The Use of Realistic Parallels in James Baldwin’s Novel Giovanni’s Room

By drawing realistic parallels to the actual human qualities of his audience and himself, James Baldwin expertly adds useful conflict to his plays. Baldwin strengthens his plots through the discovery of his characters and his own identity. He invites his audience to become part of the story by allowing them to identify with his characters or himself. For drama to be successfully written, it must contain conflict. If the play deals with family-related themes to be effective, it should represent either external conflict between characters and a cultural issue, or internal conflict within the family as its main issue or plot.

If a play deals with more sensitive issues such as race or sexuality, it, too, must include conflict-- perhaps incorporated through the development of events that have occurred in history.

Such events would serve to create a believable plot and help the reader relate to the issues at hand. Baldwin incorporates an interpersonal struggle between characters in "The Amen Corner," which results in a powerful family drama. This resonates with audiences because of its honesty and real-life plot. "The Amen Corner," written in 1952, explores the conflict between religious dogmatism and individual responsibility; it is a religious and deeply personal play drawn from the author's experience within the church. James's stepfather, David Baldwin, married his mother three years after James was born. As a laborer in a New York factory, David barely supported his new family. His first son Samuel, who was nine years older than James, received the majority of David's love. When Samuel left home due to his resentment towards his father, James was left with a stepfather who blamed and hated him. Consequently, James was left to care for his two brothers and five sisters while his mother worked night shifts cleaning office buildings. As a child growing up in a northern black ghetto, Baldwin was subjected to ridicule and made to feel regretful of his race by his classmates, friends, and stepfather. James, who was always a quiet child with very little to express verbally due to the persecution he received at home, became a pastor in a local church at the age of only fourteen, partly to please his father and partly to escape from the solitude his youth brought to his life.

The Firestone Pentecostal Assembly in Harlem. James' stepfather, also a preacher for a local Baptist church, grew more jealous and hateful toward his son as he threw himself further into a relationship with God at such a young age. James began to associate with other members of the church, many of whom were not African Americans. This further angered his father. At the age of seventeen, James retreated from the church with much learned, mostly negative, about his feelings toward others. "This religious retreat of nearly three years made Baldwin understand his hate and his new need to wreak vengeance upon whites and even God." After nearly six years of managing his junior high school and his high school's newspapers and building upon his literary skills that he had always shown, James graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx in January of 1942. Just one year later, on the same date that James' youngest sister, Paula Marie, was born, his unloved stepfather died of Tuberculosis in a Long Island hospital. With little emotional feeling toward his father's death, James was left with many family duties as the oldest of the three brothers. "James Baldwin had to face the harsh reality of the world with courage in order to support a family of which he was very proud." James' family consisted of George, born in 1927; Barbara, born in 1929; Wilmer, born in 1930; David born in 1931; Gloria born in 1933; Ruth born in 1935; Elizabeth born in 1937; and Paula Maria, the youngest child, born in 1943. After graduating from high school and understanding that he would be the sole moneymaker for his family, Baldwin searched for work in the New York area. His work in a New Jersey Railroad factory resulted in Notes of a Native Son.

This was a very angry time in James' life. He wrote about his rage toward whites when his rights and those of other blacks were denied. Working as a cook in a Greenwich Village restaurant, Baldwin was able to support his family and avoid the draft during World War II. In 1948, Baldwin left the United States for France. He confessed to Margaret Mead in 1971, "I left because I wanted to live." Earlier that year, Baldwin's close friend, Eugene Worth, had committed suicide due to his lack of faith in living as an artist in New York. Baldwin related to Worth and the struggles that he faced. He knew that something needed to be done to jump-start his life and escape his death. Baldwin's character and attitude changed during his first few years in Paris.

Lucian Happersberger became a friend to him, and through the sharp words in his essay, "Everybody's Protest Novel," he ended his long-standing relationship with Richard White. This compelling literary debut was irrefutable proof that the young black writer from Harlem had started reflecting on his individual experiences and the broader black experience. In France, he had the opportunity to articulate the problems he had encountered in America from a comfortable and objective distance. Living with Happersberger in the Swiss Alps in 1952, James finished "Go Tell it on the Mountain" before returning to New York for his brother David's wedding. Back in Europe, over the next three years, Baldwin immersed himself in writing several works. He began working on "Another Country," which wouldn't be published until 1962, "The Amen Corner," one of his three plays, and "Giovanni's Room," which, upon his return to the United States in 1956, amplified his public recognition. That same year, he received the National Institute of Arts and Letters prize and a scholarship from Partisan Review magazine.

