New Essays on Go Tell It on the Mountain (The American Novel) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521498260 ISBN 13: 9780521498265

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Synopsis

James Baldwin's first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, has gained a wide readership and much critical acclaim since its publication in 1953. While most critics have seen it as focusing exclusively on the African-American fundamentalist church and its effect on characters brought up within its tradition, these scholars posit that issues of homosexuality, the social construction of identity, anthropological conceptions of community, and the quest for an artistic identity provide more elucidating approaches to the novel.

About this title

Book Description:

Seen by most as focusing exclusively on the African American fundamentalist church, the work has gained much critical acclaim since its publication in 1953. This collection posits that issues of homosexuality, the construction and quest for identity and anthropological conceptions of community offer more illuminating approaches.

From the Back Cover:

The American Novel series provides students of American literature with introductory critical guides to great works of American literature. Each volume begins with a substantial introduction by a distinguished authority on the text, giving details of the work's composition, publication history, and contemporary reception, as well as a survey of the major critical trends and readings from first publication to the present. This overview is followed by a group of new essays, each specially commissioned from a leading scholar in the field, which together constitute a forum of interpretative methods and prominent contemporary ideas on the text. There are also helpful guides to further reading. Specifically designed for undergraduates, the series will be a powerful resource for anyone engaged in the critical analysis of major American novels and other important texts. James Baldwin's first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, has gained a wide readership and much critical acclaim since its publication in 1953. Although most critics have seen it as focusing exclusively on the African American fundamentalist church and its effect on characters brought up within its tradition, these scholars posit that issues of homosexuality, the social construction of identity, anthropological conceptions of community, and the quest for an artistic identity provide more elucidating approaches to the novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0521498260
• ISBN 13: 9780521498265
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 172
• Editor: Harris Trudier