Mountain
  15. Go Tell It on the Mountain Book Review
  16. Go Tell It on the Mountain Literary Characters
  17. Go Tell It on the Mountain Literary Places
  18. Go Tell It on the Mountain Study Guide (eNotes)
  19. If Beale Street Could Talk Literary Characters
  20. If Beale Street Could Talk Masterplot
  21. James Baldwin
  22. James Baldwin
  23. James Baldwin - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  24. James Baldwin - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  25. James Baldwin - Magill's Literary Annual
  26. James Baldwin Censorship
  27. James Baldwin Criticism
  28. Just Above My Head Literary Characters
  29. Just Above My Head Masterplot
  30. Notes of a Native Son Criticism
  31. Notes of a Native Son Study Guide (eNotes)
  32. One Day When I Was Lost: A Scenario Study Guide
  33. Sonny's Blues
  34. Sonny's Blues Short Story Criticism
  35. The Amen Corner Study Guide
  36. The Fire Next Time Book Review
  37. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on James Baldwin
  38. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on James Baldwin
  39. The Price of the Ticket Book Review
  40. The Rockpile Study Guide
  41. The Sixties in America
  42. The Story of Roland quickNotes