Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

On the way home in the morning (it was an all-night prayer sesh), Elizabeth remembers John's real father, a boy she had loved but who had killed himself before John was born. Everyone is thrilled, except for Gabriel.

He passes through some terrible visions before he comes through it, saved by Jesus. Fair enough.Įlisha is overcome by the spirit of the Lord and lies on the floor, speaking in tongues. It turns out that she has a deadly illness and is frightened.

John's parents and aunt come in later, and his aunt cries while she prays. Some older ladies come in and they start singing and praying. John goes to church to clean up before the Saturday evening service and wrestles with Elisha, the preacher's nephew. Yup, Gabriel beats a) his son, who has just b) been stabbed, with a belt. Roy says that he'll kill his father if he ever touches his mother again, and Gabriel gives him a beating with his belt. Gabriel, the father, slaps Elizabeth, the mother, for not keeping her kids safe. His mother, father, Aunt Florence, and little sisters are all there, super upset because Roy has been stabbed. John spends his money at the movie theatre to watch a movie that his father would be sure to find sinful.Īfter the movies, John goes back home to find his brother, Roy, bleeding on the couch. He takes off and heads out of Harlem into Central Park. When he's done with his chores, John's mother, Elizabeth, gives him money and tells him to go buy something he'd like. Ouch.īut: surprise, surprise, she remembered. His mom gives him breakfast and tells him to go sweep the living room, just like every Saturday. John Grimes wakes up on his fourteenth birthday, a Saturday, but no one in his family remembers that it's his big day.

Go Tell it on the Mountain is a novel that does a ton of looping back into characters' memories through the form of flashbacks, but let's just get the basic storyline straight (without those pesky trips down Memory Lane).

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin