Books with title Go Tell It on the Mountain

Go Tell it on The Mountain is semi-autobiographical that tells the story of John Grimes an intelligent teenager in 1930's Harlem. and his relationship to his family and his church. The novel also reveals the back stories of John's mother, and is violent, religious fanatic step-father, Gabriel Grimes. The novel focuses on the role of the Pentecostal Church in the lives of African-Americans, as a negative source of repression and moral hypocrisy and also as a positive source of inspiration and community.

This haunting coming-of-age story, based in part on James Baldwin's childhood in Harlem, is an American classic. Originally published in 1953, Go Tell It on the Mountain was Baldwin's first major work. With a potent combination of lyrical compassion and resonant rage, he portrays a fourteen-year-old boy questioning the terms of his identity. John Grimes is the stepson of a fire-breathing and abusive Pentecostal preacher in Harlem during the Depression. The action of this short novel spans a single day in John's life, and yet manages to encompass on an epic scale his family's troubled past and his own inchoate longings for the future, set against a shining vision of a city where he both does and does not belong. Baldwin's story illuminates the racism his characters face as well as the double-edged role religion plays in their lives, both oppressive and inspirational. In prose that mingles gritty vernacular cadences with exalted biblical rhythms, Baldwin's rendering of his young protagonist's struggle to invent himself pioneered new possibilities in American language and literature. Introduction by Edwidge Danticat

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.CliffsNotes on Go Tell It on the Mountain explores the Great Migration, a time in American history characterized by a mass exodus of African Americans from the rural south to northern cities.Follow the simple story of a young boy coming of age, a tale that gains complexity as it interweaves with the experiences of his mother, father, and aunt. This concise supplement to James Baldwin book about religion, racism, and familial expectations features summaries and commentaries on each part within the novel. Other features that help you study includeBackground on the authorDescriptive character map and analysesCritical essays on racism, the church, and homosexuality as a subtextA quiz, plus suggested essay questions and practice projectsClassic literature or modern-day treasure—you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.