I seem to receive the message of homophobia simply by Baldwin’s style of writing. There is a lack of verbal admittance, what I mean by this (for lack of better words) is that the word “gay” is never even used nor is there a strong amount of description among the characters. It is just somehow understood but, the sexuality of each character is never noted. For instance (page 26) the “le folles”, which I interpreted as drag queens, are described at a minimum as well as disrespectfully to simply get the point across but no more than that. It seems that Baldwin’s style of writing captures the voice of the time. A very “Hush, Hush” tone. A very important scene in the novel is when, as I would like to call it, “Jacques Calls Out David”. But even reading that conversation, Jacques never blatantly says “You are gay, stop hiding it and embrace it! ” We are just learning through context. And I definitely believe it is done purposely to portray David’s own state around the topic of homosexuality.
Professor Laura Westengard
Email: lwestengard@citytech.cuny.edu
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I agree with what you said and I believe that Baldwin did this purposely to allow us to feel the shame and guilt that David feels around the whole “homosexual” topic, even though we know he likes men he tries his best by degrading the le folles about how they dress but has no problem in remembering the incident in Joey’s bedroom as something joyful yet frightening.
“Degrading” was an excellent way to described what I was trying to say. The writing style used for every character avoids labeling individuals, for instance using the word “drag” or “gay”. In Jacques conversation with David, Jacques doesn’t even announce that he is gay, it is just suppose to be understood.
I also agree with you both, David seems so welled up on the idea of not coming out that he hided behind a facade. He even describes his time with joey as so far behind and left out of his life but yet he remembers it with almost full details. It also seems that in a way he’s getting like this because of the way his father basically abandoned him in his early years.
Meghan, you wrote “the “le folles”, which I interpreted as drag queens, are described at a minimum as well as disrespectfully to simply get the point across but no more than that.” I think that this is such a relevant observation. Of course, it is important to remember that we are only learning about the events of the story through David’s psyche because it is a first-person narrative. If he, himself, is homophobic and scared of the word “gay,” then we will see his world in these terms as well.