"In Paris, I started to see the sky for what seemed like the first time. This realization - which did not make me melancholic - was that the sky had always been there, long before I was born, and would continue to be there after I was gone. It was, therefore, entirely up to me to make the most of this temporary opportunity.” - James Baldwin, "The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American"

After voluntarily spending almost eight and a half years in France, Baldwin relocated to New York to understand America better and to help America better understand him. While working on "Another Country," he felt that returning to its real setting would solidify both the story and its characters. For the following four years, Baldwin moved between France and New York. He found the sanctuary of France conducive for introspection and peaceful writing, yet he always felt the need to live in the U.S. in order to communicate his message to Americans. Baldwin invested considerable time traveling in Southern U.S. where he studied the persecution of Southern blacks, which piqued his interest in the Civil Rights Movement. He used these experiences to inform his ideas for advancing the cause of blacks. Baldwin experienced considerable growth during this period. He evolved into a persuasive spokesperson for the black movements of the early 1960s and received prestigious honours, including a grant from the Ford Foundation.

This grant enabled him to dedicate more time to his work, and thus he become a respected figure among blacks across America. He published his second anthology of essays, "Nobody Knows My Name," and began delivering speeches and attending meetings. His changing attitude during these years is evident in his writing. He was teaching himself to be more receptive and take lessons from others, instead of shutting off his emotions. These developments contributed towards America paying more attention to Baldwin's message of love, not hate. Baldwin evolved into an effective spokesperson for Blacks in particular and America in general.

In the last twenty years of his life, James Baldwin fervently traveled, becoming a prominent figure in American history. His goal was to make Americans better understand America itself.

"Baldwin wrote much about his childhood, and almost without exception, his memory speaks of misery and confusion." Baldwin wrote about everything from his childhood trials with his stepfather to his feelings on political issues. He dedicated a significant amount of time to the Civil Rights Movement, marching hand in hand with Martin Luther King. He was always ready to participate in nonviolent Civil Rights demonstrations during the war in Vietnam. As his years passed, it became harder for Baldwin to stay out of the public eye. His plays began to be produced and the media continued to report on his life. The FBI even began surveillance on him and his life in New York. James continued to travel and pursue literary plans while living a hazardous life. He began to drink heavily, starved himself, and became addicted to cigarettes. On December 1, 1987, James Arthur Baldwin died from complications due to cancer.

"The story Baldwin tells repeatedly, in his novels, his stories, his writings for the theatre, and in his essays, is of the attempt of a heroic innocent to achieve what Baldwin usually calls identity. Identity is by all measures his favorite word, but on occasion, the word is 'manhood' or 'maturity' - and the thwarting, then, of this hero by his society. The hero is prevented from entering the world." - Harold Bloom.

James Baldwin uses the roles of Margaret, David, and Luke in his play "The Amen Corner" to show the interpersonal conflict that a family faces for being colored. In the play, Margaret grapples with her personal dreams of balancing a religious status with a happy family. These two extremes in her life not only help build her character but also create a plot. "I just want my man and my home and my children. But that's all I wanted. That's what I wanted! Sometimes what we want and what we ought to have aren't the same. Sometimes, the Lord, He takes away what we want and gives us what we need." This is a style often seen within successful plays. It is because of this internal battle that Maggie is the protagonist. David, Margaret's son, finds his conflict in his search for himself through his family and his music. He pleads to his mother in Act III, "to find something to help me hide-to hide from what I'm feeling."

