Go tell it on the Mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
Go tell it
on a Mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus
Christ is born.
Those are just some of the lyrics to
the legendary gospel song Go Tell It on the Mountain. The song was composed by
John Wesley Work Junior in 1865. The song has been redone by countless artists
and there have been many different versions of it by Kirk Franklin, Dolly Patron,
Bob Marley, Vanessa Williams, and Sarah Evans, just to name a few.
No matter which artist has done
their rendition of the song, the meaning, I would say, remains the same. The poetic significance
of the song is this: To tell something on a mountain is a metaphor for going to a high place or a very visible or audible place and telling the
masses something that is important to you. It is a form of self-expression, a
complete release of self. With the song this total release is made possible by
sustaining your faith in God and never waning from it. It is made possible by
never denying the power and grace of the Lord All mighty and doing your due
diligence as a believer in him. This release, a validation of self-assurance,
the peace of mind it brings is so simple and complete. Yet it is the exact thing that no one in James Baldwin's 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain can do.
Go Tell It on the Mountain was the first of many works for Baldwin but it remains to be his most popular one. The novel focuses on the lives of four characters and how family intertwines with religion and dominates them. The protagonist, John, is faced with the dilemma of not accepting his father or his religion. It is very difficult for John because nearly everyone expects him to be a man of god just like his father. John however wants nothing to do with that lifestyle.
"He lived for the day when his father would be dying and he, John, would curse him on his death-bed. And this was why, though he had been born in the faith and had been surrounded all his life by the saints and by their prayers and their rejoicing, and though the tabernacle in which they worshipped was more completely real to him than the several precarious homes in which he and his family had lived, John's heart was hardened against the Lord. His father was God's minister, the ambassador of the King of Heaven, and John could not bow before the throne of grace without first kneeling to his father." (Pg.13-14, Baldwin.)
The other characters are Elizabeth, Gabriel, and Florence. They are all a part of the same family and share some of the same experiences but it is their individuality that makes their respective stories interesting.
Florence cannot successfully communicate her wants for the finer things in life to her husband. She is never fully satisfied within her relationship and never obtains the things she desires the most. She wants to have a nice home and sustainable things to her possession. However, her husband can never discipline himself enough to save money and spend it responsibility/ He almost always makes impulsive purcahses with money that lead to conflicts with Florence.
Despite his success and influence Gabriel is not happy with-self. His constant abuse of his wife and children highlight the insecurities he has. He uses fear to intimate those closest to him to get his way while putting on a completely different persona when he is in public.
“Then his father raised his belt, and it fell with a whistling sound on Roy who shivered and fell back his face to the wall. But he did not cry out. And the belt was raised again, and again. The air rang with the whistling and the crack! against Roy’s flesh. And the baby, Ruth began to scream.” (pg. 44, Baldwin)
Gabriel is unhappy with himself and is in deep denial about who he is. Because he is also citing God as his source and his salvation he cannot show weakness in the Church. In order to enjoy the life he has created he must continue with his lie of a life that he has created for himself, further plunging him into denial and leading to abusive behavior. He ends up losing both his sons because of it. He also suffocates Elizabeth, his wife, with his abusive behavior.
Elizabeth is really affected by the loss of her father at a young age, and she never got along with her caretaker. Elizabeth later loses her first husband, Richard, because he committed suicide. She never told him that she was carrying his son though; it is her deepest regret. Elizabeth blames herself in part for the suicide because if Richard knew he had a son maybe he would have considered his life worth living.
She then marries Gabriel leading to suppression of self-expression. Gabriel is abusive to her and her children. She also does not have the friendship and loving relationship with Gabriel that she enjoyed with Richard. She is afraid to tell him things. I would say she leads a life of denial and is never truly able to “Go Tell It on A Mountain”.
Works Cited
Baldwin, James. Go Tell It On the Mountain. Reprint. New York: Dial Press, 2000.
Go Tell It on the Mountain was the first of many works for Baldwin but it remains to be his most popular one. The novel focuses on the lives of four characters and how family intertwines with religion and dominates them. The protagonist, John, is faced with the dilemma of not accepting his father or his religion. It is very difficult for John because nearly everyone expects him to be a man of god just like his father. John however wants nothing to do with that lifestyle.
"He lived for the day when his father would be dying and he, John, would curse him on his death-bed. And this was why, though he had been born in the faith and had been surrounded all his life by the saints and by their prayers and their rejoicing, and though the tabernacle in which they worshipped was more completely real to him than the several precarious homes in which he and his family had lived, John's heart was hardened against the Lord. His father was God's minister, the ambassador of the King of Heaven, and John could not bow before the throne of grace without first kneeling to his father." (Pg.13-14, Baldwin.)
The other characters are Elizabeth, Gabriel, and Florence. They are all a part of the same family and share some of the same experiences but it is their individuality that makes their respective stories interesting.
Florence cannot successfully communicate her wants for the finer things in life to her husband. She is never fully satisfied within her relationship and never obtains the things she desires the most. She wants to have a nice home and sustainable things to her possession. However, her husband can never discipline himself enough to save money and spend it responsibility/ He almost always makes impulsive purcahses with money that lead to conflicts with Florence.
Despite his success and influence Gabriel is not happy with-self. His constant abuse of his wife and children highlight the insecurities he has. He uses fear to intimate those closest to him to get his way while putting on a completely different persona when he is in public.
“Then his father raised his belt, and it fell with a whistling sound on Roy who shivered and fell back his face to the wall. But he did not cry out. And the belt was raised again, and again. The air rang with the whistling and the crack! against Roy’s flesh. And the baby, Ruth began to scream.” (pg. 44, Baldwin)
Gabriel is unhappy with himself and is in deep denial about who he is. Because he is also citing God as his source and his salvation he cannot show weakness in the Church. In order to enjoy the life he has created he must continue with his lie of a life that he has created for himself, further plunging him into denial and leading to abusive behavior. He ends up losing both his sons because of it. He also suffocates Elizabeth, his wife, with his abusive behavior.
Elizabeth is really affected by the loss of her father at a young age, and she never got along with her caretaker. Elizabeth later loses her first husband, Richard, because he committed suicide. She never told him that she was carrying his son though; it is her deepest regret. Elizabeth blames herself in part for the suicide because if Richard knew he had a son maybe he would have considered his life worth living.
She then marries Gabriel leading to suppression of self-expression. Gabriel is abusive to her and her children. She also does not have the friendship and loving relationship with Gabriel that she enjoyed with Richard. She is afraid to tell him things. I would say she leads a life of denial and is never truly able to “Go Tell It on A Mountain”.
Works Cited
Baldwin, James. Go Tell It On the Mountain. Reprint. New York: Dial Press, 2000.
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