James Baldwin's work is often defined by an intersection between nationality and sexuality. In Giovanni's Room the motif of culture and country of origin is prominent, but difficult to interpret. A particularly dense passage is found in the second part of this story, on page 292 which begins with “still” and ends on page 293 with “disconnected”. This excerpt serves as a window into the relationship between these themes and the progress of David's journey thus far. A close reading of this passage helps answer vital questions about the reading as a whole, including how his attachment (and detachment) to America mirrors his rejection of John and how the juxtaposition of America to images of innocence and childhood can reveal important information about David's life. travel and self-imposed isolation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the initial breakdown of this passage, a hidden but vital detail is the language David uses to describe his experience in a room of Americans. His vocabulary choices are particularly significant in this situation because they reflect an arrogant contempt for American culture. From the first sentence, negative language is used: “hard,” “forced,” “horde,” highlighting David's disconnection from his home country. Baldwin's choice of the word "horde" rather than "crowd" elicits antipathy throughout the entire passage, forcing his audience to read the rest of the passage with a similar aversion to Americans. This negative language continues throughout the passage with an unnecessary abundance of negative prefixes including “dis-” as in “disturbingly” and “disconnected” as well as “in-” as in “unable.” Rather than highlight the qualities that distinguish Americans from Parisians, David chooses to dwell on their lack, calling attention to a crucial feature of this passage: David harbors a growing animosity toward America. The reason, however, is not immediately clear; it's not because he no longer identifies with them or doesn't see them as a homogenized unit, it's because he wants to see himself in them and, in turn, rejects himself. This will become clear after a thorough analysis of the text. Perhaps a more important use of diction occurs with the canceling prefix 'un-', which is particularly emphasized towards the end of the passage, where David alludes to the innocence of Americans with the words "unsullied", "untouched", "unchanged ". ”, not admitted” and “not realized”. The overall value of this literary technique comes to light when we evaluate David's comparison to his country of origin. The question here is: Does David still consider himself American, and what does the word "American" mean? While the discussed prefixes "in-" and "dis-" mean an inversion of the stem of the word that follows it or simply "no", the prefix 'un-' more commonly means an entire lack of something, something that is not never existed in the first place. The section of the passage that uses this prefix describes the innocent, childlike quality of Americans and the lack of intimacy and personality of Parisians is a cliché maintained and emphasized by Giovanni, who often uses stereotypes like these to express his dislike of Americans By juxtaposing images of innocence and images of America, Baldwin shows us where David began his journey: a "pristine", "undirty" and youthful American youth, and also shows us the conclusion. planned for his trip: the well-oiled trust of the Europeans, a conclusion David never reaches because of his rejection of that lifestyle. He rejects this closure of his story because it reminds himher forbidden relationship with John, a relationship defined by sex and sin. David speaks of the purity of Americans as a "parody of sex", which "have had no intercourse with the flesh" and which "preserves against the dangers and demands of every most intimate odor". revealing to us that gay sex is a thing shameful and dangerous to do and underlining his resentment towards the sexual acts he performed with Giovanni. Rather than being ashamed of being Americans because of their stereotypical preservation and prudence, he relates to what he longs to return to. Baldwin even uses imagery like “forcing oatmeal down her throat,” which at first glance seems like a health-conscious wife taking care of her husband. Oatmeal is a bland, homogeneous, and fairly legal staple, so upon closer inspection, this phrase refers to the pristine lifestyle expected of Americans, or "forced down our throats." Another staple imposed on Americans is heterosexuality, which is part of the reason why David's Americanness is continuous with his rejection of his bisexuality. David feels completely defined by his homosexual tendencies, so to reject this part of himself, he must reject his entire identity, including his Americanness. Therefore, he no longer considers himself an American. Returning to the prefix “un-”: David feels dirty, filthy, changed, and that is why he defines Americans as “uncontaminated, intact and unchanged”. These details demonstrate that David's view of America has not changed, but rather his view of himself. These aspects of the passage can also help us understand what David means in the final sentence of the passage, perhaps the most complex and important: “Yet I also suspected that what I saw was only part of the truth and perhaps not even the most important part; under these faces, these clothes, these accents, the rudeness, there was power and pain, both unacknowledged, unrealized, the power of inventors, the pain of the disconnected. a-'. We found that Baldwin uses this prefix to detail what David sees himself as, and in doing so, hints at the deliberate use of the words “unadmitted” and “unfulfilled.” With these context clues, we can deduce that David has already admitted and realized himself. He knows he is bisexual if not homosexual, and this conflicts with his “American” purity. At the beginning of John's Stanza, he began his journey because he "wanted to find himself" (part I, 236). David does exactly this, but he experiences a constant fear of it, as revealed by our discussion of the literary technique used at the beginning of the passage. Just like the rest of this particular piece of prose, this sentence isn't about Americans: it's about himself. The words “these faces” no longer refer to the “horde” of foreigners, but refer only to the face of David. Following this scheme, we can delve deeper into the vocabulary used in this sentence. The “unallowed” and “unfulfilled” aspects of self that David refers to are “the power of inventors” and “the pain of the unconnected.” These lines are ambiguous and dense, but once understood, they further answer questions about the connection between David's nationality and his sexuality. The first word, power, refers to the power he has to realize himself. He recognizes that all Americans have this power within them, but that it is “unacknowledged” and “unrealized.” “Inventors” is an American cliché, as we often create the image of “inventing” or “founding” America, but it has a deeper meaning: David is still inventing himself. He considers himself an exception, but this is a direct result of not using his "power" to be invented. Going forward, “pain” is the result;.