Go Tell it on the Mountain

Go Tell it on the Mountain is a 1953 autobiographical novel by James Baldwin. The novel examines the role of the Christian Church in the lives of African-Americans, both as a source of repression and moral hypocrisy and as a source of inspiration and community. It also, more subtly, examines racism in the United States. The novel is likely Baldwin?s most famous.

Structure and Plot Synopsis

Go Tell it on the Mountain is organized into three sections. The first, The Seventh Day, takes place on the fourteenth birthday of protagonist John Grimes, the son of a strict, church-going family in 1935 Harlem. It establishes the novel?s two main conflicts: John?s crisis of faith and his struggle with his stern father Rev. Gabriel Grimes.

Related Topics:
Protagonist - 1935 - Harlem

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The second section Prayers of the Saints is divided into three subsections that tell the life stories of Gabriel Grimes, his sister Florence and his wife Elizabeth, respectively. It reveals how the Grimes immigrated from the south and of each individual?s love affairs. Most telling, it reveals that Gabriel was unfaithful to his first wife Deborah; an affair that produced a son Gabriel refused to recognize. Also, John is not the son of Gabriel but of Elizabeth and her first love, which explains why Gabriel is so harsh towards John

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The third section The Threshing Floor tells of John?s religious experience the day after his birthday. During a church service, he experiences a series of visions and perceives that he has heard the voice of God. This fills him with confidence and makes him ready to confront Gabriel.

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