Ben Jackson
Well-known member
James Baldwin began this novel in 1959, continued this novel in Paris and finally finished it in Istanbul in 1961. Published the following year, this novel, set in Greenwich Village and Harlem in New York, looks at the lives of small group of friends before and after the horrible suicide of Rufus Scott, a Jazz Jazz musician who is a victim of societal prejudices and is vulnerable because of his profound prejudices he experiences a black male. (Even walking on the streets with Leonie, a divorced, white Southerner who is a victim of sexual abuse in the hands of both her former husband and Rufus, the society views Leonie as Rufus' whore). Baldwin depicts black masculinity in the character of Rufus: violent and volatile, hyper-sexualized. His failure to break free and asserts his own individuality leads him, with time, to moral and mental instability. In the creation of Rufus' character, he created complex character that can rival the one's I've read: Dostoevesky's Raskolinkov, Woolf's Septimus, Conrad's Kurtz for example and for me, is the highlight of the novel. Other themes include homosexual/bisexual relations (Eric's affairs with Rufus, Vivaldo, Yves and his extra-marital affair with Cass Silenski), inter-racial relationships (Vivaldo and Rufus' Sister Ida and her relationship with Ellis, her music agent), willing ignorance (Vivaldo realizing his sexual identity after his affair with Eric) and artistic and professional jealousy between Richard, a famous writer of crime novels and Vivaldo, who is distracted by his affairs from completing his novel. Another brilliant idea in the novel is the contrast of Rufus character from Ida. While Rufus loses his pride from sense of blackness, Ida is confident of her identity even though her relationship with Vivaldo faltered as a result of her internalised prejudices.
As a whole, the novel is exploitation of race and identity, art and struggle for love amidst obstacles of race, sex and modern society. The title of the novel isn't just the return of Eric to America from France but also the African-America's feelings of alienation. It's well though analysis of race and racial identity.
After reading this novel, I came up with two questions:
Since suicide is an existential paradox, according to Albert Camus, what do you guys think is the MAJOR factor that triggers suicidal tendencies.
--- Absence of hope and realization of living a meaningless existence (examples include Brad Pitt's character in Babylon and Sylvia Plath)
--- Moral and mental disintegration (Sekoni in Soyinka's Interpreters, Rufus)
--- Feeling a sense of awareness from society/feeling society's indifference (Rufus for example)
Secondly, is an individual's coming to terms with his sexuality mainly influenced by genetics or experience?
You can analyse these questions based on your perspective.
As a whole, the novel is exploitation of race and identity, art and struggle for love amidst obstacles of race, sex and modern society. The title of the novel isn't just the return of Eric to America from France but also the African-America's feelings of alienation. It's well though analysis of race and racial identity.
After reading this novel, I came up with two questions:
Since suicide is an existential paradox, according to Albert Camus, what do you guys think is the MAJOR factor that triggers suicidal tendencies.
--- Absence of hope and realization of living a meaningless existence (examples include Brad Pitt's character in Babylon and Sylvia Plath)
--- Moral and mental disintegration (Sekoni in Soyinka's Interpreters, Rufus)
--- Feeling a sense of awareness from society/feeling society's indifference (Rufus for example)
Secondly, is an individual's coming to terms with his sexuality mainly influenced by genetics or experience?
You can analyse these questions based on your perspective.