84 pages 2 hours read

James Baldwin

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1953

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Go Tell It on the Mountain

  • Genre: Fiction; literary
  • Originally Published: 1953
  • Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
  • Structure/Length: 3 parts, 3 chapters; approx. 272 pages; approx. 8 hours, 45 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Fourteen-year-old John Grimes discovers his identity as the stepson of a Pentecostal minister in 1930s Harlem. Everyone believes he will follow in his father’s footsteps and become a preacher, but John has conflicting feelings about God and his sexuality.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Systemic racism; violence; sexual assault; sexual content             

James Baldwin, Author

  • Bio: August 2, 1924-December 1, 1987; noted Black essayist, novelist, playwright, and poet; writing explores masculinity, sexuality, race, and class that intersect with the civil rights movement and gay liberation movement; never knew his biological father; had a difficult relationship with his stepfather; became a preacher at Fireside Pentecostal Assembly after discovering he was attracted to men; spent years in menial jobs trying to support his family; moved to Paris in 1948 to escape American prejudice against Black communities and individuals; wrote and published his first novel in Paris; returned to New York in 1957 to participate in the civil rights movement; lived in France for most of his later life; died from stomach cancer in 1987
  • Other Works: Giovanni’s Room (1956); Another Country (1962); Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone (1968); If Beale Street Could Talk (1974); Just Above My Head (1979)                     

Related Titles

By James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Another Country

James Baldwin

Another Country

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

A Talk to Teachers

James Baldwin

A Talk to Teachers

James Baldwin

Plot Summary

logo

Blues for Mister Charlie

James Baldwin

Blues for Mister Charlie

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Going To Meet The Man

James Baldwin

Going To Meet The Man

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

I Am Not Your Negro

James Baldwin

I Am Not Your Negro

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

James Baldwin

If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Nobody Knows My Name

James Baldwin

Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

No Name in the Street

James Baldwin

No Name in the Street

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Notes of a Native Son

James Baldwin

Notes of a Native Son

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Stranger in the Village

James Baldwin

Stranger in the Village

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

The Amen Corner

James Baldwin

The Amen Corner

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

The Rockpile

James Baldwin

The Rockpile

James Baldwin