Answer ONE question. Do NOT use any critical or other sources such as websites, academic database articles, etc.—the essay should be entirely your own analysis. For all questions, support your points by specific reference to the text(s), including quotations when appropriate.
Thesis, organization, spelling and grammar, accuracy in quotation and citation, and a Works Cited list in MLA format count in my assessment. Write on only ONE of the three essay topics! 1. Hall says, “Arthur had to pull himself to a place where he could say to Paul, his father, and to Hall, his brother, and to all the world, and to his Maker, Take me as I am!” (JAMH 472). Several characters in JAMH are homosexual or show homoerotic behavior, and they may experience self-doubt, denial, or force themselves to conform to social norms.
What does Baldwin seem to be saying about external and internalized homophobia? Does he suggest that it inevitably destroys the homosexual, that it can be overcome with difficulty, or something else? Focus on Arthur and briefly discuss 2 or 3 other characters you select. 2. Arthur sings, “Jesus is the stone / that was hewed out the mountain / tearing down / the kingdom of this world!” (512). Does Arthur’s music present a transcendent hope—for the kingdom of God, a new world of justice, or both? Look specifically at the song he sings on 511-12, including its relation to its Biblical source (Daniel Chap. 2, verses 26-46—excerpt in Study Notes, p. 10). Base your essay on JAMH’s use of this song, plus additional song lyrics or discussions of music such as “Up Above My Head” or “When the World’s on Fire” (videos on Blackboard, Course Units 10 and 14), Hall’s description of Arthur’s singing (267), or other parts of JAMH that you select. 3. Hall says, “Their quartet—the Trumpets of Zion—didn’t get very far before the hammer of Korea smashed it” (31).
The four characters who make up the Trumpets of Zion engage in struggles for a better world, whether through Gospel singing or civil rights activity, but confront many negative forces. Discuss the various “hammers” that come down on them—from organized racists, police, wartime army service, drug use, psychological problems, and other sources, and how the characters do or don’t overcome these challenges. Does Baldwin seem to be saying something specific about the struggle for a better world—if so, what? Or is he simply memorializing people who lived and hoped and the times they lived through?
