Sculptures in James Baldwins If Beale Street Could Talk Essay

In news report of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, Douglass describes his overseer as a man of the most inflexible firmness and stone-like coolness (Andrews 181). He adds that his kept womans tender heart became stone (Andrews 188). When he first tries to poverty-stricken himself from such people, Douglass ends up all alone, within the walls of a stone prison house (Andrews 208). Throughout these references, the image of stone is repeatedly linked with the stonehearted and dramatic Caucasic oppression of African-Americans. James Baldwin also includes images of stone and wood in his allegory, If Beale passageway Could Talk. Stone and wood are often mentioned together and are apply for a joint purpose as Fonny, the protagonist, uses these materials to create sculptures. The novels three mentioned sculptures act as foreshadowing symbols that predict what ultimately happens to their subjects they elaborately detail the Caucasian oppres sion each subject faces, their subsequent bondage in stone, and their path to freedom. Fonny gives one of his first sculptures to his girlfriends aim when describing the sculpture, his girlfriend, Tish, says, Its not very high, its done in filthy wood. Its of a naked man with one hand at his forehead and the other half hiding his sex. The legs arevery bulky apart, and one foot seems planted, unable to move, and the whole motion of the figure is tease (Baldwin 38). This sculpture acts as a foreshadowing symbol in the novel because, like the sculpture, Fonny is a vulnerable black man who tries to avoid cosmos raped, but he ends up being tormented and imprisoned in wood and stone. Also, like the sculpture, Fonny is ultimately left in the care and prote... ...g path (Baldwin 38). It lead likely become quite a conversation piece, encapsulating his flavor story more artistically and intricately than any family scrapbook or album. It will even link Fonnys story to Fred erick Douglasss slave narrative, display how both(prenominal) of these black men faced betrayal, isolation, and metaphorical death through and through unjust imprisonment in stone. It will also show how they both struggled to find freedom from Caucasian oppression, and how Fonnys struggle occurred outside the mise en scene and time of slavery. Works CitedAndrews, William L., ed. The Literature of the American South A Norton Anthology. tonic York Norton & Company, 1998.Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. New York Dell Publishing, 1974.Rape. The American Heritage Dictionary of the slope Language 2000 Fourth ed. Bartleby.com. 30 Sept. 2004