"Mama, I want to be a man. It's time you let me be a man." His fight is internal as he grows up and realizes that his adult life is becoming more of a reality. He bases his dreams on the goals that he sees in Margaret and his father, Luke. Luke's conflict lies in the recognition that he gets from his family versus that from his professional career. He is not the protagonist in 'The Amen Corner,' yet he does change and resolves his dreams in Baldwin's play. Baldwin gives his characters genuine qualities that enable his reader to identify with them. This is important because it creates a physical existence in the play that can be compared to the conflicts that a reader might encounter. By creating characters with realistic dreams, inconsistencies, and flaws, 'The Amen Corner' will seem important in history and portray the issues that Baldwin wishes to highlight. This play finds the perfect balance between its characters and its readers. David's construction of manhood throughout the play parallels with many problems that we see in a young adult's struggle to grow up. Although his problems are more localized, dealing mostly with music and religion, we can gather enough to understand his dreams and relate them to characters we see in real life. David confesses, "Things started happening inside of me which had never happened before."

"It was terrible. It was wonderful. I started looking around this house, around this church - like I was seeing it for the first time." Because Margaret struggles with being a mother, a wife, and a preacher, it is just as easy for an audience to relate to her. We see early in the play that she seems to be content with her position as a mother of the church and of a family. We later discover that things may not be as ideal as we are led to believe. Baldwin establishes these aspects in her life similarly to create realism in her character.

Maggie's problems are real enough, and fit into her simplified life well enough to allow the audience to connect with her as they would with themselves. Problems that we encounter as characters in life are relatively simple. Baldwin understands this and equips this cast with uncomplicated problems, as to allow our imaginations to improvise. "(Baldwin's) career can be divided into two distinct thematic periods: 1) flight from self, quest for identity, and the sophisticated acceptance of one's blackness; 2) apocalyptic vision of racial and sexual oppression. At the core of his fiction is an existentialist psychology, all identity emerges from the void." - Robert Bone, 'The Novels of James Baldwin.' 'Blues for Mr. Charlie' attempts to portray the real issues of the black problem. 'The Fire Next Time' paints a picture of the consequences of neglect. 'Notes of a Native Son' and 'Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son' emphasize the struggle involved with Baldwin's (and all African Americans') struggle for identity to be a human specimen. 'Go Tell It On The Mountain' is extremely autobiographical, dealing with religious themes, and 'Going to Meet the Man' demonstrates Baldwin's desire to unify spiritual and cultural experiences. Finally, 'Another Country' depicts the significance of human relationships, in all diverse manners.

Baldwin uses The Amen Corner to express his personal issues through his life. Specifically, he shows through the character of David how many of the conflicts that occur in this play also occurred in his life. This is yet another quality that brings out the realism in his stories; he can use his own life to demonstrate the reality of his issues. Baldwin spent many of his early years grappling with inner conflict between the church, himself, and his family, much like David racing to find himself through musical and social activities. Baldwin discovered these problems as he was transitioning into adulthood. He grew up without his biological father and showed interest first in the church, then later in music. Baldwin has attempted to use his playwriting to discover himself and address issues that he has encountered and lived through in his lifetime, such as religion, racism, homosexuality, and jazz. An author is likely to discover realistic qualities in their characters if they model them after real people, as Baldwin has done with himself. James Baldwin is an author who shapes his characters to underscore his arguments. In The Amen Corner, he molds David after himself in an autobiographical manner, to infuse undeniable human qualities into the play and his plot. He uses his characters as tools to create a compelling family drama and highlight the conflict that he perceives as vital. By using these devices, he can engage his audience and allow them to relate to his cast and his plot of interpersonal conflict within a black family and his own identity. Bibliography: Baldwin, James.

The Amen Corner. Hatch & Shine. Black Theatre USA, New York: Simon and Schuster Inc., 1996. Bloom, Harold. James Baldwin New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Campbell, James. Talking at the Gates. New York: Viking Penguin, 1991. Gounard, Jean-Francois. The Racial Problem in the Works of Richard Wright and James Baldwin. Translated by Joseph J. Rodgers, Jr. Westport, Connecticut Greenwood Press, 1992. Hay, Samuel A. African American Theatre: An Historical and Critical Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Mead, Margaret. "A Rap on Race: How James Baldwin and Margret Mead Talked a Book." Redbook, September, pp. 70-72, 75. 1971. Porter, Horace A. Stealing the Fire Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1989. Standley, Fred L. and Nancy V. Standley. James Baldwin: A Reference Guide. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1980. Troupe, Quincy. James Baldwin: The Legacy, New York: Simon and Schuster Inc., 1989.

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