THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011
Giovanni's room part 2
Giovanni's Room part 2
"The beast which Giovanni had awakened in me would never go to sleep again; but one day I would not be with Giovanni anymore. And would I then, like all the others, find myself turning and following all kinds of boys down God knows what dark avenues, into what dark places?"(Baldwin,84). Giovanni, Guillaume and Jacques have embraced their sexuality; yet, these figures are portrayed in the novel as either desperate, hideous, or isolated. Considering the state of these men in the novel is David's fear of accepting his homosexuality justified?
Giovanni's room is not only a physical place in the novel but is also its title. What is the significance of the room is the novel? David says 'It became, in a way, every room I had ever been in and every room I find myself in hereafter will remind me of Giovanni's room"(Baldwin, 85). Is the room simply a memory or is there more to it? Why does David spend so much time describing specific details about the room?
"I resented this: resented being called an American(and resented resenting it) because it seemed to make me nothing more than that, whatever that was; and I resented being called not an American because it seemed to make me nothing."( Baldwin, 89) These lines reflect David's thoughts about Giovanni calling him an American. What is the significance of being an "American" in the novel? What weight does this title hold if any in David's life? Is being an American in any way connected to David's ideas of man hood?
Hella is significant as David's fiance . However outside of this position, what is her role in the novel? Is her adventure in Spain, significant in anyway to our understanding of the novel?
"The beast which Giovanni had awakened in me would never go to sleep again; but one day I would not be with Giovanni anymore. And would I then, like all the others, find myself turning and following all kinds of boys down God knows what dark avenues, into what dark places?"(Baldwin,84). Giovanni, Guillaume and Jacques have embraced their sexuality; yet, these figures are portrayed in the novel as either desperate, hideous, or isolated. Considering the state of these men in the novel is David's fear of accepting his homosexuality justified?
Giovanni's room is not only a physical place in the novel but is also its title. What is the significance of the room is the novel? David says 'It became, in a way, every room I had ever been in and every room I find myself in hereafter will remind me of Giovanni's room"(Baldwin, 85). Is the room simply a memory or is there more to it? Why does David spend so much time describing specific details about the room?
"I resented this: resented being called an American(and resented resenting it) because it seemed to make me nothing more than that, whatever that was; and I resented being called not an American because it seemed to make me nothing."( Baldwin, 89) These lines reflect David's thoughts about Giovanni calling him an American. What is the significance of being an "American" in the novel? What weight does this title hold if any in David's life? Is being an American in any way connected to David's ideas of man hood?
Hella is significant as David's fiance . However outside of this position, what is her role in the novel? Is her adventure in Spain, significant in anyway to our understanding of the novel?
In Response to Question 2, I think that David spends so much time describing specific details about the room because of it was sort of a cathartic internal outlook that he needed. To me, this was the best way in which David could articulate his feeling of being and knowing that he was homosexual. The title of the book’s significance goes beyond just the title and physical space. This was where we the readers got that insight into David living freely albeit for a condensed period of time. Like the room and its actual physical dimensions being so small yet profound in that it made David introspective and made him self-conscious of his mode of being. And where he felt at times that he could escape and live a life that he knew perfectly well that appealed to him, but one that society namely U.S. would not be as excepting of who he is. So while in France and in Giovanni’s room David, escapes, ridicule of his family, of his homeland, of Hella, and perhaps most importantly he himself. Giovanni’s room is a momentary escape, David’s life and how he chooses to live and define himself and grapple with his identity is inescapable.
ReplyDeleteHella, in the novel, plays the role Giovanni's past wife played, which is the possibility of the normative heterosexual path. These women represent the other choice. Both David and Giovanni had every possibility to lead heterosexual lives with women, and both had to make these decisions. Although Hella's character doesn't play a major role, she is in the back of David's mind when he is confronted with his public and sometimes private life concerning his sexuality and manhood. So, Hella is the possibility and the burden.
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