James Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain

In his novel, Go tell it on The Mountain, James Baldwin uses his unique style of writing to show how the impact of a sensitive topic (religion) affects a young woman who was brought up in Christ, allowing her to have a close-knit relationship with Jesus. Elizabeth strays away from God for a man who she considered to be her first love. Because of this, the harsh words Richard speaks against Jesus alters her spiritual mentality. When speaking of the love she has for Jesus, Richard states, “You can tell that puking bastard to kiss my big black ass” (Baldwin 192). One can only imagine how it feels to have someone you love speak such hateful words against the one you love, especially the almighty and powerful Jesus Christ. This act destroys her
spirit and causes her an immense amount of weeping, forming a “fountain of grief” (Baldwin 192). This one moment changes her life because she is forced to choose between man and God. Sad to say, she chooses Richard over the one who will still be there even though she did not choose him. This decision changes her mentally and spiritually and causes her to experience some unfortunate events. However God steps in when you need him most and because Elizabeth only strayed away from Christ and didn’t depart from him, he made a connection with her again through Gabriel. Most people dislike Gabriel’s character, but the fact that he is the one who helps bring Elizabeth back to Christ despite her pregnancy, one can only begin to see what she sees in him.