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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Part 1: The Seventh Day
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of Go Tell It on the Mountain is most consistently one of unease and desperation. Although the church and its teachings are the center of most characters' lives, John and Gabriel in particular experience crises of faith and belonging as they age—experiences which provide the novel with its desperate mood.
For John in particular, God does not provide peace or respite from sin, as the church has advertised, until the end of the novel. John constantly feels judgement from both his stepfather and himself, for alleged sins such as his homosexuality. He also seeks freedom from religion because Christianity justifies slavery in some of its scripture: according to John's point of view, if God was so all-powerful and all-loving as his community insists, God would not have allowed the horror of slavery to happen in the first place. The church is no oasis for John's fears and anxieties; in fact, it both creates and heightens them. For example, after John curses Gabriel and Gabriel subsequently beats Roy in "Part One: The Seventh Day," Baldwin fills the following moments in the church with a narrative mood of unease:
His feet seemed planted on this wooden floor; they did not wish to carry him one step farther. The darkness and silence of the church pressed on him, cold as judgement, and the voices crying from the window might have been crying from another world.
Rooted to the church floor in fear of confronting both its literal and symbolic darkness, John's unease reflects the overall mood of the novel, which multiple characters exhibit in unique but complementary ways. During a flashback to Gabriel's upbringing, Baldwin turns general unease into a mood of desperation for death:"He longed, nearly, for death, which was all that could release him from the cruelty of his chains." The weight of Gabriel's "sins"—much like John's "sins" decades in the future—evoke both unease and desperation within each character. This mood persists until after the climax of the novel, when John is saved on the threshing-floor of the church and undergoes a spiritual transformation. The novel concludes with a mood of elation and great relief, for John has seen the Lord's forgiveness and no longer feels desperate to escape the narrow moral confines of the church.
Related Themes:
